Choosing the right website for you is important as this will sometimes be the first port of call for potential clients. Your website needs to be clear and easy to manoeuvre, but can also tell people about you.
There are many different companies out there, all trying to entice you into using their platforms. The big names out there at the moment are Squarespace, Wordpress, Wix, Cargo, Format and more. Each company have their own styles with some being more flexible than others when it comes to designing your website. Square Space has a wide range of templates to choose from with simple gallery layouts to more contemporary tiled layouts. However there are limitations on where you can place your images within the template you have chosen. Whereas with Format and Cargo, you have a lot more freedom to choose and design exactly where you want your images and text to sit on the page. It does depend on what your personal preference is. What platform you choose may also come down to pricing. Wix do a free version however you will always have ‘wix’ somewhere in your URL. If you do not want this then there will be a monthly or yearly fee to pay.
Personally, I have chosen Squarespace as the platform used for my website. I like their clean designs and was happy with where my images sit on the page and has enough room for me to change the font of the text and background and font colours. It was easy to connect my domain name from GoDaddy to my Squarespace site and I find it is easy to move around the site once complete.
When thinking about what to add to my site, it is important to write that I am no longer a ‘student’ and instead a ‘photographer,’ graduating in 2020. Doing this will enable me to start my professional career.