Best Website Builder for Photographers: present your work and Sell it with a Little Effort.

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Are you prepared to make your love of photography more than simply a side hustle?

 or, you’ve outgrown your Instagram gallery and are ready for a more polished web image.

(Sure, it took me some time to think about that. There won’t be any more jokes in this article about photography, I promise. )

We’ve put up this guide to assist you in choosing the best photography website builder for your needs with the assistance of expert photographers who have been through the process.

You’ll discover:

So let’s get started right away!

The top 6 photo website builders for photographers are:

This is our selection for the best website builders for photographers, keeping in mind the specific elements a photography website needs (see our table below):

The best website builders for photographers: nutshell their features:

WIX

SQUARESPACE

WORDPRESS

PIXPA

FORMAT

SMUGMUG

Photography templates

Portfolios

Appointment booking

✓ (via plugin)
(through 

✓ BookingBug widget)

X

X

Private client galleries

✓ (you can enable it through plugins like Picu)

customers proofing features (like; comments, favorites and so on)

X

✓ (you can enable it through plugins like Picu)

you can Sell digital and concrete products (generic)

✓ (through WooCommerce, Ecwid, and any other ecommerce plugins)

Sell client prints (through print lab fulfillment)

X

✓ (via plugin)

X

Custom domain

The first year is free with yearly Premium subscription

The 1st year is for free with annual subscription

It is free for the 1st year with yearly WordPress.com subscription

the first year is free with an annual subscription (excluding Basic plan). through hover.com

the first year is free with an annual subscription (excluding Free and Basic plans)

There aren't any free offers, but you can buy or link your own.

Pricing

The free plans are available. Paid plans beguin at $16 / month

From $16 / month

A free plan is available on WordPress.com, while paid plans start at $4 per month.

A self-hosted WordPress site starts around $6 / month

From $6 / month

There is a free plan  ,premium plans begin at $7 per month.

From $16 / month

Get started

1. Wix – The website builder with it all

Website Builder for Photographers

Additionally, there are features designed specifically for photographers, such as print-on-demand integrations, private albums, and portfolio pages with image galleries.

Website Builder for Photographers

With the Wix Picture Albums app, an example of a private album with client proofreading tools.

As a result, it ranks among the top website builders for photographers who want to sell their work online. However as we will see later, it is not without its flaws.

Why Wix is advisable for photographers 

  • The selection of free templates offered by Wix is unmatched by any other website builder. You can choose from more than 800 attractive themes, about 50 of which are made exclusively for websites dedicated to photography.
  • The marketing and business tools offered by Wix are excellent. With the Wix Ascend business suite, you can manage client connections, launch email marketing campaigns, provide live chat assistance, optimize your website, and manage invoices all from within Wix.  Wix’s SEO options are top-notch, and its extensive App Market also allows you to add extra features to your website.
  • Similar to Squarespace, Wix has a service (Wix Bookings) that allows visitors to schedule appointments with you online. Unlike Squarespace, there is no additional fee to use this; it is part of all Wix Business plans without charge.
  • The Wix Picture Albums app‘s client proofing feature is remarkable and surpasses Squarespace’s less complex galleries option. You are able to sell digital artwork, create private albums, let customers choose and comment on photographs, offer low- or high-resolution downloads, and even sell prints via print-on-demand services.
  • The drag-and-drop editor on Wix is also the most flexible one we’ve encountered, allowing you to select from a sizable selection of content blocks and position content with pixel-perfect accuracy anywhere you wish. (Read more about Wix tutorial.)

Why Wix might not be the best website builder for you

  • In our tests, we discovered that Wix’s page loading times/speed were somewhat slow. Wix sites frequently use photography, graphics, and apps, which can slow down visitor loading times and potentially affect a site’s rating on search engines. Wix’s editor and backend might occasionally be slow as well.
  • With prices starting at $16, Wix is competitively priced with Squarespace. The free plan is suitable for usage on smaller websites that don’t need to collect reservations or payments, nevertheless. Your site will utilize a Wix subdomain and a Wix advertisement will appear.
  • The Storage limits depends on your plan; the more you pay, the more storage you get. If you use Wix to host your client galleries on the cheapest plan (Combo), you may quickly exhaust your 3GB storage space.
  • There will be some difficulties if you ever want to update the style of your website because Wix does not allow you to switch templates. (Although it’s theoretically impossible with Squarespace as well, altering designs there is considerably simpler because of the way the platform’s templates are set up.) You’ll have to make all of the changes by yourself.
  • Although Wix’s templates are beautiful, unlike those of other website builders, they are not necessarily responsive to mobile devices. To ensure that the site renders appropriately on mobile devices, the mobile version may need to be edited.

Wix Pricing:

The following plans are among the most popular ones offered by Wix (prices shown are for yearly subscriptions):

  • Free: $0. While the majority of features are available, as the Wix banner will appear.
  • Combo: $23 monthly. You can use your own domain and the Wix ads have been eliminated. 2 GB of storage.
  • unlimited: $29 per month. 5 GB of memory
  • Business Basic : $34 per month. Online booking and sales. 50GB of memory.

When would we recommend Wix?

Wix offers an all-in-one platform that may be used to create your photography website, share client galleries, and conduct online sales. Wix offers excellent value for money if you want the ease of controlling every area of your photography business in one location.

2. Squarespace – The website builder for creatives

Website Builder for Photographers
Website Builder for Photographers

A couple of Squarespace’s photography templates

Whilst Squarespace is not the most affordable website builder on our list, be prepared to pay a premium. Nonetheless, the amount of time and money you will save could make the purchase worthwhile.

Continue reading to discover more benefits and drawbacks of Squarespace.

Why Squarespace is great for photographers

  • Squarespace’s cutting-edge templates show that they are made for creatives . No other website builder can assist you in establishing your place in the market more effectively. Visit this page to see their collection of photography templates.
  • All Squarespace plans provide unlimited storage, so you won’t ever run out of room to save your galleries and photographs.
  • With a strong focus on content, Squarespace equips you with the tools you need to produce it, including a robust blogging feature, a social content generator (Unfold), and even a built-in movie maker.
  • You have complete control over the appearance of your online store and product pages with the amazing Squarespace Commerce builder. Customers may order prints immediately from your website thanks to integrations with print-on-demand services like Printique and Printful. NFTs can also be sold using Squarespace’s Unfold app. (See here for a complete review of Squarespace’s online store.)
  • With other website builders, it’s not always easy to present your work in a variety of layout, but Squarespace’s outstanding portfolio features makes it simple. Password-protected client galleries can also be created using this feature’s expansion.

Why Squarespace might not be the best website builder for you:

  • Website builders by their very nature are less flexible than content management systems like WordPress (#3 on our list). Although there is some versatility, personalization is limited. If you desire complete design freedom, this might not be the best option.
  • In our tests, Squarespace websites also is slow to load, which might have an impact on user experience and Google search results.
  • It isn’t the cheapest website builder, with plans costing between $16 and $49. Additional fees apply to extras like the online booking tool and member areas. It only provides a 14-day trial; there is no free plan available. If money is scarce, have a look to Format, Pixpa, or Wix’s free plan, which are all on our list.
  • Squarespace’s grid-based editor is generally simple to use, but there are a few peculiarities to be aware of. For instance, it doesn’t automatically save the content, and clicking is frequently required for small operations. These problems are not present when using a website builder like Wix.
  • Although client-proofing features, such as the ability for clients to choose or comment on photographs, are not available, this may be a constraint if you’re seeking to make money from your work. You may still establish private galleries for clients.

Pricing for Squarespace

The following plans are available from Squarespace (prices are for yearly subscriptions):

  • Personal: $16/month. for blogs, portfolios, and individual projects. includes sites that require a password. Unlimited capacity.
  • Business: $23/month. adds basic e-commerce and marketing functionality/features.
  • Basic Commerce: $27/month. gives you 0% sales costs and additional e-commerce capabilities/features.
  • Advanced Commerce: $49/month. Provide enhanced shipping options and selling subscriptions.

When do we suggest Squarespace?

Squarespace is a good investment if appearance, usability, and going online quickly are your top priorities. Photographers will value the beautiful designs and how easily they can be altered in a website builder aimed towards creatives. This is such an extra points for their fantastic appointment scheduling and online store building tools.

3. WordPress – The website builder without limitations

Website Builder for Photographers

So what is the drawback? It involves a lot of work up front and continual maintenance, so it’s not perfect for individuals who want a website they can just set up and forget about (the help of a developer may even be required). It might also be less user-friendly for beginners than website builders like Wix or Squarespace.

Find out if WordPress is the best choice for your photography website by reading on.

Why WordPress is the best for photographers?

  • Unparalleled selection of themes, including hundreds of photography-related designs on Themeforest, as well as specialized theme vendors like Flothemes (more on that below). There are also a wide variety of plugins available, such as galleries, sliders, image compression, and caching plugins, to assist you in providing the greatest visual user experience.Good plugins, like as contact forms, appointment scheduling tools, and e-commerce add-ons, can help you monetize your work (e.g. WooCommerce for selling both digital and print-on-demand products).
  • A leader in the field, WordPress’ blogging solution allows you to add media, enable commenting, and improve your SEO tactics.
  • The best website builder for getting found online, without a doubt. With excellent built-in features and cutting-edge SEO plugins, it supports your optimization efforts because it was designed with SEO in mind.
  • WordPress extends the usefulness of your site by providing dvanced features that are hard to come across in other website builders. For instance, you may combine client galleries with plugins like Picu or use it with portfolio-building tools like Semplice. Also, there are plugins like Envira Gallery and MemberPress that can help you sell online photography courses to members and transform your website into a searchable stock photo portal, respectively.

Why WordPress may not be a good website builder for your site?

  • That takes a lot of setup work. To get your site up and running, you must arrange hosting, choose and modify a theme, connect a domain, and install plugins – from multiple sources. You can perform all of this in one location by using website builders that are all-in-one, such as Wix and Squarespace. (WordPress.com offers similar services with its hosted plans, but this is not the most economical choice; see more about pricing below.)
  • compared to other website builders, requires more frequent ongoing maintenance . Updates to plugins, security, and receiving assistance with technical problems will be your responsibility.
  • Although using the WordPress software is free, there may be significant yearly cost associated with hosting, domain registration, buying a theme, and allowing plugins.
  • Also, getting support can be challenging because WordPress doesn’t offer it directly (unless you’re a WordPress.com customer). You will primarily need to rely on self-support, with assistance accessible from your hosting or plugin providers, support forums, knowledge bases, and these sources.

WordPress pricing

  • Free: $0 / month. 1GB storage maximum; advertising from WordPress.com are shown. Not able to access plugins.
  • Premium: $8 / month. 13GB of storage with no advertisements. However, there is still no access to plugins, thus it can only be used for a simple portfolio website.
  • Business: $25 / month. 200GB of storage plus access to premium themes and plugins .
  • Ecommerce: $45 / month. The WooCommerce plugin enables online sales with the same features as Business.

When we’d recommend WordPress:

If you want a photography website that is completely your own, one that is special, versatile, and can develop to accommodate your changing demands in the future, WordPress makes the most sense. WordPress can help you create a photography website precisely how you want it if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty.

WordPress User experiences:

WordPress user experiences Andrzej Witek, a  Barcelona-based wedding, family, and business photographer , discusses his use of Pictime as a photo gallery platform in addition to WordPress for his photography website.

Website Builder for Photographers

“I wanted something straightforward. Although I don’t have a lot of free time, I enjoy technology. I also wanted something that was very open, so that there wouldn’t be any restrictions if I ever wanted to create a store and sell presets, for instance, in the future.

I started by looking at Squarespace because it’s well-liked and straightforward. But, I thought it was somewhat limited and the cost was average. Without monthly bills, I preferred to simply pay for the hosting and forget about it.

I created the website myself and installed their WordPress plugins. It was so simple that I guess it just took me three days.

In addition, I have a few SEO plugins and a contact form I created with custom fields that allow the visitor to describe their event and tell me how they found me.

Everything I set up on my own, and it just works for me. Although I don’t have a lot of internet experience, I believe everybody can use it.

My suggestion is to keep things as simple as you can. I want to focus on photography, not website development. If something breaks, I can swiftly fix it without wasting any time. I can call someone for assistance when I need it, but I need to be able to run the majority of my website on my own.

4. Pixpa – The inexpensive, all-in-one website builder for photographers

Website Builder for Photographers

Yet, its pricing, which is significantly less than what its rivals charge, stands out.

That does not imply that its features are inferior. Pixpa actually meets every requirement, providing more than 120 contemporary templates, a versatile editor, portfolio pages, and first-rate customer gallery and proofreading tools.

One of the few platforms, Pixpa, combines the versatility of the earlier website builders we’ve examined with specific photography functionality. It’s obvious that it draws a lot of inspiration from Squarespace, which is #2 on our list. Even the section-based editor has a Squarespace-like appearance, as do many of the layouts.

In that case, is this the greatest website builder for your photography website? Let’s investigate.

Website Builder for Photographers

Pixpa’s website designs looks like Squarespace’s, with more than 120 templates accessible there.

Why is Pixpa great for photographers?

  • Pixpa is simple to use, it offers a smooth editing experience, and has an intuitive backend. It offers you  with a significant amount of flexibility to design your pages and add the content you desire (with pre-built sections for inserting galleries, testimonials, contact forms, and more). Editing of HTML and CSS is also possible.
  • One of the finest client proofing features we’ve explored allows customers to browse, like, comment on, download, and buy photographs (you can view all client activity for each gallery). You could even make a client-facing mobile gallery app.
  • It provides advanced e-commerce features like the ability to determine tax/shipping rates, offer coupons, support customer and guest accounts, and send emails to customers who have abandoned carts. Also, the options for order fulfillment are varied, allowing you to select a lab of your choice or Pixpa’s print-on-demand partner (WHCC, situated in the US).
  • Pixpa offers some considerate marketing features to help you make the most of your website. Popups, announcement bars, email signup forms, a blog, and sophisticated SEO capabilities are some of these.
  • Pixpa gives you access to over 100 marketing, design, and e-commerce apps in Pixpa’s App Store, which can be quickly enabled on your website, in contrast to the less flexible website builders farther down our list.
  • Plans start at about $5 per month, making the pricing quite reasonable. Further savings are offered for annually or biannual plans. Pixpa doesn’t charge sales commissions (as some of its competitors do).

Why Pixpa might not be your best option for a website builder:

  • There is just a 15-day trial to try out all the features; there is no free plan.
  • You can add as many web-sized images as you want to the limitless client galleries, but the amount of full-resolution image you can upload is constrained. You’ll probably run out of space someday because the Advanced plan’s absolute maximum is 100GB; as a result, you’ll need to store at least part of your original photographs somewhere else.
  • The lower-level plans are really only suitable for very modest websites because they limit the amount of pages and non-client galleries you can have on your site.
  • Although selling services (like a picture shoot) is feasible, there is no native appointment booking feature. A Google or BookingBug calendar can be added, however doing so involves a separate step beyond the purchase procedure and prolongs the online booking process.

Pixpa pricing

Pixpa offers the following plans (prices shown are for yearly subscriptions):

  • Basic: $4.80 / month. only for tiny portfolios (no client galleries). 100 gallery images and a maximum of 5 pages.
  • Creator: $9.60 / month. includes a gallery of clients. Up to five products may be sold, and there is 3GB of original image storage available.
  • Professional: $14.40 / month. limitless pages, 25GB of storage, and marketing tools.
  • Advanced: $20 / month. Unlimited storage space as well as a 1,000 items selling limit.

When would we recommend Pixpa?

Pixpa is a very powerful tool, and we heartily suggest it to photographers looking for a affordable, cost-effective way and all-in-one platform to run their website. Its superb themes and user-friendly editor more than make up for the fact that it may not allow for as much customization as the website builders we’ve previously reviewed. It’s difficult to surpass Pixpa if you want a beautiful website with top features for selling your pictures.

5. Format – The website builder for creating a photography business:

Website Builder for Photographers

It offers photography-specific layouts, client galleries, and e-commerce capabilities, perfectly addressing both the visual and business components of a photography website. You may display portfolios with copyright protection and watermarks, as well as integrate Lightroom and Capture One.

The simplicity of the editor and backend is part of its appeal. The goal is to build a photography website that does the most crucial duties for managing a successful photography business, not necessarily the flashiest photography website.

Website Builder for Photographers

a some of the photography templates that Format offers

Although there is one significant flaw. There are no print-on-demand interfaces for printing client photography, despite the fact that Format’s client galleries are designed for sharing digital artwork.

Let’s examine Format’s pros and cons in more detail.

Why Format is great for photographers

  • Format  has a helpful step-by-step setup tutorial. If you finish it, you’ll have a neat, straightforward website that concentrates on what matters, which is bringing your work in front of customers.
  • You can choose of about 50 photography-related themes (out of a total of around 80). You can present your work in an engaging and user-friendly manner thanks to the modern and mobile-responsive designs. If you wish to advance your designs any further, there is also the opportunity to change HTML and CSS.
  • With capabilities like branding, project management, file transfers, and even contracts, the Workflow function is excellent for sharing digital work.
  • A distinguishing feature of Format is its CRM (customer relationship manager), which enables you to handle mailing lists, communications, and contact information all in one location. Also, you are able to send files to your contacts from this page and share galleries.
  • You can sell prints, packages, and presets in your own store thanks to the decent e-commerce options for digital products. You also have access to Format’s Prints Marketplace, where you can sell your artwork to buyers all over the world, if that weren’t enough.
  • Out of all the website builders on our list, Format has some of the most reasonable prices, with plans beginning at about $7 per month. There is also a complimentary plan for up to 10 customer galleries. Nevertheless, when you start need extra features, things start to get expensive (see the section below on pricing).

Why Format may not be your best website builder for you

  • In comparison to the website builders mentioned before, customization choices are limited. You can only add row-based sections; you can’t drag and drop things in. To get pages ready for publishing, some back and forth is also necessary between the editor and the designs settings section. We’d suggest Wix if you want more design flexibility and a distinctive-looking website.
  • The many pricing options can be confusing. A Portfolio plan is required to establish a website, although there is a cap of 10 customer galleries. You must choose between adding a Workflow plan or choosing a Bundle that combines the two plans if you want to raise this limit. Depending on discounts, the price for the latter plan can range from $20 to $55, so be sure you understand what you’re getting before you sign up.
  • Although you can sell services in your web store, there isn’t a calendar feature to set up appointments or photo shoots. This involves a few extra steps that can be irritating for both you and the client in the booking process (e.g., extra calls or emails).
  • The editor for contact forms is basic. Although custom fields can be added, dropdown lists and radio buttons cannot (e.g. if you want the person contacting you to choose from a list of options).
  • It’s unfortunate that customers cannot order personal prints through your website, even while there are several excellent opportunities for making money from your art. Only photos that are purchased through the Prints Marketplace can be printed on demand (e.g. landscape, nature, creative photography). Keep in mind that, depending on your plan, commissions for selling on Marketplace run from 5-15%.

There are 7 different plans offered by Format, which is perplexing. The following, however, is the most intriguing (prices shown are for yearly subscriptions):

  • Free: $0 / month. No features on the website or portfolio; simply client galleries (10 max).
  • Portfolio Basic: $7 / month. 15 pages are allowed, and 10 client galleries are included.
  • Portfolio Pro: $15 / month. 3 product sales and 100GB of photograph storage.
  • Workflow Pro: $15 / month. only client galleries (50 max).
  • Bundle: $40 / month. gives you access to client galleries and the website (250 max). 1,000 product sales and 2TB of image storage.

Reasons why we advise Format

The simplest way to create a website that is ready for exhibiting your work, sharing client galleries, and delivering the finished (digital) product is through format. For photographers who are more interested with the operational part of their business and less concerned with having the most striking design for their website, it’s a straightforward, inexpensive, and practical alternative.

6. SmugMug – The website builder for selling your photography

Website Builder for Photographers

Nonetheless, there are a few key differences. One difference is that SmugMug’s client gallery capabilities are more complete, enabling a variety of proofing features and the sale of prints directly from the gallery for customers. (There are also alternatives for buying wall art, merchandise, and digital photos.)

Also, you receive limitless storage for images that have not been compressed, and you can purchase additional RAW file storage for about $3 per month.

But, by using a simple editor and basic templates, you are making certain design compromises. Let’s investigate whether SmugMug might be useful for you.

Website Builder for Photographers

SmugMug’s small range of templates

Why SmugMug is great for photographers

  • The extensive array of editing features offered by SmugMug makes it simple to prepare photographs for clients. Through the SmugMug editor, you may add location information, crop photographs, add effects, and watermark them.
  • You may use Smart Rules to create galleries that are dynamically generated and pull photographs based on keywords, dates, or locations. This makes it perfect for making collections of stock photos and other kinds of media.
  • SmugMug offers sophisticated ecommerce tools in addition to letting customers order photographs, such as the capacity to manage pricing lists, provide coupons, and even construct packaging.
  • Customers can share, remark, love, and—most importantly—buy digital photographs and prints directly from their gallery thanks to SmugMug’s unmatched client proofing tools. Unlimited storage guarantees that your website may grow with your expanding company.

Why SmugMug might not be the best website builder for you

  • The website editor is fairly basic and doesn’t offer a lot of customizing options. With editing panes that vanish and no undo/redo buttons, the editing experience is also a touch clumsy. The HTML and CSS editing options can help you spice things up a bit if you’re skilled with code, but SmugMug won’t let you build anything more complex than a very simple site.
  • Plans begin at $13/month, which is on the higher end of the pricing range. Only the Pro plan, which costs an outrageous $42 a month, offers client galleries and proofing. Moreover, SmugMug takes 15% of each sale as compensation. So, SmugMug really only makes sense for professionals who anticipate making large numbers of sales.
  • Although it is theoretically possible to put up a blog, it requires a significant amount of manual labor. There aren’t any sophisticated blogging tools like comments, categories, or tagging. So, it is not the best option for individuals who want to use their site to attract search traffic.
  • There are no alternatives to edit form fields, and adding a contact form is not very simple. But, you can display a Wufoo form thanks to an integration, and you can integrate additional third-party forms by using the HTML function.
  • There appear to be only a few printing labs, and they are all headquartered in the US and Scotland. It might not be the greatest choice if you’re not in the US, UK, or Europe if you want to sell physical prints.
  • The number of templates available on SmugMug is quite limited. It’s not the ideal choice if you’re wanting to construct a site with a standout design because the designs are a little underwhelming and appear antiquated.

SmugMug pricing:

The monthly cost is listed here as it appears on SmugMug’s website. Be aware that annual subscriptions are eligible for discounts of around 30%:

  • Power: $13 / month. Limited e-commerce services but unlimited storage. There are no client galleries or proofs.
  • Portfolio: $28 / month. includes watermark protection, sales, and fulfillment tools.
  • Pro: $ 42 / month. includes advanced ecommerce features, client galleries, and proofing (e.g. price lists, coupons).

Why we suggest SmugMug:

SmugMug’s experience is in helping you deliver your work to existing clients and in converting that work into an income stream, rather than emphasizing eye-catching images to attract new business. As a result, we would suggest SmugMug to established photographers who are seeking for a means to simplify their delivery, selling, and fulfillment procedures and have a constant pipeline of projects coming in.

The Best website builder for photographers: Final Conclusion

We hope that our list of the top photography website builders has helped you in selecting the best one for your requirements. But in case you need a reminder, listed below are our top suggestions once more:

Do you have any questions concerning creating a website or online portfolio for your photography? Tell us in the comments section below!

We will be happy to hear your thoughts

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