40+ The Best Website Builders For Photographers
If you want to be a serious photographer, you need to have a serious website that's pretty close to perfect!
A professional website is easy to browse, contains impressive images, and well-written, unique content that is sure to impress a potential client. On the other hand, a shabby website with poorly written content and unimpressive images will not win anyone over. Basically, websites matter significantly!
You can spend thousands on hiring a website creator. However, there is a myriad of do-it-yourself platforms to build your own website with a little effort and time on your part. If you're just starting out, presumably on a tight budget, this can be a viable option.
We've compiled a list of 40 relatively easy to use custom web design solutions that are ideal for photographers. We've kept things simple. Most don't require a lot of time to get a page up and running, with drag-and-drop capabilities. The even better news? They don't require any coding or graphic design knowledge. None. Zippo.
We've not listed them in any order of ranking or preference. If the descriptions sound a bit the same, it's probably because a lot of the builders are relatively similar. It might take some earnest browsing your part to select the one you like the best. Good luck!
1. Elementor
Used by more than 6% of all the world's websites, Elementor is a powerful WordPress website builder. It also offers a variety of features that make it an ideal choice for photographers looking to create a stunning portfolio:
It's perfect for those unwilling to compromise on anything short of a WordPress website but can't code
Elementor boasts a powerful eCommerce builder enabling photographers to monetize their images
Offers an extensive free plan
2. Wix
A lot of photographers who use Wix would argue that this is the best website builder for photographers. Here's why:
It's an advanced page editing software.
It has many photography-exclusive templates that are easy and fast to customize.
It doesn't take a lot of time to create and get a page up and running.
It's ideal for beginners.
It has Artificial Design Intelligence, an AKA ADI feature, Wix Editor, and Wix Code.
3. PhotoShelter
PhotoShelter is more than just a comprehensive website builder.
It can store your images.
It allows you to highly customize and edit your pages.
Sell your work through its e-commerce platform.
4. Weebly
Weebly offers a highly versatile and customizable option for building your own website.
It offers portfolio and unique layouts ideal for images. Just add images and text content.
You can then modify its look to suit your needs.
You can maintain or edit your page from your mobile device using their app.
5. IM Creator
With millions of websites built on their platform (according to them), IM Creator is a popular choice with both free and paid options.
You can start with its free option and upgrade at any time.
Popular with creatives, including photographers.
Creates mobile-ready and SEO-friendly websites.
You can mix & match designs from their "sets" and customize to your needs.
It's scalable according to your needs.
Offers e-commerce
6. Zenfolio
If you would like to build a website that combines your portfolio with an e-commerce platform, Zenfolio is it.
Build your site around your online portfolio and the ability to sell your images.
It offers numerous preset templates and features.
It's relatively fast to get a page up and running, even its e-commerce components.
7. Virb
Virb popular with creatives, it offers some stunning templates and a large number of features. It offers:
Cloud hosting, social media integration, SEO optimization
It has numerous page styles and themes, full video tutorials, access to their experts, and 100% mobile readiness.
8. Format
Format is a fully customizable platform that is also intuitive, powerful, offers high-definition.
It also has numerous customizable templates with its intuitive design editor.
It has galleries that are ideal for photographers and retina themes.
Mobile optimized.
Easy-to-Set-Up Online Store
Professional Domain and Email
Client Photo Galleries and Review Tools
9. Fabrik
Fabrik is a website builder that is exclusively for creatives, making it a desirable option for photographers everywhere!
Offers beautiful portfolio designs/themes.
Its intelligent layout technology adapts to your project content.
Used internationally by creatives.
Media StorageThemes
Domain names
Customer support
10. Weblium
Weblium's artificial intelligence (AI) is a serious draw for many photographers. As is its capability to create a mobile-friendly website for both amateur and professionals.
It offers more than two hundred ready-to-use template designs.
Weblium's AI - as well as its drag and drop editing - allows you to customize and edit the design to fit your needs and style.
You can get a domain name, SSL certificate, hosting, website security, unlimited storage, event tracking, and Google Analytics integrations.
11. Pixpa
Pixpa is easy to use to create a beautiful portfolio website with e-commerce, client galleries, and blog.
Drag and drop elements are easy to use.
Fully customizable website themes
Create an online portfolio.
E-commerce
Client galleries
Creates mobile-ready sites.
Clients can view, proof, purchase, share, and download images on any device.
Allows you to sell your images as prints and downloads to site visitors.
12. Strikingly
Strikingly is a beginner's dream with its user-friendly interface, which could explain why millions of users rely on it. Its many features include:
Domain name.
Blog
Analytics
Sign up and contact forms
Social media feeds
HTTPS
Customizable default templates
Customer support
13. Jimdo
Jimdo offers pretty much everything you need for a photographer's internationally appealing website:
Designs for every industry
Automatic SEO
Professional domains
Easy-to-track statistics
E-commerce
HTTPS-protected
Online portfolio
Logo creator
International presence
Customer support
14. Portfoliobox
It is, as its name indicates, a platform to build an online portfolio. But Portfoliobox is much more than that.
In-browser page editor making it highly customizable.
Web hosting
Responsive image galleries
Free domain name
Multiple marketing tools
Blog
More than 1 million sites have been built with it.
15. Viewbook
Viewbook is a photography-focused website builder that creates contemporary-looking websites. Its own website is gorgeous and clean-lined.
Various galleries from which to choose.
Visual customization is available.
E-commerce is available.
Organize your photos and invite others to view, share, or download them.
Upload directly from Lightroom® and Aperture®.
Custom domain name
Search engine readiness
Customer support
16. SmugMug
Many of its users have something to be smug about! SmugMug is ideal for photographers of all skill levels. It offers some very enticing features for users.
Chose from pre-designed layouts.
Modify templates.
Unlimited photo storage.
Powerful organization, security, privacy, and sharing tools.
You can download, print, and sell your images.
Easily upload and access photos from any device.
Customer support 24/7/364
17. Worka
Worka another website builder for creatives, it's centered around publishing your portfolio online. But it doesn't stop there with its features.
Set your preferences and upload your work.
Once you choose your design and sort your menu, you can start uploading your work.
Customisable.
No storage limits.
Start free and upgrade when you want.
18. Foliovilla
Foliovilla is good for photographers and artists and considers itself as much a community of creatives as a website builder. It is easy to use, quick and user friendly.
Create a professional portfolio website in minutes, no coding needed.
Customer service
Nicely designed themes with excellent resolution for images.
Set up for peer review.
Set up your site to track the analytics.
19. ALLYOU
ALLYOU allows you to create "a simple photo gallery, a professional online portfolio, or a unique website." Its features include:
Create your own custom design or use their free website templates.
Front-end editor
Instagram
Multimedia content
SSL-Encryption
Drag & Drop
Domain
Responsive Design
1000 Typekit Fonts
SEO
20. 8b
8b walks you through, step by step, how to build your website - for free. It probably doesn't get any easier than this.
User-friendly interface
A lot of customisation options
Easily change texts, colors, replace images and videos, set your own backgrounds.
Create on the go using your mobile phone or tablet.
HTTPS SSL Certificate
Turn your website into a mobile or desktop app in one second using PWA support (Progressive Web Applications).
Create a multi-lingual site.
21. Motion Array
Motion Array, is a great website builder for videographers. Video Portfolio Website Builder.
Quickly & easily create a stunning video portfolio website.
The platform is built by video makers for video makers.
Fully customisable site down to details such as font and color.
Use your own web domain, or use their Post.Pro domain.
Promises that you can set it up in 60-seconds. (We haven't tried it.)
22. Adobe Portfolio
Adobe Portfolio - for those with Creative Cloud subscriptions - is a good option for building a portfolio website. It offers:
Hosting
Unlimited pages
Includes a fully responsive site with a gallery of images and contact page you can modify as needed.
Behance Integration
Optimized for Any Device
Domain Names
Adobe Fonts
Lightroom Photos
23. Crevado
Another website builder design for creatives, Crevado offers a lot of customization.
Customize your design to create a unique online portfolio.
Preview changes instantly without affecting your live site and without writing any code.
It's accessible anywhere.
Their website designs are responsive and automatically adapt to mobile devices, a desktop computer, a tablet, or a smartphone.
Upload, drag and drop photos, audio files, videos, animated GIF, PDF, and Shockwave Flash files.
Privacy controls allow you to select what's public and what isn't.
24. Site123
Site123 allows you to build your own look in three steps from their wide array of templates.
Select from pre-design templates according to industry
Customizable to suit your needs
Online store
Blog
Community
Portfolio
25. EZZL
Ezzl is designed specifically for creatives! Its goal is to offer online portfolios, art inventory management, and e-commerce a pain-free process for artists. Its most advanced plan allows for:
Unlimited Artworks
Free Custom Domain Name
Likes/Saves/Follows/Followers
EZZL Profile & Artwork Promotion
EZZL Member Art Show Entry
'Commission' & 'Pro' Badges
Unlimited Inventory & Location
Unlimited Contacts
Site Web Blog
Events Management
Newsletters w/ subscribers
Remove 'EZZL' branding
Password Protected Galleries
Point of Sale & Purchasing
26. Dunked
Dunked is designed by creative professionals for creatives, it's easy for photographers to create their websites.
Select one of their pre-designed templates.
Change layout, typography, or colors of your portfolio with their simple editing tool.
Quickly upload images from your computer.
Easily embed audio and video from YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, SoundCloud, 500px, etc.
Fully responsive and retina-display-ready across multiple devices.
27. X3
X3 isn't the easiest to set up, and it's one of the most advanced of the ones we've listed. You will need a little bit of PHP and web hosting knowledge if you want to self-host. Here's what you can get:
Hosting on their servers
Customizable photo galleries with hundreds of style combinations to choose from.
It's easy to upload content to share.
Download a demo for free.
For $150, you can have a lifetime license for X3's portfolio solution, including upcoming e-commerce, search, and panorama plugins.
You have the option to pay by the month.
Functional across multiple devices
HTML5, Javascript, and CSS3.
Integration with modern browsers and optimal SEO
Panorama, Maps, Chat, Fotomoto, comments, comparison slider, carousel, video intro, and many more plugins
Audio Player
28. Moonfruit
Moonfruit is another easy-to-use website builder with no tech skills needed.
Mix and match pre-designed template blocks to customize a look for you.
Customer support available
Hosting
Domains
Email
Beautiful stock imagery
Handy apps
SEO and more
29. Wordpress
Wordpress is of the most popular platforms for websites across the globe. This is a serious website builder. With a little time invested, you can create a basic site using Wordpress; however, coding skills will help you take it to the next level. Note that there are two versions: the first allows you to build a simple site, while the other is for more serious coders.
Free WordPress.com subdomain
Powerful website hosting
Dozens of free themes
Jetpack essential features including basic SEO, site statistics, and social media sharing features
Regular updates, spam protection, and reliable hosting on servers spread across multiple data centers
3 GB of storage space
30. Shopify
If e-commerce is a large part of your goal for a new website, Shopify one might be for you. To ensure a successful Shopify website, it is important to work with a reputable Shopify development company to ensure that all of your needs are met.
Learning materials, including free video tutorials on how to start your business at Shopify Compass.
Network with other photography business owners on the discussion forums to learn from experienced sellers.
Customize your photography store without any coding or design skills using over 70 responsive themes.
Accept payments, enable mobile shopping, and process orders all from one unified dashboard.
You can use built-in SEO tools and blogging platforms to create meaningful content and integrate with social media.
Dedicated support online, on the phone, or over email.
Tailor-made apps with over 3,200 Shopify apps.
Multi-channel selling
Scalable pricing plans
31. Photoshelter
Photoshelter is focused on the photography industry and caters to the professional photographer; as a result, the more features you add, the more you will pay. It's pretty easy to build a comprehensive website on it that does everything from selling prints to backing up photos and client proofing.
No file size limitations
Easy setup
Online galleries
Ability to send clients online proof sheets, order prints online, and more.
It includes cloud storage, available directly from Lightroom, or by uploading via a web browser.
32. Duda
Duda bills itself as the fastest website builder, optimised for speed and efficiency at every stage of creating a website.
Instant content
Intuitive drag-and-drop interface
One-click SSL
E-commerce
Pre-designed website sections
Stats and analytics
On-the-go editing
Unlimited storage and bandwidth
Multiple languages
Engineered for SEO
33. Semplice
Semplice was originally created for designers to showcase their portfolio. Still, newer features make it a good option for photographers as well. It is a WordPress portfolio system. That means you're getting a customized back-end for WordPress explicitly designed to showcase your work.
Easy to create retina-ready galleries and portfolios
Hosting reliability of WordPress
Customize the interface of your website without the back-end of WordPress' traditional theme editor.
Offers a purchase-once-own-forever approach to pricing.
Once you purchase it, you get at least 12 months of updates.
34. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is one of the biggies. Known for its web hosting, it also offers free website building, which of course, they can host.
Create your website
Online store
Manage appointments, social media, and email marketing
GoDaddy InSight™, the data-crunching, smart tech that offers advice tailored to your business.
35. 500px
A lot of serious photographers use 500px. What started out as a social networking site has gone beyond that to offer a paid portfolio website service. It also offers an online store, 500px Prime, where its members can sell photographs.
Themes are intended for photographers' needs.
You can easily customize templates via preset controls to match your style.
You can edit HTML, JavaScript, and CSS in real-time (if you know how).
Drag and drop manager allows you to easily select images of their/your 500px social page vs. your professional website.
36. Orosso
Orosso allows you to build a professional website around your portfolio, with easy maintenance.
In minutes you can create a customisable portfolio.
It offers a 14-day free trial before you need to buy.
Customer support available.
Connect your site directly to social media.
37. Folio
Folio Websites is a website for creating mobile and professional photography websites. Their clean, uncluttered look sets them apart from many others. If you're looking for a contemporary aesthetic for your website, this is it.
Real-time website building tools
They work on WordPress, which is highly customisable.
Offers SEO benefits for better search ranking.
Mobile compatibility
Easily visually edit content, includes easily adding elements.
38. FolioHD
FolioHD is a portfolio platform for photographers, artists, architects, models, and designers. It offers all the essential features you need to build a website.
Its free plan supports up to 36 uploads of media files, but you have two other plans available for a fee. Paid plans offer more features such as Google Analytics, privacy options, and Fotomoto access. The power and pro plans differ in the number of uploads, which is 1000 and 2000, respectively.
39. Carbonmade
Carbonmade is a fun and intuitive website/portfolio builder made with creatives in mind.
Switch themes and layouts easily, although some of its rivals will offer more customisation and more templates from which to select.
It probably geared more toward the advanced user.
Good workflow to easily create pages and projects as well as easily upload your images.
It's pretty easy to navigate and understand while creating your portfolio.
Carbonmade Messages lets you interact with people interested in your work.
You can connect your custom domain.
You can upload directly from a Dropbox account.
40. SimpleSit
With SimpleSite, you can build your website in three easy steps, and it's specifically built for those with no previous experience building websites. Its features include:
Mobile-optimized
Gorgeous themes and designs
Create an online store
They offer customer support when you get stuck!
41. Squarespace
Squarespace is a high-end, sophisticated website builder well-suited for photographers.
It offers numerous ready-to-use layouts that save you time when designing your site.
You can review each draft first on desktop, mobile, and tablet devices before launching.
That means it's also a mobile-friendly site.
It's popular with creatives and celebrities alike.
