One of the most important things a Photographer needs to focus on is their website and the impression it makes on potential clients. The difference between an okay website and a great website could translate to hundreds in potential sales.
But what makes a website great? Simply put, one that converts.
The key to a highly convertible website is ensuring you create a layout that best showcases your work and sets the right mood for the services you provide. But what if you’ve never built a website before and you have no idea where to even start?
The truth is, you’re far from alone. Most photographers aren’t secretly professional web designers and have never used html in their life. Luckily, there are plenty of great drag and drop website builders out there to choose from.
Website builders make creating your dream photography site possible, and much easier to make. We’ve worked with dozens of different interfaces and created a list of the best website builders of 2018 so you can pick what best works for you!
We share tips and tricks like this daily to help photography businesses just like yours scale up! Join our Facebook group now and see the difference it can make in you business!
1. WordPress
Okay, so WordPress isn’t exactly a website builder, it’s technically a CMS (content manager system). The thing is, WordPress has themes and plugins that can help you create some beautiful websites very easily. WordPress is used by about one third of websites today, and that’s what makes it so powerful.
There’s a HUGE amount of customization that you can achieve for your website with the help of WordPress. It’s long list of plugins and themes allow users to do basically anything in regards to your web design. Here is one of our favorite and most utilized web-builder WordPress plugins:
Elementor
Elementor gives you the freedom to design your website with an easy to use drag and drop editor that remains left aligned as you scroll through your site. It also allows you to preview your site on desktop and mobile while offering you a variety of pre-made templates to make your web design experience even easier.
Elementor has a free plan, as well as some affordable paid options that give you more even more ways to customize your site.
The bottom line: Elementor offers you flexibility and countless choices to mold your website into what you want with an unbeatable starting price-FREE.
ShowIt
ShowIt is another great website builder that offers you a little more freedom, in terms of design, compared to Elementor. You’re able to place objects exactly where you want to rather than confining to a sectional template. The building on ShowIt is more defined by mouse gestures and is a slightly less intimidating platform for first-time builders.
It also provides countless beautiful templates to choose from; making setting your website up in less than a day an absolute possibility!
ShowIt is a great choice for many photographers, with different pricing plans to choose from based on your budget.
The bottom line: ShowIt offers users a simple and easy way to design a site on desktop and mobile alike. Their mobile builder is one of the best we’ve come across, which is important since it’s where a majority of your audience will be viewing your website.
Prophoto
However, there have been complaints of limitations with it’s builder tools in older versions. Prophoto was able to improve their builder significantly in the most recent update, Prophoto 7. It is now it easier to navigate and understand, and includes more tools that grant the user additional creative freedom.
The bottom line: Prophoto offers a one time payment that includes lifetime access to all updates and changes. Their price is on the higher end but can be worth the investment if fully utilized
2. Squarespace
A majority of their templates are perfect for photographers trying to showcase their portfolio and products.
There are some things to consider before you take the plunge. Squarespace is a little more on the pricey side and isn’t the most user friendly.
The bottom line: Squarespace offers great templates and customization for your website, but is more of an upfront investment.
3. Weebly
This website has built in CRM features and is a great choice for photographers who want to implement email marketing and website creation all from one source. Weebly has a variety of plans based on budget, but again, is a more expensive choice if you aren’t utilizing their free version.
With customizable templates for your emails and web page, it’s easy to obtain a consistently professional and sleek look for your brand— a definite plus for your investment.
Weebly’s marketing features allow you to create coupons and sell products directly from your site. You can implement these features into your emails for special promotions and seasonal specials. It’s completely up to you!
The bottom line: Weebly offers customizable page and email templates with a site building platform that is very similar to that of Elementor. It’s the best all-in-one option, but does come at a price for those additional features.
4. Wix
Wix is one of the most popular website builders currently on the market, and it’s for a reason.
They have a HUGE selection of designer templates, and they have some of the most advanced features in the game. They offer 24/7 customer support, which is great for beginners who run into some issues here and there.
Their pricing is similar to that of Squarespace, but they do offer a free plan with Wix branding included on the site.
The bottom line: Wix has a great website builder with plenty of features to customize your site for your exact needs – but keep in mind, if you decide to change your theme later, you’d have to start from scratch.
So with all of these choices, which is best for photographers?
What we Recommend for Photographers
These website builders all have their pros-and-cons, but there’s no doubt that WordPress themes much like ShowIt and Elementor are the best builders for photographers.
ShowIt allows such a vast amount of freedom for your site, and is worth the ticket price. Great examples of highly convertible ShowIt sites would be ones like ashleeruss.com and americanvixenboudoir.com.
Join our Facebook group to get more insight on the next steps to improving your photography business. Your website is a major factor in your credibility as a photographer, and will definitely attract higher paying clients with an optimized layout, but there is so much more you can do to help you scale.
So, what are you waiting for? You now have the ability to create a high converting website with the help of these website building tools – use them!
Humberto Garcia is the world’s leading photography business growth expert.
Founder of Photography to Profits and high-performance coach to multiple 6-figure photography businesses. Humberto coaches photographers from his special operations military experience and photography sales and marketing experience. After years of high performance in Marine Special Operations and building businesses, he knows what works.
