Photographers Handbook

Published by Cris Mitchell

I know I know if you’ve ever heard me speak on the topic of web design and development you know that I’m rather vocal in my opinions against the use of Flash for websites.

Typically, Flash based sites if not built with a huge amount of forethought can be clumsy, cumbersome, difficult to manage and virtually impossible to SEO (Search Engine Optimize). Over the years I’ve spent countless hours talking clients down from the ledge and keeping them from committing CyberSuicide.

Have I painted a bleak enough picture for you yet? If Not Click to Read On…

Having been in this industry for longer than I care to admit, I’ve tried just about every Flash Web Design tool on the market dating back to the earliest incarnation of Flash, which was called Future Splash Animator by a company called Future Wave Software, later sold to Macromedia and then Adobe where it lives on today. Some of these tools have shown great promise while others were just downright abysmal. As photographers we need to find ways to simplify our online work not add hours to our already hectic schedules.

Several companies including BigFolio, Showit Sites, BluDomain, LiveBooks and a few others offer Flash based website templates with a slick content management backend systems for making your site a little easier to manage. Though these services make your flash site more manageable, they still require some level of web savvy to manage. All require a sizable investment anywhere from $100.00 - $500.00 and up as well as some form of monthly hosting fee. Not as much as a custom developed Flash Website but enough to sting a little. The downside of all these services is you end up with a website that ends up looking like a million other photographers websites because even though you have customized some colors and settings it’s still based off the same template, not great if you are trying to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack, remember we are trying to be different.

Ok if your still with me, you are either not easily deterred or are bound and determined to use Flash for your new website! If you fall into the later camp then all hope is not lost.

I was recently introduced to a company called WIX. The folks at WIX have developed a super slick online application for creating flash based web content. Originally developed for users wanting to create flash based greeting cards as well as younger users wanting to create flash widgets for their myspace pages etc… A whole new generation of older business minded users have began to adopt WIX and have turned this drop dead simple program into a full blown website development tool.

Visit www.wix.com and literally within a few minutes you can have an entire website built by either using one of their premade templates and plugging in your content (I highly suggest against unless you need something down and dirty) or start with a blank template and add your own personal graphics, content and images. The interface is so simple and seamless it actually feels like you are working on a normal desktop application. Since it was originally developed for a younger audience the interface does seem a little bit juvenile but don’t let that turn you away from giving WIX a whirl because the power underneath the hood is all professional!

WIX offers just about everything a photographer could ever want in a website including:

• 5 different styles of Web Galleries for managing images
• Prebuilt widgets; including audio players, Google Maps, Forms and Pay Pal all accessible with the click of a button.
• Audio and Video Media players
• Scads of clipart, backgrounds, page frames and buttons for sprucing up your site

If your a designer or a photographer who needs to develop several different websites the coolest thing about WIX is that you can create as many different sites as you want from within your single account. Oh and did I mention WIX is absolutely FREE. You can host your sites on their servers for no cost to you at all, however your site will not have a personalized url and will look something like this http://www.wix.com/coastalfog/cmpm it will also have the WIX logo on your site, probably not what you want if you are using this for business purposes. However each site under your account can be upgraded to 1 of 4 different packages ranging from $4.95 - $12.90 per month per site depending on your needs and requirements, once you upgrade the site you can point your domain name directly to the WIX servers and blammo your fully customized, fully manageable flash based website is now online and banner ad free.

Other features of the paid WIX plans include:

• Use of your own Domain
• Backup
• Search Engine Optimization (yep even though it’s a Flash website, the folks at WIX have found a way to have it picked up by the major search engines.)
• Google Analytics
• Premium Support

Support
Let me talk a little bit about WIX Technical support. I signed up for an account with WIX and had a little technical difficulty out of the gate, which turned out to be browser related and nothing to do with WIX, I was promptly contacted by WIX support who helped me solve all my issues. Upon telling them I was the owner of a Network of Photography sites I was personally contacted by the CEO of WIX to make sure I was adequately taken care of and have since have had conversations with other members of WIX all of whom have been super friendly and willing to take my input on their product for future development. That is what I call support! As photographers we should be giving our clients the same level of support as the folks at WIX provide their users.

I’ve talked specifically in this post about creating a full blown website using WIX, but beyond that WIX can be used to also create Mini Sites, eflyers, Video Skins, eBiz Cards and much more the only limitation is your imagination.

So in the end, I think I’ve finally found a special little corner for flash in my heart with WIX. If you are entertaining the thought of building a Flash based website I suggest you first check out WIX, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what they have to offer and the cost at which they offer it. Since their basic offering is absolutely free you have nothing to loose.

Watch the video and see for yourself how easy it is to build a site with WIX.

Apr 16, 2009
Filed under: INTERNET TOOLS, WEB DESIGN, WEBSITE SOFTWARE, flash, Online Applications, Web Site Tools, Wix.com