Whether you’re already familiar with Rokee & Co. or are brand new to our website, it’s easy to see that we believe in the power of blogs. Even if your business is more dependent on images than words, a blog is a powerful tool for any business with a website. But how do you choose the best blogging platform for photographers?
As photographers, nothing showcases our unique work better than a beautiful display of photographs. A gorgeous blog post serves as a mini-portfolio. It makes a great way for your clients to appreciate your pictures when woven with a description of the project. They can also get to know you better. A great photography blog serves as a conversation starter as well as an insight into your personality and how you work.
That being said, photographic blog posts are not the only kind that can build and enhance your business. Blogs created to enhance your Search Engine Optimization can help drive traffic from the internet straight to your website. While your photos are the true heart of your work, the internet doesn’t necessarily speak in terms of visuals. SEO-structured blogs integrate keywords that your target audience may be searching for in order to bring them to your website. Then, ideally, they’ll fall in love with your work and be customers for life!
What Blogging Platform for Photographers & Creatives Do We Use?
Here at Rokee & Co, we can help you take the busywork out of creating SEO-structured blogs for your business. What’s also key to making the magic happen, however, is having the right blogging platform to bring it all together. For us, only one blogging platform is worth your time and effort: WordPress.
Since we consider ourselves experts on SEO-structured blogs and making them work for your unique photography business, we thought we’d share some more info on what makes WordPress the best blogging platform for photographers. Keep reading to learn more about the platform that we trust to host our own blogs for both Rokee & Co. and our personal photography blogs!
What is WordPress?
While WordPress once began as the best blogging platform for photographers, today, it is a simple and popular way to create a dynamic website. In fact, nearly half of all websites on the internet are powered by WordPress. Whether you’re running a million-dollar e-commerce website or a passionate hobby blog, WordPress can help your website stand out from all the others – and believe us, there are a lot of others.
Today, WordPress has become a fantastic tool for businesses and creatives to sell merchandise and digital downloads, build a growing membership, and stay connected with current and potential clients. We love it not only because it’s the best blogging platform around but also because it’s compatible with all of the latest plugins, SEO friendly, and ideal for those who may not have extensive coding knowledge.
While there are certainly other blogging platforms available to use, there is truly nothing like the tools WordPress provides when it comes to a professional website. Integrate files of basically any media format to create eye-catching blogs and landing pages for your clients. Take the stress off of yourself by scheduling posts in advance, setting multiple user types, and editing directly within your posts. It truly is one of the most comprehensive – yet user-friendly – platforms for showcasing your work and building your business!
SEO Options/Plugins
While WordPress has a lot of functionality on its own, you can make an even more dynamic website by customizing your Plugins. Plugins are additional software (think website apps) that can add unique functionality to your website. Whether you’re looking to sell products, schedule photoshoots, or even maximize your SEO, there’s definitely a Plugin to meet your needs.
That being said, you’ll still want to limit the number of Plugins for your website simply to maximize speed and keep things simple. Both users and Google do not like to wait for a page to load.
When it comes to building your custom site complete with Plugins, there are several things to take into consideration. First of all, like most things on the internet, there are free versions and premium versions. The free Plugins can be very effective but tend to be a little more limited in the scope of their functionality. The premium Plugins, however, can often accomplish the functions of several basic Plugins combined, potentially making them a worthwhile investment.
If you’re unfamiliar with Plugins, you’re not alone! Here are a few of the most popular plugins that are most beneficial for photography blogs and websites.
Contact Form Plugins
When guests visit your website, your ultimate goal is to capture their contact information in order to stay in touch. Once you have a potential client’s email address (and maybe phone number), you can let them know about upcoming promotions, new projects, and so much more. A great Contact Form Plugin allows you to capture and manage contact information, create a directory, and even send marketing emails.
Plugins to look into: WPForms, Formidable Forms, HubSpot Forms
Analytics Plugins
Your website is so much more than a first impression for clients – it’s also an incredible tool for collecting important data about your visitors. With the right analytics Plugin in your blogging platform for photographers, you can learn how many visitors are coming to your website, where they are coming from, and the best-performing and most popular pages on your website. This data can be key when it comes to your marketing plans and the way you have your website laid out. Analytics are a must for maximizing the functionality of your website, including blogs.
Plugins to look into: MonsterInsights, ExactMetrics, Google Analytics
Search Engine Optimization Plugins
While you can write blogs that have been specifically created with SEO maximization in mind, having an SEO Plugin can take your web traffic to a new level. Without harnessing the power of SEO, you could be missing out on plenty of valuable new customers. While WordPress is built with search engine traffic in mind (meaning your website for photographers already has a leg up,) the right SEO Plugin can take your blogging platform to the next level.
Plugins to look into: TextMetrics, Semrush, WPBeginner Keyword Generator
ECommerce Plugins
Your blog website doesn’t just have to be a blog; with the right Plugin, you can transform your WordPress site into a fully functioning online store. You can charge clients for photo sessions, sell digital downloads, and so much more. If you don’t already have a website with e-commerce capabilities, you’ll definitely want to consider a Plugin for even more ease and functionality!
Plugins to look into: WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, Cart66 Cloud
Inspired to keep searching for a Plugin to take your WordPress site to the next level? Head over to the WordPress Plugin Library to browse over 50,000 plugins, both free and premium. It may take a little time to learn how to wield the power of your new plugins properly, but it’s well worth the investment of time (and maybe a little money.)
Ease of Design
If you don’t consider yourself to be a skilled web designer, it’s ok not many photographers are, WordPress may be a great option for your blogging platform. Making a totally unique-looking site that reflects your brand’s professional aesthetic is easy with the right WordPress theme! A theme is basically a template that you can customize with ease – no coding knowledge required!
Some pre-made themes already include site setup. This means your standard pages may already be included in the design. Most themes allow you to easily adjust colors, fonts, photos, layouts, and more for a completely customized look. They are basically your website’s design foundation that can be edited to reflect your beautiful business.
Similar to plugins, some themes are totally free, while more dynamic premium themes are available at a cost.
Regardless of your chosen theme, WordPress makes it easy for anyone to create their website. It’s simple to create posts and pages, simplify navigation, and ensure it looks unique to you. You may want to watch some tutorial videos or read some instructional articles to be able to design with confidence. But it’s well worth the time and will make future website edits that much easier!
Pricing
Believe it or not, with all of the incredible features WordPress has, it’s totally free software! You can download, install, use, and modify it to suit your needs and create your custom website for $0.
That being said, WordPress is also a self-hosted program. So you will need a domain name and web hosting in order to make it live on the internet.
For those who may be new to building a website, your domain name is the URL (think www.yourwebsitenamehere.com), which makes it easy for guests to find your website. Without a domain name, everyone would have to type in a super long string of letters, numbers, and symbols to get to your site. You purchase domain names from a variety of registrars that sell you the rights to a specific domain. Typically, you’ll need to renew it every year or two. (Learn more about our preferred places to buy a domain name here!)
Web hosting is what makes your website accessible on the internet. When you pay for hosting, you are basically buying the space for your website to exist. There are a variety of web hosting platforms available, most of which offer a variety of packages with varying perks and features. Some are even specifically designed to optimally host WordPress sites, making it even easier to bring your WordPress site to life! Bluehost is one of the most popular WordPress hosting platforms, but if you’re looking to compare platforms, check out our blog on that here!
Free WordPress Systems
To make things a little more complicated, there are two different free WordPress blogging platforms for photographers to use – WordPress.com and WordPress.org. WordPress.org is self-hosted and typically allows you to take more control of your site and some of the more advanced plugins. WordPress.com is better for total beginners who may be starting off with a personal or hobby blog. When it comes down to it, if you’re creating a website for your business, you will likely want to start off with WordPress.org.
Basically, WordPress is totally free, but you’ll still spend some money shaping your business’s dream website. Plan to spend on a domain name, a hosting platform, optional premium Plugins, and possibly a premium theme. All of these independent costs mix and match to suit your individual budget. Allowing you to keep costs to a minimum or spend big for optimal results.
Other WordPress Perks
Let’s be real. The internet can be a dark, scary place. But when you have a WordPress site, you sleep soundly, knowing it was created with security in mind. It has plenty of safety and security features, although there are also plenty of Plugins available to help protect your information even further.
Another huge benefit of WordPress is its incredible community of users and developers. At its heart, WordPress is a community-driven organization. In fact, WordPress doesn’t have a CEO but is instead protected by the WordPress foundation. The community is a friendly and welcoming space where experts and newbies alike collaborate to share tips, tricks, and ideas.
If you have questions or need support, you’ll definitely be able to find it online through their resources. Chances are someone has had a similar question at some point and is able (and happy!) to share a solution. Sure, they have great customer support, too. However, the network of millions of WordPress users makes building a website feel even more accessible.
With such a huge community comes other perks, too! Like how-to videos, blog posts, and in-depth tutorials that are all available with a simple search. WordPress makes learning how to use their program a straightforward breeze!
Be Sure to Check Out WordPress, The Best Blogging Platform For Photographers
We truly believe that WordPress is the best blogging platform for photographers. Easy to customize and transform into the website that works best for your business, it’s the most popular blogging platform-turned-website builder for a good reason. We believe wholeheartedly in the importance of having a blog for your photography business, and WordPress makes it convenient to drive new traffic and best serve your business.
Don’t have time to write SEO-maximized blogs? We’ve got you covered! Let us take care of writing you blogs that will drive new traffic to your site and help you convert potential clients into current clients. You’ll see transformative results. Plus, you gain so much more time to spend where you belong – behind the lens of your camera!
