Starting your own photography business can be a bit overwhelming, from deciding to sell your photos online, creating your own website or even writing content.
Everything takes time.
Researching the best products or services to use is also time-consuming. That’s why I’ve put together my top picks to help you launch your business faster and still get the best website and e-commerce results for your photography.
Please share this page if you know someone wanting to launch their own website or photography ecommerce store.
Squarespace – Website Builder
For anyone ready to take the leap to build their own website Squarespace is making it easy with their stress-free website builder. Choose from a wide range of ready-made templates, some specifically designed with photographers in mind.
You can have a professional looking website which showcases your style within minutes and be well on the way to landing your first client. They also have a free logo builder, built-in SEO tools, and helpful analytics so you can learn where your website traffic is coming from and what your customers are looking for.
Visit here for more details on where to build your own photography website.
WordPress.com – Website Builder
Did you know that 42% of the internet’s websites were built on WordPress? This is the original website builder. While the interface is not as user friendly as Squarespace, I’d recommend that you build your website through WordPress if you are planning to grow your business further than just an e-commerce store.
WordPress has many plug-ins available which means you can adapt your website easily as your business develops. Another note to add is pricing on WordPress is more affordable for lower level plans, which allows you to start your own website and change to a different plan if you outgrow your current one.
Click here for more details on selling your photography.
Zenfolio – Photography e-commerce
An all-in-one solution for you to sell your images without the hassle of building your own website. You upload your images, set your price and have the option to change it whenever you want. When someone licenses your image, you get exactly what you ask for.
With the added possibility to sell your images as framed prints & canvas to a worldwide audience, what’s not to love? For print orders, they handle everything from the order, production right through to delivery. For downloads, they manage the licences. Leaving you to focus on what you do best, being behind the camera!
Whether you’re an award-winning professional, a talented amateur, or a complete beginner anyone can license their images on Zenfolio and they welcome photographers from anywhere in the world.
SmugMug – E-commerce solution
An online community of creatives selling their artwork together. SmugMug welcomes both seasoned and beginners to showcase and sell their artwork on their website. When you sell a product SmugMug will produce, package and ship it for you. You focus on producing the content, and they can manufacture and distribute it.
You upload your photography, and make money on each sale. For every purchase you will earn 10% commission. You can also have control over the markup and can set your own price for art prints, framed prints and canvas prints.
Namecheap – Number one site for Domains, Hosting & Security
If you want to build a personal blog, an e-commerce site, or a business website, the first step is always buying a domain. A domain is the address of your website that people type into an internet browser. There are hundreds of places for you to buy your domain from.
After researching the best options, I settled for Namecheap mainly for the affordability and user friendly interface. Namecheap also offers web hosting services, SSL certificates, and security and privacy protection to avoid your domain account being easily accessed and hijacked by hackers.
Fiverr – Utilize a Freelancer
This website offers freelancers a platform to be able to be contacted for one-off jobs. It is a helpful website to keep in mind if you are starting a new business. You can engage a freelancer to help with logo design, creating your website or even outsourcing some of your admin tasks.
By engaging someone else to do smaller jobs that are keeping you from focusing on the bigger tasks, you can ensure that you don’t suffer burnout before you’ve even started.
Microsoft – Everyday Essential Software
If you are serious about starting your own photography business, then ensure you set yourself up for success and get yourself organised. Microsoft’s small business solutions help you build seamless workflows and maximize your efficiency.
I use the Microsoft Office suite as part of my daily workflow, and I’d be lost without it. From building proposals, organising marketing, finances or a simple to-do list, through to meeting clients remotely via Microsoft Teams. Office 365 allows you to connect and collaborate, as well as keep you organised and simplify your workload.
DISCLOSURE: I may earn a small commission from some of the links above. For the benefit of the doubt, please assume all links might be affiliate links.
Get the latest news in your inbox
By signing up to my mailing list you will be the first to hear about brand new blogs, new prints and have access to subscriber only promotions!