Do New Photographers Need a Website in 2021
Do new photographers need a website? I would say yes, a website is how a photographer shows that they run legitimate service. And here are some of the best options. With so many options for buying your domain or picking which of the hundreds of web hosting services to choose from is enough to make…
Do new photographers need a website? I would say yes, a website is how a photographer shows that they run legitimate service. And here are some of the best options.
With so many options for buying your domain or picking which of the hundreds of web hosting services to choose from is enough to make you want to quit.
And since the web is full of information that never answers your questions you were looking for an answers for and YouTube channels that waste your time or to out of date to trust who are you supposed to trust?
Especially when your starting out and the process of creating a website is like trying to speak a language you never even heard before. Allow me to give you my humble but experienced opinion on where to go for the best price and bang for your buck.
Before I start I need to say that there is no way to get what you want from your site without spending some bucks. But the good thing about a over saturated market is that the prices drop across the board and now in 2021, it’s a great time to buy.
Watch Out!
And here’s a nickels worth of free advice.
Get ready for the learning curve if your new to web design. Making a successful website will take work and at first offer nothing but frustration but it doesn’t need to be like that.
Here is the difference between getting a site from a company like WIX or making your own through WORDPRESS.
While a site building service like WIX looks great at first it is not. WIX doesn’t offer site migration so if your business ends up growing you can never move and your only choice will be to start all over and that WILL ruin you.
They also control the price of there hosting. So if they want to over charge you at anytime for hosting you have no choice but to pay or leave. Those facts were enough for me to say no to those choices.
NOTE: If you are using a site like Name Hero, click the pic below to get discounts, you don’t need any website speed or caching plugin, it comes with it and is located in the C-panel, saves you a few coins each year.
WORDPRESS on the other hand is free and is compatible with everything. Don’t look for other builders you’ll just end up on WordPress anyway. WordPress is #1 when it comes to website builders, don’t fight it, just get it.
I’ve made all the mistakes and re-built my way back. I’ve used the free stuff and the paid stuff and here is what works.
#1 WORDPRESS & ELEMENTOR
WordPress is the #1 website builder and works perfectly with the best drag and drop builder, Elementor. Both have fully capable free versions and the team of these two is second to none and easy to use after a little use. There are a ton of resources to find out HOW these work. But if your wondering if they really do, then YES! they do!
#2 MY PERSONAL TWO CHOICES FOR HOSTING
HostGator is a very affordable hosting service with terrific customer service. Like I literally just hang out and talk to the people that work there whenever I call and they always solve the issue I may be having they offer a free SSL certificate, a free domain name and hosting starts a $2.75 – $12.75 a month. It’s simple, easy and has great customer service.
And back up security is only a extra $1.75. The picture above is also a affiliate link for even more savings. They don’t advertise and sell themselves by word of mouth and a easy to join affiliate program.
Name Hero is a newish hosting service that is very comparable to HostGator. But Name Hero uses “Lite Speed” hosting communication, or something like that, but it’s supposed to make your site faster.
I would say Name Hero is 10% better than gator but they are also 10% more expensive. They do have some better package options, for a price, but recently I’ve noticed that I call tech support for help 50% less than HostGator.
Both offer a free SSL, free domain, tech support and they are both very affordable for any budget. And regardless of which package you start with you’ll get the same attention and effort when needing help from tech support.
And as far as ease of use and website speed they are equal. A lot of YouTubers will argue that but there isn’t more than a nickels worth of difference between them.
REGARDLESS OF WHICH HOST YOU CHOOSE. NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL YOU MAKE YOUR SITE OR WHAT YOU ADD TO IT. THIS IS THE #1 THING EVERY SITE NEEDS.
WP ROCKET
This is it! This is what will save you hundreds of hours trying to figure out nonsense or searching YouTube for reasons why your site is slow. Or how to get your pictures optimized so they don’t take an hour to load. WP Rocket has saved me so much time and frustration. Starting a 8.95 a month and up is super affordable and offers all the little things like site back up and CDN.
These are my affiliate links to get you a even better deal. You have to buy a years subscription that is billed monthly and is worth every single penny. Don’t wait click the link, buy it and enjoy having FUN designing your site!
Purchasing these products is what will make that learning curve disappear. But before we say goodbye here is the man, the legend, and your website building mentor on YouTube..
Say hello to Ferdy because he is the only person you need to listen to when it comes to any of this stuff. If you follow one of his 45 minute how to videos you will save yourself 40 hours of stress and worry. He is an amazing teacher and gives you 100% of the information you need without asking for anything in return. Without him I probably would have just thrown my site out the door and just put a sign in my yard or something!