Looking for Mac website software

Oli R C

Oli R C

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,753
Edit My Images
No
Hi all,

Can anyone recommend any software for building webpages to sell photos?

I'm using a Mac, and currently use RapidWeaver to run 2 websites. 1 is my photography site, and the other is for an MTB Trailbuilding group that I'm involved in.

I have several plug-ins for RW, and one is Payloom, which allows you to easily set up a very nice looking merchandise page. Great for my trailbuilding site, where we plan to start selling t-shirts, hats etc. to raise some cash, but not good for selling photos, as the options just aren't geared towards it - especially for a library of several hundred images.

So what I'm preferably looking for (if it exists) is something more specific, for selling photos. A plug-in for RW would be perfect, but I can't find anything like it, but I would really like to keep RW as the main base for my site.

Thanks in advance,
Oliver :D
 
hmmm...

Both interesting suggestions. Gallery 2 looks good, and I didn't realise there was database based sites for such use. I've recently set up a forum so have a little experience with PHP, MySQL etc.

Photium, I'd recently looked at, but really, I want to be able to build it all myself, and obviously there are no fees that way, although, dseered, your site does look very nice...

Cheers for the suggestions guys :D
 
Oli R C said:
hmmm...

Both interesting suggestions. Gallery 2 looks good, and I didn't realise there was database based sites for such use. I've recently set up a forum so have a little experience with PHP, MySQL etc.

Photium, I'd recently looked at, but really, I want to be able to build it all myself, and obviously there are no fees that way, although, dseered, your site does look very nice...

Cheers for the suggestions guys :D
Click to expand...

Thank you :), I use a MAC and for me Photium offered a no fuss solution, alright it cost me £185 a year but for me it was a solution that worked really well - good luck and be sure to post what you come up with !
 
Cheers ekimeno. Once again, another nice looking site, but I'm still looking for something that'll give me a gallery that people can simply click a button next to a photo, and it'll give several options (all different sizes, plus choice of finish), and add it to cart.

My problem at the minute is that I have people mail me (as instructed by my site) saying that they want to buy prints. I mail them back with payment options (even though that is also on my site), and they never get back in touch. This has happened soooo many times, and it's starting to bug me. So I want to eliminate any need to mail me.

What I want to do is probably possible with RapidWeaver, but I don't have the knowledge to do it, so I'm trying to find some software that might do it for me.

You've done well with iWeb. Didn't realise it was that good, but I do love RapidWeaver. It's worth a look if you wanted to develop your site any further.
:D
 
ekimeno said:
The web software that comes with all new macs, iWeb, is pretty damn intuitive. Mine was made with this...

http://www.mikeconwayphotography.co.uk

Just added a few Paypal buttons and works quite nicely - nothing fancy, but gets the job done.
Click to expand...

Nice looking site but £5 is way to cheap for a High-resolution digital images, your sell a file that could be printed at A£ for half the price of a 6 X 4 print.
 
andrewc said:
jalbum and chameleon skin or eos template skin?
Click to expand...

Cheers andrewc. Downloaded it and it looks pretty nice, BUT, I don't see the ability to add any purchasing options. Am I missing something? :thinking:
 
You're right. Bloody well hidden though. I had to click on settings, click the Chameleon button, then scroll along the menu bar all the way to the end.

Well this is looking quite promising. One more thing though. I think I know the answer to this, but, if you build up an album, and click on Make Album, is that the equivalent of exporting the album, ready for upload via FTP client? Looking at the resulting files it creates, it looks to me like this is the case.

:)

 
I just used clikpic to create mine. dead simple but it depends whether you want to buy a ready-made tempalte or code your own. If it's the latter my knowledge would fit on the back of a half-eaten stamp!! :)
 
whiteflyer said:
Nice looking site but £5 is way to cheap for a High-resolution digital images, your sell a file that could be printed at A£ for half the price of a 6 X 4 print.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've started increasing the prices as per my latest gig - a mountain bike event. Now £7.50 a digital image & £15 for an A5 print. Getting more sales at higher price too! :woot:
 
specialman said:
I just used clikpic to create mine. dead simple but it depends whether you want to buy a ready-made tempalte or code your own. If it's the latter my knowledge would fit on the back of a half-eaten stamp!! :)
Click to expand...

Cheers specialman. Another dandy looking site, but really I'm after a program to work myself.

I'm currently going with andrewc's suggestion of Jalbum. Seems to do exactly what I'm after.

:D
 
Ok, I've set up my first gallery using Jalbum. All is well apart from one small thing. When I add something to cart, and it takes me to PayPal Cart, currency is in USD. I can't seem to find an option within PayPal to sort this out, so I'm starting to wonder if it's just happening to me since the last thing I used PayPal for, was to buy something in dollars.

So can someone pay my gallery a visit, add something to cart, and tell me what happens...

www.olivercoatsphotography.co.uk/Avalanche/index.html

Or just offer a solution in the first place ;)

Cheers :D
 
Oli R C - I must say that I love your site - very nice design. Only crit is that the gallery page that you've created (with the buying buttons) goes away from how the rest of the site looks. I know that photos on a black background work well, but it's as if I'm being taken to a different site altogether when I look at this gallery.

Checking paypal options now...

Still showing USD and btw, your P&P charges aren't reflected in the final payment options. Just a thought... why not include the P&P charges in the price of your photos?
 
Cheers ekimeno. I'm planning on redesigning the site to blend in with the new galleries, and I've always like photography sites with black backgrounds, so that's what I'll do.

I've corrected the PayPal issue, but haven't uploaded yet. But regarding P&P, according to the software, I've set a flat rate of £2.50 per cart, and I assume this is added at Checkout (rather than just cart), but I can't check that 'cos when I try, it says I can't send money to myself.

Only thing about including it in price of photos is that it'll add it for every photo added to cart.

Notice I've not yet linked the new gallery to my site, so not a problem that things arn't working properly just yet.
:D
 
OK, at checkout stage - still showing price in USD and the P&P charges are not added. ie.

6" x 4" Print Qty 1 $3.50 USD

TOTAL: $3.50 USD
 
Also, I thought my prices were cheap. You're practically giving yours away!

Recommend upping them by 2x - this will still be reasonably priced and the perceived value of the prints goes up by your customers :thumbs:
 
I've upped my prices!

PayPal is showing GBP for me now. I had to empty my cart before it did so. Could be a caching issue for you?

I've had a fiddle with the P&P settings, so I'll upload it soon and see if it works.


:D
 
Right, GBP now working (probably was a caching issue...)

BTW - I'm selling a 6 x 9 print for £15.00 - this is generally considered pretty reasonable. Remember, it's not the cost of getting the print made that you should be considering, it's your time vs your skills vs equipment you've used that should be factored into the pricing....
 
Yeah. Fair point. I think I was just hoping that folks would opt for the larger prints, where margin is much larger.

I'm still having a problem with P&P at the mo. In the software, you can add it per item, OR you can check the Flat Handling Cartwise box, and enter an amount there. Only thing is, it ain't doing what it says on the tin. No matter what combination I use, it either adds per item, or not at all.

:bang:
 
Oli R C said:
Yeah. Fair point. I think I was just hoping that folks would opt for the larger prints, where margin is much larger.

I'm still having a problem with P&P at the mo. In the software, you can add it per item, OR you can check the Flat Handling Cartwise box, and enter an amount there. Only thing is, it ain't doing what it says on the tin. No matter what combination I use, it either adds per item, or not at all.

:bang:
Click to expand...


I think I ran into this problem as well... include P&P in your prices!

Also, are you having to create new buttons for every photo? That must be a mission and a half if you are...
 
No. It's doing it all for me. Quite nifty I think. You just enter the info in all the fields.

I think including P&P in price is my only option, but it's a shame 'cos it's not what I wanted to do, and the software says it can do it. It just won't (although I'm sure it's me really. I just can't work it out, but not for lack of trying.)

So all that decided, all I need to do now is overhaul my website, and set up more galleries for all my different events.

All while watching the F1 qualifying, decorating the living room, and editing and putting onto CD some photos for my boss!!! AAARRGGHH !!

Cheers for your help ekimeno :thumbs:
 
No worries, mate. Busy uploading some changes on my site too - all while doing laundry, cleaning up and now a big grocery shopping mission. God, aren't bank holiday weekends meant for relaxation?

BTW - you've got some excellent skills with the MTB shots :thumbs:
 
Finally, I've got it all done...

Site has been redesigned, and all my galleries have been uploaded.

Jalbum has done the trick, but it is a bit fiddly to use. Would recommend it, but be prepared to upload things a dozen times before you've got everything correct.

Cheers to ekimeno for your help, and to everyone else with their suggestions. Especially andrewc who suggested the program I actually used.

Criticism welcome, but I know it's a bit sparse at the mo, but will add a few extra things over the next few days/weeks.

:thumbs:

www.olivercoatsphotography.co.uk

Even later edit - I first edited this post to add my URL after seeing that my signature wasn't showing. Then after I submit my changes, my signature now shows :thinking: Well now you have 2 links to click on...
 
First thoughts of home page - shouts action!

Liked the previous home page version of your site more... but for the type of stuff you're doing this one seems more appropriate.

The galleries work nicely and so do the Paypal options ;)

Only thing..... when I was browsing your gallery I had difficulty finding the home button, but realised after 10-15 seconds of looking around that it was actually the 'Back' button... not too obvious. I can imagine someone less internet literate being a bit more confused. I'd suggest having the same menu options you have on your homepage displayed throughout your site.

Otherwise, great site, mate - well done! :)
 
Cheers ekimeno. I'm with you about my last site. Kinda was nicer, but like you say, I think the new one may work better. (Hopefully will!)

Also the back button. I had originally changed the wording to 'Back to main site', but somewhere along the line decided to change it back to 'Back'. I think it was 'cos I thought it made the gallery sections more 'detached' from the rest of the site. I think I'll change it to -'Back to events selection', or something like that. The bad thing with Jalbum is that to change just those few words, means I have to re-upload ALL of the galleries. No real hardship, but it's still a pain in the arse, and takes quite a while (and I'm guaranteed to do something wrong along the way).

Unfortunately I can't have the same menu as the rest of the site 'cos I'm limited to what Jalbum offers, UNLESS I can frame the jalbum pages WITHIN pages on the main site. Something to experiment with I suppose.

But anyway, cheers for the feedback. It's the best way to find any problems.

:thumbs:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top