On 16th April 2003, I first launched my fotopic site - then Southern Hampshire Buses. Today it has gone - through no fault of my own having been a reliable premium subscriber for 5+ years, but I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to announce my new website. The 16th April can be the birthday of my new photo site.
After discussing the various options with fellow enthusiasts - flickr, smugmug, blue lemon, webs - I've decided to go for smugmug. I'll do the 14 day free trial - and if everything is going well, I'll pay the money and keep the site.
The positives and negatives of my decision (please note: this is purely from an outside point of view - I haven't even registered an account on any of them yet):
Flickr: + simple to use, + well known, + the most used photo hosting software by enthusiasts now, + yahoo based so very secure for long term; - small images, - poor front page layout (not like fotopic), - confusing sorting system
Smugmug: + simple to use, + adaptable front page (like fotopic), + own web name, + easy access to larger photos, + relatively inexpensive, + can turn into mini-website; - no system (from what I have seen) to show large images immediately, - no long term free option, - no thumbnails, - silly name
Blue Lemon: + simple to use, + free, + adaptable front page, + structure adaptable similar to smugmug, + I have Matt who is an IT whizz who is already on it; - not well known, - smaller images (cannot show larger images straight away), - thumbnails
Webs: + I already have an account and have been a long serving satisfied yet free customer, + good, reliable source; - too much like hard work to organise / load images; - quite expensive compared to other options
*** LINK TO MY NEW WEBSITE *** - http://southernenglandbus.smugmug.com/
Comments welcome - in particular the layout. How does it compare to http://www.devongeneral.co.uk/ and http://www.davidaheath.com/ - comments regarding services and layouts rather than photos please :-) thanks.
Yours & other smugmugs look far nicer than any Fotopic site I have ever seen. That is a plus. Prefer devongeneral layout because of the subtle background colour but afraid that davidheath is too stark.
ReplyDeleteYou get quite an idea about smugmug via davidheath. I like the way you see the gallery on the left with a large version on the right. Easier to use than Fotopic, IMO.
Yes, a silly name but it seems you can use a proper domain to conceal it.
BTW, don't think that being Yahoo necessarily guarantees Flickr - just look at Geocities.
A good start - gave me a feeling of what Worthing is like today and was easy to navigate - I opted for thumbnails and then a slideshow which you can positively whizz through if you feel so inclined.
ReplyDeleteAgree about the silly names though, hence you confusing melons with lemons !!!
Thank you both of you - comments much appreciated. I've changed the style across the photo gallery so the user can select how they want to look at the photos and have uploaded some more photos too.
ReplyDeleteThanks again.