Website host?

[Crosslight]

Can anyone make a suggestion for me as to which website host is the best to start with?

I prefere to start free and then move up in grade, but I need the most space and lest amount of popups. What does anyone else us?

I know there are photo hosts, but I am talking about for a main page.
Or if I am missing it.. what do you suggest? I need to make a webpage for my photography and I want to customize it, maybe use a java to host my pictures, and then connect via url to flickr or something like that.

I am all ears.. what do you think works best?

stace\o/
ps.. sort of new to this forum.. so, Hi... sorry so brief.

 

[cyberlizard]

what sort of capacity are you looking for


steve

 

[Crosslight]

Hey Steve,

I want to start a business and sell my photos online. But, I want something (free) and small to start and that will be able to grow. There is so much to learn with photos being so large, so honestly, I am not sure what kind of space I will need. Lets just say this, my memory card hold 2 gigs.. but I doubt that I would want to put all
the photos I have online.

I am thinking web page because I want to eventually do all the buying and selling from the page. I currently run my ministry group off of Yahoo Pro, but the html pages are much different than photos.

I just spent 2000.00 yesterday on two cameras, so, as you might guess, I would like to start cheap.

Any advice is appreciated.

stace\o/

 

[heron]

I've used Christianwebhost.com for years, and they're very personable and efficient. They don't make lazy errors or ignore support like I've run across with other companies.

They're not the cheapest, but because of their Christian stance, they have restrictions on what types of material can be posted -- which means whatever is in the same server as your site stays quite clean. They use a very thorough spam blocker (yes, I still get spam).

Bluefrog.com used to offer hosting packages -- I'm not sure what happened, but it looks like they just offer connections now.

 

[heron]

Another direction to head -- you can sell your photos through larger stock photo companies, since driving traffic to your site is SO hard. Then you can add your site later, just as a home base link.

A good place to start --
istockphoto.com
They look for unique photos, especially symbolic ones that clients can use to illustrate a meaning. Like a fish swimming upstream, a kid losing hold of a balloon, money going down the drain.

They screen photos, then upload them for purchase. Clients pay very little, but there's a greater likelihood for volume.

This page shows the sales rates of currently popular photos:
http://www.istockphoto.com/most_popular.php

An example -- File: #3011088 had 2033 downloads, of various sizes/prices.

Instead of the photographer counting on good pay from one sale, they made $1-$15 per sale, times two thousand. No negotiation, no delivery, no paperwork clutter... just an upload and a check.

 

[Crosslight]

Thank you very much, I will check these places out. I have really been blessed by the Lord to join a new business that is JUST starting, including new cameras, so we have lots to learn. I trust the Lord to bring all the needed information.

I'll be hanging around this forum for info.. see ya later

stace\o/

 

[heron]

I have really been blessed by the Lord to join a new business that is JUST starting,

Oh, great!

Something I notice photographers doing now -- setting up a web page before each event (site/airshow07.htm)., then passing out business cards with the link to that page, which at the times is blank... but with digital, can have a few uploads later that day. That way, they get orders while people are still thinking about the event.

 

[Crosslight]

Hum.... we do have a logo for a business card, so it wouldn't take long to print some cards.. I could look into something going on local..
thanks...

stace