The best website builder for photographers: build an online home for your images
Display your photographs online in the most professional looking way, using the best website builder for photographers.
The best website builder for photographers allows you to give your images an online home that you, and only you, design and control. One that looks so much more professional than just using Instagram, which gives you very little leeway in how your pictures are presented, and makes you a slave to its ever-changing algorithm.
Yes, you have to pay for a website builder. But your online portfolio is how the vast majority of potential customers and followers will discover your work, so it's worth the investment.
We've reviewed and tested each of the website builders below carefully, and we present them below with all the relevant details you need to make your choice. (If you just want to get started, though, the short version is that Squarespace is the best website builder for photographers overall). For further options, see our guide to the best website builders for small businesses and our list of the best website builders for artists.
Quick list
If you just want a quick overview, we've summarised the best website builders for photographers just below, including why we think they're top-notch.
Squarespace is the best website builder for photographers overall, even if it's not specifically aimed at them. It has the most attractive templates to display your images, and you can add a blog and online store.
Read more below
If you're on a budget, Wix is a great choice of website builder for photographers. There are lots of templates and it's both cheaper and easier to use than Squarespace. Start with a free plan, and then upgrade when you need to.
Read more below
Format is the best website builder that's specifically aimed at photographers. Its photography workflow management tools, generous high-res photo storage and impressive portfolio themes make it the pro's choice.
Read more below
Hostinger is a great choice for photographers wanting to get serious about their business. It offers exceptional marketing and e-commerce integration with audience analytics, and has some useful AI tools for building your website too.
Read more below
A lot of people use Adobe software, and if you're signed up to Creative Cloud then chances are you already have access to this intuitive portfolio builder, which is compatible with other Adobe apps like Lightroom and Photoshop.
Read more below
Zenfolio has been specifically designed for photographers and is a great choice for event photographers who are looking to offer password-protected client galleries, with unlimited storage.
Read more below
Best website builder for photographers overall
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Want people to hire you? Then you'll want your website to look as attractive as possible. For this reason, Squarespace is our pick as the best website builder for photographers... even though it's not specifically aimed at them.
Squarespace is targeted at creatives, though. And as such, it has the most elegant and minimal templates of all the web builders. Which makes it a superb choice for photographers wishing to showcase their work online.
Our reviewer lauded this platform for its intuitive interface and abundance of creative-centric templates, making it particularly appealing to those who want to showcase their work without getting bogged down in complex web design.
One of Squarespace's standout features for photographers is its gallery blocks, which allow for flexible and visually appealing displays of images. The drag-and-drop functionality and easy customization options for fonts, colors, and layouts further enhance its appeal to visually-oriented users. With support for all major image file types, photographers should find it easy to upload and display their work.
The platform offers over 200 templates, including specific categories for photography, giving users a strong starting point for their websites. It also includes e-commerce capabilities, allowing photographers to sell their work directly through their website. That said, the fees for these transactions can be high, particularly on the Business plan which charges a 3% fee per transaction.
While there are some other limitations, such as file size restrictions (20MB for images, 160MB for videos), these are unlikely to be deal-breakers for most photographers. Overall, the review this is a robust and user-friendly platform that makes it easy to create a professional-looking website to showcase and potentially sell your photography work.
For more details, see our Squarespace review.
Best budget website builder for photographers
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
If you're on a budget, Squarespace may be too expensive for you right now. In which case, Wix Studio is more affordable, and will let you create a basic site, quickly and easily.
Wix Studio is not specifically aimed at photographers: it's a mass market platform catering for all kinds of small businesses. But it does have a large selection of easy-to-use photography templates, for everyone from wedding photographers to photojournalists. And while they aren't as beautiful as Squarespace’s or Format's (third on our list), there are many options to customise them using third-party apps.
Wix Studio goes beyond just showcasing work. It offers e-commerce functionality, allowing photographers to sell prints or digital downloads directly through their website. This feature could be particularly valuable for photographers looking to monetize their work online.
The platform also provides social media integration tools, making it easier to connect a Wix website with social media channels. This can be beneficial for photographers who maintain an active social media presence alongside their portfolio website.
Wix wins over Squarespace in a couple of ways. First, its template-based interface is even easier to use than Squarespace's. And second, it's payment plans are cheaper. On the downside, our reviewer found that while Wix is flexible, it may not offer the level of customization that some might desire. There's a feeling that Wix sometimes tries to "pigeonhole" you back into its way of doing things when you attempt more unconventional designs.
For more details, see our full Wix review.
Best professional website builder for photographers
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Unlike Wix or Squarespace, Format is a website builder that's aimed squarely at photographers. As such, it's packed full of features specific to the discipline.
First, there's the client-proofing system. This allows you to put together private, password-protected albums for clients – with watermarked images if you choose. If you often share dozens, or even hundreds, of images from each shoot, this is a great time saver. Obviously, it's more user-friendly for clients too.
Format also lets you upload images to your site directly from Lightroom or Capture One. Plus, if you’re worried about copyright theft, you can disable right-click on the images in your portfolio to stop visitors from downloading them without permission.
You can also manage your site using the iOS app. And you can sell photobooks, prints, Photoshop actions, Lightroom presets and more to the public, by adding an online store to your website.
When we tested out Format for our review, we found the interface a little confusing to start with, but overall it didn't take too long to set up our first site. Support via chatbot was fast and helpful, although note that there's no phone or email options.
We found Format’s sleek, modern templates to be beautifully minimal and show your work off to great effect, although we feel that Squarespace still has nicer ones. That said, it’s a close-run thing. And if specific features like client proofing and disabling right-click appeal, Format is a great choice.
For more details, see our Format review.
Best AI website builder for photographers
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Hostinger has massively improved since we first reviewed it back in 2020 and now comes equipped with everything you need for building and hosting a professional photography website. Hostinger allows you to go beyond a simple portfolio website, with integrated e-commerce functionality to sell products and manage orders, plus analytics integrated with social media to discover your customer base.
If you're looking for a complete package with your website, including marketing integration, then Hostinger is a great choice. There are options to have your website up and running in just a few clicks, and designed using AI too. This method will mean you don't get to stamp your personal vision on how the site looks and feels, but if you're in a hurry and/or just don't want the hassle, it means you can get a website live very quickly indeed.
The interface can also generate alt text for images, and can automatically produce a site map, plus you get a free 12-month domain too. Finally, the e-commerce and marketing functionality of Hostinger is great for taking your business to the next level, if and when you decide to sell things directly to the public.
See our full Hostinger review (2020)
Best Adobe website builder for photographers
05. Adobe Portfolio
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Do you subscribe to Creative Cloud? If so, you already have free access to Adobe Portfolio, which gives you an easy way to get set up with a portfolio website online. Even if you're not sure about Adobe Portfolio, trust us; it's worth a try.
When we used Adobe Portfolio, we found that you don't get a lot of flexibility in the layout and functionality of your site. You have the choice from just 12 themes, which is drastically less than you'd get with Squarespace and Wix. But these are nicely designed, and for most photographers, they'll do a good job of showing your work in a professional light. And with a bit of fiddling around, you can customise these to a certain extent to match your vibe.
Adobe's special sauce, though, is integration between its apps, and so Adobe Portfolio makes it easy to pull in images and other content you may have already uploaded to Behance, Lightroom, Photoshop or Adobe Stock. This can make it a smooth and easy experience to populate your portfolio site. (That said, if you don't use Creative Cloud apps already, that won't be the case.)
Adobe Portfolio automatically reduces the resolution of the image so it won't take too long to load for visitors to your site. There's a way of adding watermarks if you're worried about people stealing your pictures, and your Adobe subscription pays for unlimited hosting and bandwidth, so you can have as many pages, and uploads as you like. On the downside, you can't add sales pages, so if your main reason for having a website is e-commerce, then you'll need to look elsewhere.
If you don't have an Adobe subscription yet, then check out our guide to the best Adobe Creative Cloud discounts available right now.
Best website builder for event photographers
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Zenfolio is specifically aimed at photographers, and well known in the profession. Specifically, the more expensive plans provide special support for school portrait sessions and event photographers, including password-protected folders and the ability to add packaging and pre-orders for prints.
Its interface is easy to use, and you can have a good-looking portfolio site up and running within hours of starting a plan or 14-day free trial (which you can get without putting in any credit card information).
The templates don't have the most exciting designs: if you want nicer ones, you'd be looking at Squarespace. And there aren't too many of them, certainly not compared with the hundreds you'll find at Wix. But both the quality and the number of templates will still be fine for most photographers.
Unlimited storage is available on even the cheapest plan. That means you can batch-upload albums and galleries without worrying about space. Don't, however, choose Zenfolio if you want a lot of customer support. There’s no phone line or live chat, so if you need help, you have to fill in a form and wait for an email; average resolution times are listed as four hours.
Best coding website builder for photographers
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
If you're part of a photography team that has a web developer on board, or you're one yourself, then Editor X is worth looking at. Launched by Wix in 2021, it gives you full code access, so you can add extra functionality to your site by uploading custom code. The platform comes with advanced developer tools for custom Javascript, CSS, and HTML code, custom databases, and APIs too.
Two things that let Editor X down are the mediocre blogging tools (it runs the Wix Blog app) and the lack of unlimited storage, even with paid premium plans. If you intend to upload a lot of high-res imagery or detailed blog entries then you might be better off sticking with a platform like Squarespace. It does have great e-commerce support though, with a management panel and real-time collaboration for your colleagues to edit your website at the same time.
See our full Editor X review for more info.
Best website builder for photographers with smart features
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Fabrik is a website builder that does something quite special. Start by uploading your high-resolution photos, and the AI will do the rest. We especially like the smart focus feature, which focuses on the 'most interesting' parts of your images but, crucially, you can also edit manually so you retain final control.
There's no integrated shopping function on Fabrik, but you can use a plugin to add an e-commerce store to your page, which is fully explained by Fabrik with a helpful tutorial. You can also add in media from whatever service you'd like.
You can easily change your layouts to try out different combinations and the interface is a dream. Plus, you can use Google Analytics and keep your own domain name. We loved it when we reviewed it back in 2016 (see our Fabrik review here), and it's gone from strength to strength since, as the glowing user reviews show.
Best ecommerce website builder for photographers
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
If you're looking to sell prints, photobooks, workshops and so on, directly to the public, we recommend Shopify. Because while it’s not specifically aimed at photographers, it is the best web builder for ecommerce and business purposes, bar none.
When we tested it out for our Shopify review, we found the setup wizard made it relatively quick and easy to set up an online store. Just as importantly, the vast range of third-party integrations made it easy to integrate our Shopify site with Instagram, Facebook and other social media. We also got to choose from a range of payment options, and a variety of marketing tools to help promote our site.
When it comes to customer support, you get a fantastic choice of four channels: chat, email, phone, and community (forum) support. As part of our review process, we sent a test question, and got a full response in only a couple of minutes, which we found pretty impressive.
Overall, Shopify costs more than other website builders such as Squarespace and Wix, but you are getting the gold standard in e-tail, so hopefully you'll make extra money as a result.
To learn more, read our Shopify review and see our comparison article, Wix vs Shopify: what's the best ecommerce option? You may also want to read our guide to the best places to sell design online.
Best website builder for student photographers
10. SmugMug
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
SmugMug is a great choice for photography students, due to its low-cost subscription options, easy useability, and the app-compatible nature of the web builder, meaning you don't need access to a laptop or desktop to update your site. Using the SmugMug app makes things so much easier when uploading to your photography website on the go, while out on a shoot, on the train home or during a seminar.
Like Format, SmugMug is specifically aimed at photographers. And offers password-protected galleries, watermarking, the ability to disable right-clicking on downloading images, and it has a Lightroom plugin. Its fully responsive templates look smart and professional, and there are good e-commerce options too if that's an avenue you want to explore.
When we reviewed SmugMug, we found its interface pretty user-friendly, and it was easy to get up and running, although customising our site was a little fiddlier than with Format. Perhaps more significantly, though, we were surprised to discover you can only access the full range of templates on the expensive plans. Similarly, you get 24/7 support by email only on the cheaper plans, although pay more, and you can access live chat as well. For more details, read our Smugmug review.
Best beginner website builder for photography
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
If you want to get your photography website set up in a jiffy, then Weebly is super speedy and free to use with limited access. Is it the most advanced website builder for photographers out there? Not really. But it does have everything you need to get started on a budget with the free plan. If you do want the extra features, prices for Weebly start as low as $5 / £4 per month for a free domain name, plus access to advanced site statistics.
We also highly recommend Weebly for photography students, since it is affordable and very user-friendly for making your first photography portfolio website. If you like the flexible Weebly interface, you can always let your platform grow with you and upgrade to more advanced features as you develop your craft and portfolio. It already comes equipped with e-commerce functionality, so you can start selling right from the get-go should you want to, with app support included.
In our review of Weebly, we found that it underperforms in terms of variety of themes and app extensions, especially compared to its closest rival, Wix. Plus for e-commerce, there's a lack of offline payment options compared with Squarespace, with only Stripe, PayPal, and Square available. Otherwise, we think that whether you're a beginner site builder or a professional in need of complex features, Weebly is a great platform for you to build your site with.
Best gallery website builder for photographers
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Pixpa isn't just one of the best website builders for photographers, it has a unique feature that helps it stand out from rivals. It allows you create personalised gallery apps for clients to access on their phone: you can see an example gallery here.
In a world in which many people are spending more and more time on their phones, this could help you win a lot more work. You might even consider charging for it as an extra, in the case of wedding customers, for example.
Pixpa's interface isn't as easy to use as Wix's, but it's fairly straightforward once you get used to it. It also offers good integrations with other apps, including Google Analytics, MailChimp and Spotify, and some nice ecommerce features, including the ability to generate discount codes. Best of all, if you set up an online store, you'll pay no payment processing fees to Pixpa, which you won't find with Squarespace or Wix.
Pixpa doesn’t just offer a 15-day free trial, with no credit card required, but a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can also get 50 per cent off if you're a student or educators currently enrolled in any creative course, such as photography, art, design, fashion, architecture.
Best AI-cloud-based website builder for photographers
13. Appy Pie
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
Appy Pie is a new AI-driven website builder, app builder, and hosting platform for creatives that offers free website building with the option to upgrade your site to premium plans for as low as £15 / $15 per month. It also offers AI design tools, app integration and chatbot features as a service, and requires no knowledge of coding to get started.
The platform is said to offer an easy 3-step process to creating your own photography website, with a free professional domain name, a free business email with access to Google Workspace, 24/7 customer support, and free web hosting once you create your site.
Important: We have not yet reviewed this website builder for ourselves, but felt that the rising popularity of this platform made it worth inclusion. Take caution and take advantgage of the free trial to ensure it's a good fit, before making any commitments or online payments. A quick look on Trustpilot suggests that Appy Pie is totally safe, with 93% positive reviews at the time of writing, and customers praise the staff responsiveness and tech support provided.
How to choose the best website builder for photographers
When choosing between platforms, the most important thing to think about is how your portfolio is going to look. So it's worth checking out the various themes and templates each website builder offers before making a decision. Most of these services allow you to start building your website on a free trial basis, so take advantage and have a play.
Also consider whether you want to sell things from your site, such as prints, image downloads, or tickets to workshops. Some options offer robust e-commerce features, although you'll usually have to pay more to access these tools. Similarly, if you wish to blog about your photography projects, check that functionality is available too.
Finally, if you've never used a website builder before, you may want to prioritise ease of use on the first go. That may mean the service lacks some advanced features, though, so there's a balance to be struck there. Consider whether things like client proofing, password-protected galleries, SEO tools and marketing integrations are core to what you need, or an unnecessary distraction.
How we test the best website builder for photographers
We pull out all the stops during our testing process, ensuring you pick the platform that truly shines. We delve deep into core functionalities like portfolio presentation, e-commerce capabilities, blogging tools, and client proofing. Every click, drag, and drop gets scrutinized for user-friendliness and effectiveness.
We pit templates and customisation options head-to-head. Can you build a minimalist masterpiece or a vibrant gallery? Can you tweak fonts, colors, and layouts to express your unique style? We test, compare, and crown the most flexible canvas.
At the same time, we test responsiveness across devices, ensuring your photos captivate and convert, no matter the platform. We put finished websites through their paces, measuring loading times, image optimization, and overall site performance. And we assess the levels of customer support, ensuring your website does not just get built, but you retain your sanity along the way!
FAQs
Do photographers need a website?
A website is almost a must for any photographer these days. No matter whether you want to attract professional clients, or just have a nice-looking space to show off your images to peers, a dedicated website is the way to do it. It allows you to showcase your portfolio in a way that your work is ordered, clearly categorised and searchable. All of this makes it easier for people to find what they're looking for, quickly, before they get bored and look elsewhere.
What's the best website builder for photographers overall?
Although it's not specifically aimed at photographers, we believe Squarespace's beautiful looking templates make it the best website builder for photographers today. After all, your potential customers and clients are probably going to make a choice in seconds, so you need to make sure your site looks as good as it possibly can be. The interface isn't the easiest to use, but if you take a little time to learn its ways, you'll get a stunning website in return. You can add a blog and an online store if you wish, and while it's not the cheapest option, we feel it does represent excellent value overall.
How do I create a free photography website?
If you want your own website to showcase your photography portfolio, but don't want to spend any money at all, we recommend Wix's free plan. This allows you to create your own site, but there are limitations.
You only get 500MB storage space, so you won't be able to upload many photos. You only get 1GB bandwidth, which limits the number of people who can access your site at any one time. Your site will also feature Wix ads, and its URL will be Wix-branded, making it a bit clunky. That said, it's a great way to get started with a photography portfolio site, and if you need to remove these restrictions later on, the paid plans are very affordable.
What should a photography website include?
A photography website should always include a gallery of images to showcase your work: without one, it's kind of pointless. It's also good to include an 'About me' page, that gives a little of your personal story and explains what makes your services different from other photographers. Thirdly, you need a 'Contact' page that provides a telephone number and/or email address for people to make enquiries.
You'll probably also want to add other content, depending on your specialism and the way you structure your business. For example, if you're a wedding photographer then it's useful to have an FAQ (frequently asked questions) section, to save you time explaining how you work, again and again, to each potential customer.
What's the best cheap website for photographers?
If you're a photographer who needs their own website but is on a tight budget, we recommend Wix. This is not only one of the best website builders overall, but it's also very cheap. It even has a free plan that will give you a basic website to get started with, albeit one covered with ads. The interface is very easy to use, too: just search for photography templates, pick the one you like, and upload your own content. Learn more by reading our Wix review.
How can photographers build an online store?
Are you a photographer wishing to build an online store, to sell products such as prints, photobooks, workshops and tutorials direct to the public? Then we recommend Shopify, which makes it easy to set up an ecommerce website without knowing anything about code. You can take payments from a variety of payment providers, you get marketing tools to help promote yourself, and you can integrate your store with social media accounts such as Instagram. It's a little more expensive than other website builders, but the extra money you earn should more than make up for the added cost.
Is Squarespace or Wix better for photographers?
In our opinion, Squarespace just pips Wix to the post. This is because of its photography-specific templates (and beautiful templates across the board), and the excellent customer support. It is more expensive than Wix, so if you've got a tight budget, Wix is a close second.
Wix is a bit easier to use than Squarespace, though, so if you don't mind compromising on style for usability, you may want to try Wix instead.
Get the Creative Bloq Newsletter
Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.
Tom May is an award-winning journalist and editor specialising in design, photography and technology. Author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Great TED Talks: Creativity, published by Pavilion Books, Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. Today, he is a regular contributor to Creative Bloq and its sister sites Digital Camera World, T3.com and Tech Radar. He also writes for Creative Boom and works on content marketing projects.
- Beth NichollsEcommerce Writer
