Resources to Build a Photography Website Like – Doug Niedermiller Photography

I’ve been working on the Doug Niedermiller Photography website for little over 2 years using the trial and error method and lots of self education.  After all the time I spent building and rebuilding this website I thought it would nice to share the resources I found to be the most useful that brought this web site to where it is today.

Types of Websites

There are several types of websites: Government/Political, Non Profit, Retail, Product Information and like this one, which is an Independent Information Content site.

Getting Started

The first book I bought that really helped was Rosalind Gardner’s  The Super Affiliate Handbook.  Not only is this a great book on affiliate marketing (making money selling other people’s stuff), but a great book on getting started with a website or blog.  Rosalind steered me towards a self hosted website WordPress CMS (content management system).

Affiliate Marketing

Something you might be asking, what is affiliate Marketing?  If you look on many websites you will see banners and links to merchants outside of that website like Studiopress or B&H Photo, etc.  How this works is when you go to a website and click on a banner ad or link, and then you buy from that merchant, the website owner receives a commission.  If you don’t buy, they don’t get a commission, in most cases. So, remember,  if you like a web site and value the information and the homework they’ve done for you, by clicking thru and by buying a product or service you may want from that merchant, you help support that website.

WordPress

WordPress is the number one open source web blogging software.  In other words –  it’s free!  So, if you’re interested in creating your own website or web blog, I encourage you to  consider WordPress.  To start with, you don’t need a bunch of  HTML experience  to get going like you do when you’re starting a website from scratch.  WordPress has 2 types of blogging options  – a wordpress.com account and what I use and highly recommend is a self hosted WordPress account.  Both are free, but the self hosted accounts require internet hosting account.

Internet Hosting and Domains

The thing you will need is a website hosting account and URL or domain website address.  The one I used is Dot 5 hosting but, you can use just about any hosting company you wish.  Dot 5 hosting has both domain registration and WordPress on their site and is less than $100 for 2 years. A domain costs about $10  for a year.  Don’t  forget domain privacy.  It will protect your email address, phone number and other private  information and it runs about $10 a year.  Once you have your own domain or URL you can activate WordPress.  The next thing you will need is a WordPress theme.

WordPress Themes

I also can highly recommend the StudioPress Genesis Themes. The ones I use are the Genesis Theme Framework,  StudioPress Landscape Child Theme and StudioPress Lifestyle Child Theme on our travel website(DCM Travel Reviews)  Of course, you can use one of the thousands of free WordPress themes, but the StudioPress themes are packed with options and great support.  Note: StudioPress themes only work with a self hosted WordPress account.

WordPress Plug-ins

Plug-ins are small or large programs that attach to WordPress and themes that add functions to your WordPress blog or website.  There are a thousand plug-ins for WordPress and most are free.  Some take donations and some have pro versions for purchase.

List of Resources

Here is a list of plug-ins I use in my website. All are free. Some take donations AddToAny: Share/Bookmark/Email Button After The Deadline – Spell and grammar checker Akismet – Spam filter Broken Link Checker  – Checks for broken links on your site Comment Reply Notification – Notifies commenter when you reply by email Genesis Simple Hooks – Adds a bunch of functions to the Genesis Themes Genesis Simple Sidebars – Add more functions to the Genesis Themes sidebar Google XML Sitemaps – Adds an automatic Google XML sitemap (A must) MapPress Easy Google Maps – Add maps to your post Simple Facebook Share Button – Share posts on others Facebook walls Social Profiles Widget – Follow button Twitter, Facebook, feeds, Flicker, etc. TweetMeme Retweet Button – ReTweet on Twitter WordPress.com Stats – Your website statistics WP-Cycle – Slide show on home page WP Simple Adsense Insertion – Insert Google ads on your site WordPress-Database-Back up – Backup your website data

Other software I Use

Microsoft Expression Web 2 – HTML  and text editor Microsoft office Home and business 2010 Smart FTP – Transfer files to and from your website

Photography Related Software

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Software for Mac & Windows – photo editing cataloging and flash galleries on this website Adobe Photoshop elements 9 – Photo editing Topaz Labs plug-in Bundle – Photo enhancements Photomatix Pro 4 – HDR photo enhancements

Video Training Education

Microsoft Expression Web 2 -  Total training – video training – Microsoft Expression Web on DVD

lynda.com software training – Online video training. also on DVD’s  – Adobe Lightroom 2 & 3, WordPress, SEO, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Twitter, Facebook, Google Analytics, Website Optimizer, Excel, Word, Expression Web, PHP,  Photography, Web Design, Adobe Premiere Elements, HTML and over 900 other training videos

Books and E-Books

Super Affiliate Handbook HTML, XHTML & CSS For Dummies WordPress For Dummies Using Microsoft Expression Web 2 Search Engine Optimization All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies

Internet Hosting and Domain

Dot 5 Hosting and domains

Content Management System

WordPress.com – Account (no hosting account required) WordPress.org – For self hosting accounts (recommended)

WordPress Themes

Studiopress – Genesis framework and the landscape theme for the photography site Studiopress – Genesis framework and the lifestyle theme for the travel site

Other utilities – Keep your PC backed up and running smooth!

Acronis True Image Home 2011 (English) PC back up utility

Speed Up My PC Click here to improve PC performance. This utility will helps you keep your PC running fast.

Registry Booster Click here to run a Free Registry scan. This utility will helps you keep your PC running smooth.

Conclusion

Photography is my passion and a web site is a great way to share your photography and maybe make some money!  This is just a cliff note version of building a website. These are the major aspects to consider when building a WordPress website or blog.  If you like my website and would like to create a website of your own, this list and article may help you get started.  So, do your homework and start your own photography WordPress website or blog.

Good Luck!