Best starter hostiing -- Flickr, Wordpress, my own domain? What software?

[SteveL27]

Hi, first post. Thanks for having me!

I'm an amateur with a very minimal web presence so far. I just went out to the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco and have a few hundred frames that people would like to see. It's a huge public event and there's no point in going out and shooting all these photos and then not showing them to anyone

I want this to be the start of my online presence, and I'd like the ability to blog and allow comment on my photos. Here's my breakdown of my alternatives as I see them. I wonder if anyone can provide advice and point me to things I may be missing.

I think Flickr will let me put up a few hundred photos and they allows comment, so it looks like a good choice for what to do right now.

Flickr isn't a blog, so I looked at Wordpress. WP has two flavors, hosted by them (wordpress.com) and hosted by me (wordpress.org). In the hosted-by-them flavor, there are only a couple of photo blog templates and they don't look all that exciting. I haven't worked with them much.

In terms of hosting WP on my own domain, I eventually want to do that, so I can control the software and not have to deal with their ads or charges or policies or whatever. However I don't want to do that right now, I just want to get my Bay to Breakers pics up.

I have another alternative. I do own a hosted domain. I'm a Lightroom user, so I can just output one of their Web templates and it will build a gallery for me; then I can make a zipfile of the gallery, upload it to my site, and it will all work fine. I know how to do that.

My only concerns are 1) The LR Web templates kinds of suck; and 2) they don't allow comments.

So, any advice? What to do this week, and then what to do long term? Also if there are any LR templates that I can download that do what I want, that might be an ideal solution.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks in advance.

 

[o hey tyler]

Hi, first post. Thanks for having me!

I'm an amateur with a very minimal web presence so far. I just went out to the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco and have a few hundred frames that people would like to see. It's a huge public event and there's no point in going out and shooting all these photos and then not showing them to anyone

I want this to be the start of my online presence, and I'd like the ability to blog and allow comment on my photos. Here's my breakdown of my alternatives as I see them. I wonder if anyone can provide advice and point me to things I may be missing.

Welcome to the forum!

I think Flickr will let me put up a few hundred photos and they allows comment, so it looks like a good choice for what to do right now.

Flickr isn't a blog, so I looked at Wordpress. WP has two flavors, hosted by them (wordpress.com) and hosted by me (wordpress.org). In the hosted-by-them flavor, there are only a couple of photo blog templates and they don't look all that exciting. I haven't worked with them much.

I haven't had Wordpress host a blog for me, although they have a lot of "Big Name" users. I have however worked as the photographer/photographic editor for a non profit news source in my area (If you'd like a link to it, just PM me). We use a content manager called Django. It works extremely well, but is more intensive to setup and get running, opposed to wordpress. I know from personal experience that Wordpress loads REALLY SLOWLY unless you shell out a lot of money for a hosting plan. This has been my experience with GoDaddy hosting (WHO IS NOT A HOSTING SERVICE. I REPEAT, DO NOT USE GODADDY TO HOST A WEBSITE/BLOG.) I'd recommend Smarter web hosting - WebFaction. They kick ass, and have one click install of Django.

In terms of hosting WP on my own domain, I eventually want to do that, so I can control the software and not have to deal with their ads or charges or policies or whatever. However I don't want to do that right now, I just want to get my Bay to Breakers pics up.

I have another alternative. I do own a hosted domain. I'm a Lightroom user, so I can just output one of their Web templates and it will build a gallery for me; then I can make a zipfile of the gallery, upload it to my site, and it will all work fine. I know how to do that.

My only concerns are 1) The LR Web templates kinds of suck; and 2) they don't allow comments.

Lightroom templates DO kind of suck. But if you have a friend who's crafty with HTML/CSS, they might be able to implement Disqus into an existing LR template.

So, any advice? What to do this week, and then what to do long term? Also if there are any LR templates that I can download that do what I want, that might be an ideal solution.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks in advance.

You're welcome in present. :thumbup:

 

[ronda]

I've used GoDaddy for years without a problem. Domain name = 11.99; wordpress hosting for 150GB 7.99/month. Wordpress has 1-click install as well. You can use available templates or shop for some. You can sign month to month if you'd like. I've had great customer service from them, the few times I've needed them over the years. HOWEVER, that's just my experience. Since other people's experience with hosts/servers vary, it probably wouldn't hurt if more people added their 2¢.

 

[HikinMike]

Flickr is great place for snapshots. I would not use it for your website/portfolio. This may work for you if you only want to show off your pictures to friends/family.

You can look into Smugmug. You can build a decent looking website and depending on what plan you choose, you have the ability to set your own prices...if you decide to sell some pictures.

Wordpress is another alternative, especially if you already have a domain. Most host plans include Wordpress already uploaded. I'm sure you can find a nice photo-theme some where or design/customize one.

I did a little of all three. I have a custom website (designed by me). It's a database-driven gallery and I use Paypal for orders. I have a blog that I customized to match my website. I also have a Smugmug site, just to have another avenue for my work to be seen. I have a Flickr account, but I only upload low-res files, just to get another set of eyes looking at my work.

Hope this helps.