Free websites - Good or bad?

[PolaroidSky]

I've seen these Wix sites advertised a lot so I thought I would have a go... its free which suits me... but are they any good?...

http://www.wix.com/JAMortram/JAMortram

Would love feedback on this as I'm debating if I should fork out the expense and pay for a dedicated site or does this do the job?

Many thanks,

Jim

[Rachael DCruze]

Hi Jim,

I think that looks good. I think the simple design of the site draws all the attention to your pictures, which is obviously a good thing!

Rach

[AdamGasson]

I've always felt that a photographer's website should be quite plain, design wise, so the images are the key element. Sure you can pay hundreds of pounds a year for a fancy LiveBooks website, but ultimately you'll have the same final package - an easy to use website that shows off your work fully.

The only real advantage to paying for a website is that you'll lose the Wix advertising, but I don't think it's too intrusive as it is to really warrant that at the moment.

Adam.

[Semaj]

With a free website such as the one you have the package is there for you.
If you have your own then you would have to spend a lot of time designing it and this will be hard to keep up when you are busy. I started my website about nine years ago when I retired early and had time on my hands. Unfortunately or fortunately I had an offer I could not refuse and ended back working and now have little time to work on it.

Jim.

[ImageArcade]

Hi,

I also think it looks good. The ‘packaged’ approach is definitely a very valid one and as others have said it’s a quicker route to having your own site and showing your work.

You may ultimately find it restrictive (you may not of course), but then you can take your time over the decision whether to go bespoke or not and also may well have a better idea of what you want. One piece of advice I would suggest is that if you have the choice of using your own domain with a packaged setup (xyzphotography.com or whatever) then do it. The option would undoubtedly cost a little extra, but importantly your domain is gaining a foothold in the Internet World that will only grow with time and of course the domain is portable should you change your site at a later date.

I started my site (ImageArcade) a little over a year ago and went the bespoke route using WordPress as the backend. I have a IT/web background and I’ve really enjoyed building and developing it, but I now have no doubt that although the site works well and has plenty of options, functions and a few fancy bit that it’s lost site of the core element, which is of course the pictures! It’s now a web developers site and not really a photographers site!

Hope those views help a little.

Oh and Jim: - I have nothing but total admiration for your pictures! They are truly inspiring for me!

Cheers,
Steve

ImageArcade - Photography By Steve Ayres

[PolaroidSky]

Many thanks for the feedback and info! Very much appreciated!

[riddell]

I think they are good as a supplement to your own 'proper' site.

As a professional you simply look more professional with your own site, with a real domain address, and then of course you can design or get things designed as and how you want.

Then you have all the other advantages of owning your own site such as the ability to tailor and add all the code, keywords and everything else you need to do to get a decent google ranking.

And then finally don't forget that with your own site you have full control and ownership.

What happens if a third party company suddlenly jacks their prices up for usage? or goes bankrupt and your site goes with them...

Paul
www.photographybyriddell.co.uk

[Treehugga]

Personally I think it depends on your level of photography and where you aim to market it. Wix type sites don't look professional enough, especially with the advertising. If you are going for high-end clients then a bespoke site would be better suited. Horses for courses IMO.

I do not think it matters whether the site is free or bepoke - What matters is that it makes your photographs speak in volume to the viewer and works for you regardless. A blog is by far the least expensive and easiest way to keep higher up the search engine stack in my opinion.

[donoreo]

Being a Flash site, it turns me off strongly right away. However, your design is light, which I like. As others have said, it depends on how you want to market yourself. A domain and basic hosting can be done very cheaply.