Want to sell prints from my website ... advice/help please!

ejm

ejm

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Hello!

I currently have a website with weebly - I am not the most tech savvy and for sharing photos it did the job.
I like it because I can modify it online rather than download (which means I can modify it anywhere) and also because it includes hosting and seems to have good space.

However I am getting people wanting to buy my photos now and the ecommerce is abysmal!
I ideally want something that looks just like a normal gallery but for each photo there is a little button that allows the person viewing to buy that print! As most of the enquiries I have had have been for digital images I am guessing self fulfilment is what I am after.

Now I have spent most of today on here searching for sites and advice.
I have looked at the likes of Zenfolio and SmugMug but for the limited sales I will be making they are far too expensive!
I do not want a huge monthly outgoing and ideally don't want something that will take a huge amount from each sale either.

I noticed a lot of people like Wordpress and use the "Photocrati" theme.
As I said above I am really NOT that clever with this kinda stuff, and I have joined wordpress but when I search the themes Photocrati doesnt appear.
If I google Photocrati it says I need to download it. Is there anything similar I can use instead that I can use online without having to download?
Also if I do end up using Photocrati, I notice there is a one off payment but it seems to have hidden the renewal costs very well, does anyone know it? Also do they take commission on sales?

Again if I take the above route, how do I get the Photocrati and Wordpress to "speak" to each other?
Or will that all become clear if I download the theme?

Finally hosting, I presume I cannot use wordpress hosting?

Honestly all helpful advice would be greatly received!!!
 
Hi, ejm!
I don't how to sell photos from Wordpress, but I know that really work - DeviantArt. This place is more for the art than photos. But their system of buying prints is awesome.
Try to look and maybe you can provide a link on your webpage to the Deviant page, just as a selling place.
 
In order to use Photocrati you probably need to install WordPress on a server through your own hosting account. I don't think you can use Photocrati on a WordPress.com account. I am pretty sure Photocrati does not take a commission from your sales. I think it just integrates with PayPal for processing payments.

At $12.50 per month SmugMug is one of the cheaper options that I am aware of. Keep in mind that the price also includes hosting. If you use WordPress and your own domain you will need a hosting account. Cheap hosting might cost $5 - $10 per month. SmugMug is not much more than that and also includes the ecommerce features. PhotoShelter is another option that starts at $8 per month.

FotoMoto is an option if you have an existing website, but on their cheaper plans they keep a pretty high percentage of the sale.
 
Hi both! Thanks so much for your replies!
Between my post and your replies I spent even more time deliberating over what to use and in the end I opted for TheImageFile. A quick search on here only found one hit but it was a positive one, and for a month trial at £1.20 I thought it was worth a gamble...So far I am very happy with it. It was a learning curve for sure because I was so used to the drag and drop "simpleton" style websites I had been using (weebly, wix etc) but it works nicely and now I am used to how it all works I am very happy with it and it provides exactly what I want :)
I did look into the likes of SmugMug but it was $12.50/month to use ecommerce ... I am limited however to 2500 images on my current solution but when I hit that limit I might well look further into smugmug, hopefully some sales will be able to cover the additional costs involved lol, but to be honest I sell a lot of "event" photos which I will probably just remove after 12 months anyway
I went off the idea of WordPress in the end when, as you say, you needed to find additional hosting etc and to be honest somewhere where it does it all in once place and takes just one fee is much more up my street. :)
 
Realise you a solution, but after doing a search similar a few years ago, I found a thread that pointed me towards Shootproof We find it to be excellent and easy to use!

Take a look.
 
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