So, photographer, do you want to develop your professional portfolio? Well, it's not just nice to have; it is a must-have. A well-designed portfolio website is one sure way to woo prospective clients, but it is more than that. It is just good artistry on full display. You do understand that in the digital age, don't you? Having an amazing online presence is essential in building your brand and ultimately reaching a wider audience.
So, what are some things to remember when building your portfolio? Luckily for you, there are many free photography portfolio websites that you could use to make a fantastic portfolio online without having to incur a single cost.
In this post, I'll introduce you to the 12 best free photography portfolio websites that will help unlock your photography potential and take your presence to the next level within the competitive world of photography.
No matter if you are a seasoned photographer or a complete novice, these platforms work hard to make sure that you have everything needed to show off your work smoothly and in a professional-looking manner, so let's get straight to seeing how these websites could help you make an online portfolio of your work that meets your style and talent.
So, one has mastered photography and now wishes to share his photos? Well, the first step towards that is selecting the right website. It's rather essential to get noticed and build their brand. So, as part of this guide, let's briefly glimpse 12 free websites perfect for photographers. Cool templates and multiple ways to display your photos are some of the characteristics of these websites. Let's find the best place that will showcase your photography skills to the world!
Rank | Name | Rating [By Capterra] |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | WordPress | 4.6 out of 5 |
| #2 | Squarespace | 4.6 out of 5 |
| #3 | Wix | 4.4 out of 5 |
| #4 | Weebly | 4.3 out of 5 |
| #5 | SITE123 | 4.4 out of 5 |
| #6 | Strikingly | 4.3 out of 5 |
| #7 | Jimdo | 4.2 out of 5 |
| #8 | GoDaddy | 4.2 out of 5 |
| #9 | Ucraft | 4.6 out of 5 [Less Reviewer] |
| #10 | Siter.io | Not Available |
| #11 | PageCloud | 4.7 out of 5 [Less reviewers] |
| #12 | Fabrik | 4.5 out of 5 [Less reviewer] |
Since its launch, WordPress has been among the best and most intuitive platforms for exposing your snaps online. I have used WordPress for a long time, and, as an experienced photographer, I find that this platform works simply because of its versatility and easy access. Let us find out why WordPress is among the best options for creating a tremendous photographic portfolio for any photographer.
You will do this in stages while creating a WordPress photography portfolio website. Now, let's start with the step-by-step guide on how to get started:
Step 1: Setting Up Your WordPress Website
Step 2: Choose and Install a Theme
Step 3: Install Essential Plugins
Step 4: Create Key Pages
Step 5: Add and Organize Your Content
Step 6: Optimizing Your Website
Step 7: Launch and Promote Your Portfolio
Again, this is one of the things I admire about WordPress.You can individualize it to such an extent. You do make your portfolio your own.
Yes, WordPress is definitely a popular choice for creating photography portfolios. But along with lots of pros, it has some cons too:
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free Plan Available: start up free of cost. | Limited customization on the free plan more is available with an upgrade to a premium plan. |
| Easy to set up and manage- User-Friendly. | Ads on Free Plan: Paid plans remove ads. |
| Responsive Design: It looks great on any device. | Storage Limits: Keep your image sizes in check and use cloud storage if needed. |
| Community Support: Tremendous resources and community support are available. |
Certainly, Squarespace is all high-quality templates and elements. Newbies love it simply because there is nothing complicated—no fuss! If you just dare to ask a Squarespace user something about their drag-and-drop editor, he probably will start looking at you quite funny for even questioning it—it is that great! But honestly, it is fantastic. Besides, you receive AI design guidance! Isn't that incredible? A perfect feature for the present generation of AI, don't you think?
To get started with Squarespace, follow these steps:
Step 1: First, visit the official website of Squarespace.
Step 2: Click on the "Get started" CTA button.
Step 3: They will ask about your website.
Step 4: It will give you multiple choices.
Step 5 These options can be explored, and your dream site can be created.
Some of the cool and impressive photography website themes and templates are listed below:
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| More than 110 templates, all responsive to any need. | Some business tools could benefit from further development. |
| Free SSL Certificates for secure transactions are included in all plans. | Page speed performance may be improved to get the much-needed speed load time. |
| Unlimited storage and bandwidth, non-stop expansion at no incremental cost. | Additionally, low design flexibility may limit customization options. |
| Very user-friendly interface. Easy for a beginner to use. |
Having gleaned some of the advantages of WordPress for photography portfolios, let's proceed to another remarkable platform: Wix. Once again, as a photographer and a user of both the platforms under discussion, I would suggest utilities on Wix, which have a different interface and, therefore, stand alone in creating vastly visually appealing portfolios. This is where Wix reigns supreme over the others with its drag-and-drop support and many customization options at the behest of photographers.
Now, you want to start with Wix for a photography portfolio website. Well, that is a multi-step process. So, let us look at the detailed step-by-step guide to help you in the process:
Step 1: Sign Up to Wix
Step 2: Choose a template
Step 3: Customizing your Template
Step 4: Add Functionality
Step 5: Optimize for Mobile
Step 6: Deploying Your Website
There are some mind-blowing themes and templates of Wix for a photography portfolio:
To this end, Wix has much to offer photographers, but limitations exist. Herein lies my balanced opinion based on experience.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| User-Friendly: No coding skills required. | Free plan has limited storage upgrade to a premium plan and enjoy more storage space. |
| When it comes to visuals, templates are crafted in such a way as to give you additional impetus for your photography. | Design Limitations: This may not be as flexible as other more advanced platforms, but there will never be a problem of not having enough choices. |
| All-Round Support: Customer service with a large amount of tutorials to provide. | Data Portability: The decision to switch from Wix can be daunting primarily due to factors arising from the firm’s proprietary structures. |
| Inexpensive: Some user features are restricted to a paid version of the application plan, but at least there is a basic plan. |
Now, let's look at Weebly: It's a free site where one can build a portfolio of photographs. I tried many platforms for my use, but out of my experience, I feel Weebly is one of the most user-friendly and best of the lot. Let us now consider Weebly's critical features and benefits for any photographer who wishes his work to be displayed online.
Creating a photography portfolio website with Weebly is easy and intuitive. Here's how to do it in a step-by-step manner:
Step 1: At first, you have to create an account and log in
Step 2: Create a New Site
Step 3: Select a Theme
Step 4: Personalize Your Portfolio
Step 5: Put Your Work into Pages and Add Navigation
Step 6: Settings and SEO Options
Step 7: Preview and Publish Your Site
Step 8: Maintain and Update Your Portfolio
Weebly has multiple themes and templates that can blend flawlessly with a photographic portfolio website, so here are some to be recommended:
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Ease of Use: Drag-and-drop interface. | Limited personalization on the free plan. |
| Professional themes are high-quality visually engaging themes. | Stay within restrictions on the size of photos, or get more storage. |
| Features of Mobile Optimization: Make all your web pages mobile-friendly; now you can make responsive web designs. | Square ads on the website, except on professional and higher plans. |
| Full Support: Tutorials and customer support. Potential pitfalls and how to avoid them. |
Here is “SITE123” an ideal service for a photography portfolio website. So easy to use, even for a doofus with no real experience in the tech arena. SITE123 shows good design—templates with the view of building the best way to showcase photos hosted on SITE123, so you get to strut your stuff and leave the tech operation behind. Plus, with enough room for custom tailoring to go with your style, of course, without turning to your inner coder.
Here's a simple guide to get you going:
Step 1: Go to the SITE123 website.
Step 2: Select "Website" and specify your category as Photography.
Step 3: Enter your website name and a brief description.
Step 4: Create your SITE123 account.
Step 5: Access your dashboard.
Step 6: Choose a template and customize it.
Step 7: Upload your photos.
Step 8: Make your portfolio live.
These simplified steps should help you start quickly with SITE123 for your photography portfolio.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| SITE123 allows users to create multilingual websites effortlessly. | The free plan includes ads that impact site aesthetics. |
| It offers a free plan option, making it accessible for beginners. | Limits customization options for layouts. |
| Designed to optimize websites for search engines. | Offers a restricted selection of templates. |
| Accommodates different currencies and languages. |
You know, that's what I did with Strikingly for my photographer portfolio website: "Easy and stunning"? I was like, yeah, right. But I started looking into it a little bit, and let me tell you about those ready-made templates they got for photographers. They're all the rage. They're super easy to customize, really-they'll let your photos shine up the stage.
Now, "amazing" is probably subjective. Still, there's no doubt that you can build a professional-looking portfolio with Strikingly and very fast, especially if this whole website is new to you.
Here's a step-by-step process:
Step 1: Access the Strikingly homepage; navigate to the ''Get Started'' button.
Step 2: You have to register by inserting your first name, your email address, and the password you want.
Step 3: You can also use your Facebook account to sign up in a matter of seconds.
Step 4: Now, choose a website template from the number of offered templates.
Step 5: Customize your chosen template, editing the text, images, and layout.
Step 6: Add a gallery, blog, or contact form of your choice. Our task is almost complete. It's time to add some extra sections as needed.
Step 7 Preview your website. The preview shows you how your website looks on desktop and mobile.
Step 8: Once satisfied, publish your website with a free Strikingly domain.
Here are some of the best themes and templates of Strikingly for photography portfolio:
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| User-friendly interface with easy drag-and-drop editor. | It is not suitable for complex websites due to basic customization options. |
| The quick and straightforward website-building process is great for new projects. | Some users find it slower site speed performance compared to other website builders. |
| Popular among bloggers and freelancers due to its ease of use. | Some users say the site's speed performance is slower than that of other website builders. |
Do you want simple ad-free websites, and no coding experience is required to create the photography portfolio? Jimdo is the perfect way for you to go! When speaking of the interface, you will find it very friendly, and you can easily set up and manage your portfolio within no time. I think one of the more significant points to relate here is that if you value simplicity with a focus on being easy to use over highly specialized features, then Jimdo may be a good fit for your needs.
Designing a website on Jimdo is very easy. It is super duper easy; follow these steps:
Step 1: Go to the official Jimdo website, this link, and click the Call to Action button “Start for free.”
Step 2: Sign up with your information or use your Google account.
Step 3: In this step, you will begin building your site at your dream site.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| User-friendly and intuitive interface—Ideal for beginners | Limited customization possibility compared with more involved website builders. |
| Very easy and quick setup process | Template selection is somewhat limited. |
| Mobile-responsive templates |
Yes, you can absolutely make a photography portfolio with Ucraft, and they do have a free plan. Ucraft is a website builder that has templates for portfolios, which makes it easy for photographers to get their excellent work online. Ucraft has a drag-and-drop editor that makes it incredibly easy to build and customize your photography portfolio without writing code. Even on their free plan, you can use your domain name, which looks more professional.
Here's a step-by-step guide to help you begin:
Step 1: Sign up with your details on the Ucraft website.
Step 2: Select the template based on your website’s look and feel and the functionalities needed.
Step 3: This includes directing Ucraft’s drag-and-drop editor to alter colors, fonts, and the structure of a website without actually coding.
Step 4: Use text, images, and videos to populate your site and use apps as well as widgets if you want to include means of creating revenue streams for your site.
Step 5: Make use of the tools that are offered by the site in order to enhance its SE visibility.
Step 6: View your site on multiple devices simultaneously, instant deployment.
It has many templates in its free version also for different categories like arts and crafts, education, services, etc. Only one template is available for the photography portfolio, but it is super cool.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Strong mobile site customization capabilities. | Placing page objects can be awkward. |
| Modern and appealing site templates. | Lack of basic photo editing tools (e.g., no rotation feature). |
| Image repository for easy reuse on the site. | Absence of built-in site traffic reporting tools. |
| Collaborative site editing features. | |
| Good options for creating a web store. |
A friend of mine is using GO DADDY for his photography website portfolio. When I asked him about the most enjoyable aspect of working at GoDaddy, he, without hesitation, replied that he gets the best value for his money at GoDaddy. Most of us find it difficult to overcome challenges that accompany the development of portfolio sites because of low technical skills. In this case, of course, GoDaddy’s way of building the site is tremendously convincing. But if you do come across these limitations, do not worry; there are indeed freebies at GoDaddy, although there are restrictive measures.
To start creating your site on GoDaddy, follow these steps:
Step 1: Go to the official website of the GoDaddy company.
Step 2: Look for the button “Start for free”.
Step 3: Basic information and registration are only required to create a profile.
Step 4: Now get busy with the work of searching and building your site.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A large selection of domain extensions is available. | Customer support quality can be inconsistent. |
| It offers a wide range of services, including domain registration, web hosting, and website builders. | Upselling of additional services can be overwhelming. |
| Reliable uptime and performance for hosted websites. |
Do you like black backgrounds? You must think that this is a weird question, but just follow me here. I am talking about Siter.io. If you go to their website, you will immediately notice the relaxed and calming black background they have. For some of the best photography portfolio websites that are free, Siter.io comes in number 10. You undoubtedly will appreciate the flexibility. What is wrong with Siter.io? Just reach out to their customer support for help. Trust me, you'll like how they handle things.
To get started in creating your site on Siter.io:
Step 1: Go to the official site of Siter.io. First of all, you have to go to Siter.io.
Step 2: Start for Free. Look for the "Start for free" button and click on it.
Step 3: Sign Up Sign up either using your Google account or your email.
Step 4: Create Your Site: Sign in, then fill in the information and use its intuitive no-code website builder.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Smooth performance on both mobile and desktop. | Poor hosting quality. |
| Provides a great support system. | Some users find it slow. |
| The Figma plugin integration is highly appreciated. |
Have you ever wanted just to be able to drop elements anywhere on your website and have them fall into place? That's precisely what PageCloud is going to let you do. Now, when you think about a platform such as WordPress or Wix, they pride themselves on the number of templates to choose from. PageCloud does things differently with fewer choices - just slightly over 40 templates - but each one is done brilliantly. And here's the kicker: if you worry about future features and customer support, then PageCloud impresses in that regard. It's quite impressive.
To get started with PageCloud, follow these easy steps:
Step 1: Go to the official website of PageCloud and then hit the "Get started for free" CTA button.
Step 2 Fill out the registration form with the details, or sign in using your Google account.
Step 3: From the dashboard, select a template to use for your site.
Step 4: Configure and publish your pages and content.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It is easy to use and beginner-friendly. | There can be issues with mobile responsiveness. |
| It offers a checklist from start to finish for building a site. | Some users find that it does not provide full SEO benefits. |
| The customization options are highly impressive. |
Fabrik is a website tool that allows photographers to create their own portfolio sites. It's not like Behance, where you share your work with others; instead, Fabrik lets you build and design your own website. It comes with templates you can customize and tools to show off your photos beautifully, like galleries and slideshows. People like it because it's easy to use and gives you control over how your portfolio looks.
What do you think? Will it be complex? Actually, no! It is super easy. Just follow:
Step 1: Go to the official Fabrik website.
Step 2: Click "Get Started.": Navigate to the homepage and click "Get started" or the similarly suitability stated option.
Step 3: Choose a Theme: Preview all the available themes and select the one that reflects your photography style or best suits your needs.
Step 4: Sign Up: "Click your theme of choice and sign up by giving the information asked for.".
Step 5: Access Your Dashboard: Once you sign up successfully, you will land on your Dashboard page.
Step 6: Create Your Site: In the Dashboard, click "Create New Site" or something like that to begin constructing your portfolio site.
This will allow you to have your photography portfolio up and running with Fabrik in a record time in the following steps.
Fabrik's photography portfolio themes are really good-looking and varied enough to help your work shine. Here is a brief description of each theme:
Each theme in Fabrik is carefully thought about to complement a different style of photography so that your portfolio not only looks stunning but also speaks of the unique artist that you are.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Fabrik has many themes to help your photography portfolio look visually striking and elegant. | Fabrik is more geared towards portfolios and does not have all the advanced features that someone who wants extensive e-commerce capability might need. |
| Themes are responsive, which means they look fantastic on devices of all shapes and sizes: desktops, tablets, and smartphones. | Pricing plans may be higher compared to other platforms, which could be a concern for those on a budget. |
| Easily set up and manage your portfolio, even as a beginner, because of the easy-to-use interface. |
Once you have chosen the ideal platform for your portfolio website, the next thing is maximization to guarantee that this photograph of yours will be seen; you want every visitor to be captured by your pictures as much as possible and be able to view all your outstanding work without the priesthood of pain and stress. Let these practical tips guide you through maximizing the best out of your website, from fast loading times to appropriate distribution of all your portfolios. Here are some tips that you can apply practically to optimize your photography website:
Follow these tips to make your site more appealing to visitors and a more admirable display of your photography.
Well, this has been quite a ride, hasn't it? Now that you have the top 12 free photography portfolio websites, you are all set to go out there and let your talent shine and your professional network grow. A portfolio is much more than simply placing your work out there - it's about communicating your vision, including web design, to speak to clients and collaborators.
Simply put, the key to making a great photography portfolio is to display the best and most consistent example of your work. Choose a couple/few images of your best works that exemplify your personal vision and technique. Include a range of credits to showcase your range but maintain continuity through the style of editing used. In fact, it is always useful to think of quality over quantity since it has a much stronger effect. It should still be common, formal, and representative of the artist you are!
Are you planning to design your portfolio website and other related materials? Graphic Design Eye offers a complete range of services, including website design, banner design, photography logo design, and digital/printed brand kits. Their services can perfectly complement your portfolio, ensuring a consistent look and feel that aligns with your aesthetic preferences. So, contact Graphic Design Eye to support your creative process.
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