How to Sell Your Photos Online



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The website is an essential part of the business for most photographers. Almost every photographer has a portfolio site where they show off some of their best work, and there are plenty of options that allow photographers to create a portfolio site very easily. However, many photographers want to go beyond just displaying their photos on their portfolio by being able to sell photos through their site as well. This could include selling prints that will be shipped to customers, and it can also include sales of digital files that can be downloaded.

Although setting up a portfolio site is fairly easy, adding that e-commerce functionality can be a bigger challenge. Fortunately, there are a few good options that make it easy to sell photos from your website, and we’ll take a look at some of the best options here.

Photocrati

Photocrati

Photocrati is one of the best options for setting up your photography site because it offers a great deal of control over the design and layout of your site. Additionally, it is a template that can be purchased for a one-time fee and then you can host it on your own web hosting account, which you can get for less than $10 per month with a host like Bluehost or HostGator. In addition to giving you plenty of options for the design and layout, Photocrati also includes e-commerce functionality t hat allows you to sell your photos through PayPal. It’s an inexpensive, easy way to get your site online and start selling photos. The Photocrati template/theme costs $89.

SmugMug

SmugMug

SmugMug is one of the leading options for setting up your own site. You can choose from one of their templates to get the look and feel that you want, and SmugMug includes built-in functionality to sell your photos. You can sell prints and choose from a few different labs to handle the fulfillment of orders. Pricing ranges from $5 per month to $35 per month.

Zenfolio

Zenfolio

Zenfolio is another popular option for photographers who want to sell online. With Zenfolio you’ll get to choose from their selection of templates for your website, and they also offer e-commerce functionality for selling your photos. Your prints will be fulfilled by your choice of labs, including the likes of Miller’s Lab and MpixPro. Plans that include e-commerce start at $120 per year with higher priced plans also available.

PhotoShelter

PhotoShelter

PhotoShelter users can choose from one of the pre-designed templates, or complete design customization is also possible. You can easily sell prints or digital files from a PhotoShelter website. They have 4 pro labs that you can choose from for order fulfillment. Pricing starts at $9.99 per month for a plan with some feature limitations. Other plans cost $29.99 or $49.99 per month.

Photo Merchant

PhotoMerchant

With Photo Merchant you can choose from their selection of website templates. You can sell your photos as prints or digital downloads. You can choose to fulfill orders manually, meaning you will handle the printing and shipping, or it can be sent for auto fulfillment.Pricing starts at $9 per month, but there are some limitations on this lowest-priced plan. Other plans are available for $19 and $49 per month. Transaction fees range from 7.5% to 20% depending on your plan.

Fotomoto

Fotomoto

Fotomoto is an e-commerce option that integrates into your existing website. It allows you to sell prints of your photos, and Fotomoto handles the printing and shipping. They offer a fairly wide variety of products, including premium prints, canvas prints, fine art prints, metal prints, and more. Fotomoto offers a few different plans. They involve a monthly fee and a transaction fee. There is a free plan with no monthly fee, but the transaction fee is 22%.

Have Experience with Any of These?

If you have any experience using these systems, or any other method for selling photos from your website, please feel free to share in the comments.