13 best website builders for photographers

Given the powerful pull of images, both online and offline, it’s no surprise that businesses value photos and photographers. However, according to a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report, photographer employment is projected to decline 6 percent between now and 2028. The report finds that salaried photographer jobs will be increasingly difficult to find as more companies turn to freelance photographers.

The decline in staff photographers, however, means more opportunity for entrepreneurial photographers eager to build profitable businesses. It takes determination and a lot of hard work for solo entrepreneurs, such as freelance photographers, to succeed in business. Before you take the leap, ask yourself if you’re ready for the startup life. If so, you need to build a website that convinces prospective customers to hire you.

Before we dive into the topic, let’s have a quick look at the website builder options for a professional portfolio:

Your website is the ideal showcase for your photos. Sophisticated DIY website building platforms are affordable and can help you create a beautiful, customized website on your own without doing any coding. Just secure your domain name, pick a website template, stock it with your best work, click publish, and voila! Your freelance photography business is ready to rock!

There are hundreds of online tools for building websites. That’s way more than you want to sort, so we curated this list of the top 13 website builders for shutterbugs like you. Whether you’re a professional photojournalist or just starting out as a wedding photographer, you can find the right platform on this list.

What to look for in a photography website builder

The sole purpose of building a website is to bring attention to your work, so give careful thought to the capabilities and features you need.

Gallery layout is as important online as it is on the walls of an art museum. Each platform on this list includes templates that allow you to easily adjust the size and juxtaposition of images. They also allow for theme personalization — the font, type size, and layout of menus that combine with your images to make that all-important first impression.

Mobile responsive design is essential now that so many people use smartphones to visit websites. Your goal is to create a site people will enjoy browsing on their phones. In addition, mobile responsiveness is an important factor in Google’s search algorithm. 

The font you use on your portfolio makes an aesthetic statement. Choose a web builder with built-in font support. Squarespace partners with TypeKit to provide a range of fonts. Built-in font support is a shortcut around the hassle of font licensing and embedding.

There’s no point in assembling a great site if your prospects can’t find it. Search engine optimization (SEO) begins with your site design. Give careful consideration to what SEO tools are built into the platform you select.

Video embeds are some of the best content a photographer can share. Keep that in mind when considering different website builders.

Template switching enables you to work on two or more templates simultaneously and switch as needed. The feature allows you to easily compare variations on the page you’re building as you move around images, change fonts, and so on until you find the right look.

Keeping these essential concepts in mind, let’s get to the list.

Top 13 website builders for photographers

1. Squarespace

Squarespace is the leading choice for photographers, with a cumulative 4.8 out of five stars, according to the Web Builder Expert. The award-winning website builder gives photographers the creative freedom to choose their preferred layout from a pool of customizable photography website templates. 

Squarespace offers a host of features, including

• Built-in TypeKit fonts
• Customizable content layouts
• Password-protected pages to share private photos with clients
• Integrated search engine optimization tools

Squarespace offers four different pricing plans:

• Personal: $16/month (when paid annually)
• Business: $23/month (when paid annually)
• Basic Commerce: $27/month (when paid annually)
• Advanced Commerce: $49/month (when paid annually)

Squarespace has a dedicated gallery of beautiful photography website templates. For example, the Minetta template is all about appetizing food photos:

The Elliott Ribe portfolio template brings attention to the gorgeous photographs with an engrossing slideshow on the homepage. 

2. Wix

Wix is a powerful cloud-based platform with all the tools you need to create a stunning photography website. Wix offers many customization options. 

Features include

• Artificial Design Intelligence for instant personalization
• 500+ website design templates to choose from
• Editing and customization of mobile view
• SEO-optimized websites

Wix website pricing plans are

• Light: $17/month (annual billing)
• Core: $29/month (annual billing)
• Business: $36/month (annual billing)
• Business Elite: $159/month (annual billing)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

A good example of a Wix template is the Urban Photography Template, which is available for free. The template prominently displays a single, large photo on the welcome page. Photographers can further customize the template to match their genre.

The Family Photographer website template features an elegant design with a balanced photo grid on the homepage. The template is designer-friendly. 

3. SmugMug

SmugMug is an all-in-one solution designed for professional photographers. SmugMug offers unlimited storage with dedicated user experience features to help photographers make a living selling their pictures. 

SmugMug has several features that are useful to photographers, including

• Password protection, watermarks, and access control
• E-commerce capabilities
• Adobe Lightroom plug-in to auto-sync photo libraries
• Upload options from both mobile and desktop
• Unlimited photo and video uploads 

SmugMug offers a 14-day free trial after which you can select from three paid tiers: 

• Power: $15/month
• Portfolio: $31/month
• Pro: $45/month
• Venture: $500/month

In the example below, the Octavia template juxtaposes black and white in this grid-based portfolio, highlighting the contrast to bring attention to details in the photos. SmugMug offers customization options to personalize and edit the theme.  

Sophie is an upbeat template for monetizing your photos. The customizable theme features bold photographs on the homepage with a minimal patterned background and smart navigation options at the top left.

4. Jimdo

Jimdo, headquartered in Germany, is a trusted website builder and 360-degree hosting solution. The DIY web builder allows users without prior design skills or coding knowledge to create impeccable and professional photography websites. 

The list of features Jimdo offers includes

• A professional domain
• Integrated monetization options
• Built-in SEO tools
• A logo maker to design professional logos
• Detailed website analytics

Jimdo offers paid plans for more advanced features.

This Jimdo portfolio template is an elegant mix of concept and content with a high-res background photo and a sans serif font for the heading. 

This Jimdo template is for landscape photographers:

5. Pixpa

Pixpa is designed specifically for photography website portfolios. Pixpa offers an exciting assortment of templates that photographers can personalize to match their brand. 

Features include

• Integration with e-commerce
• Google Font support
• The ability to switch between website themes
• Password-protected web pages
• Google Analytics for website tracking and monitoring

Pixpa has four paid options following a 15-day free trial:

• Basic: $3.60/month (billed 2 yearly)
• Creator: $6.75/month (billed 2 yearly)
• Professional: $9/month (billed 2 yearly)
• Advanced: $11.25/month (billed 2 yearly)

Grace is an elegant website template for wedding photographers. The bride-and-groom homepage image makes an instant connection with the audience, and a simple enter button invites them to browse further.

The Amit Sharma Photography website is built on a Pixpa template. The navigation appears on the left sidebar with a series of photographs on the right side, giving the website a cool and contemporary vibe.

6. 8B

8B makes plain on its homepage that it’s the “simplest website builder,” but it offers awesome website templates geared to niche categories. You can use 8B tools from your mobile phone, tablet, or desktop to design personalized websites. 

Key 8B features include

• SEO features
• Mobile-responsive web templates
• Built-in SSL certificates with https
• Progressive Web Application support
• Responsive multilingual support

8B’s pricing options are simple:

• Free: Portfolio on 8B sub-domain
• Start: $3.90/month billed annually

Here is a glimpse at 8B’s website templates:

7. Weebly

Weebly, which is now owned by Square, is a good choice for photographers building their first e-commerce site. Weeby is simple enough for beginners but still packed with powerful features and hassle-free website maintenance. 

Key features include

• Advanced e-commerce tools powered by Square
• A full suite of SEO tools
• Third-party app integration
• Customized domain names
• Free, reliable hosting

Weebly doesn’t compete on price but is still affordable. In addition to the free, basic package are these plans:

• Personal: $10/month (when billed annually)
• Professional: $12/month (when billed annually)
• Performance: $26/month (when billed annually)

The Leo Edwards Photography website uses a Weebly portfolio template. The white background with plenty of white space frames the portrait photo, inviting the viewer to browse for more. 

8. Format

Format is a responsive website builder that offers a number of templates and go-to customization tools. You can set up your website with just a few clicks and get right to business. 

Features include

• Dynamic, responsive website themes
• Custom email address powered by G Suite
• Webtype fonts
• Adobe Lightroom plug-in
• Built-in client proofing tool

Format is competitively priced. After a free two-week trial, you can choose from three pricing tiers:

• Basic: $8/month (when billed annually)
• Pro: $11/month (when billed annually)
• Pro Plus: $13/month (when billed annually)

The Horizon web theme features a neat design with colorful photos, encouraging visitors to engage and scroll to see more photos.

The KILN template has a visually arresting layout with abundant opportunities for photographers to showcase their expertise.

9. FOTOMAT

FOTOMAT by Viewbook is a website development tool exclusively for photographers. The modular tool enables you to quickly integrate photos and videos, allowing you to create rich user experiences in a flash. 

FOTOMAT features include

• Built-in video tools
• Unlimited uploads
• Premium font selection
• SSL encryption
• Mobile-responsive websites

There’s just one plan at $12.50 when paying for a year.

The Angeniet Berkers Photography site is built with a FOTOMAT template. The homepage features a horizontal grid to give users a better sense of what to expect from the photographer. 

Caleb Cain Marcus is a feature photographer who built his website on FOTOMAT. The creative photo medley on the homepage makes wonderful use of a grid layout to demonstrate his expertise.

10. Zenfolio

Zenfolio caters exclusively to photographers with a broad selection of templates. The comprehensive customization options include branding, diverse layouts, and color themes. Key features for building your own website include

• Unlimited photo storage
• Built-in search engine optimization tools
• Mobile-responsiveness
• Integrated print lab partners
• Integrated shopping cart

Zenfolio pricing plans are

• Portfolio: $7/month (when billed annually)
• PortfolioPlus: $11.50/month (when billed annually)
• ProSuite: $20/month (when billed annually)

11. PhotoShelter

PhotoShelter is a haven where photographers can build, grow, and thrive. PhotoShelter offers a variety of web services for photographers hustling to monetize their work. Features include

• Unlimited storage for photos
• E-commerce tools
• Private client galleries
• SEO and social media integration
• Image theft guard

PhotoShelter has three pricing plans with a mix of features:

• Basic: $10/month (when billed annually)
• Standard: $25/month (when billed annually)
• Pro: $45/month (when billed annually)

Photographer Trevor Christensen’s website uses a PhotoShelter template that showcases his work. The left menu offers uncluttered navigation options.

Here’s another PhotoShelter template in action. The photographer Chrissy Lynn tells her story through a series of cascading photos in the horizontal slider. And it looks awesome!

12. Dunked

Dunked is a quick but sophisticated website builder offering photographers modern, minimalist web themes. There are nearly limitless customization and branding options to personalize your website. 

Dunked features include

• The Dunked community of photographers and creatives
• Easy-to-use visual editor
• Fully responsive portfolio templates

Dunked offers a free 10-day trial followed by two paid options:

• Professional: $8/month (when billed annually)
• Agency: $19/month (when billed annually)

Danielle is a U.K.-based graphic designer and illustrator. Her work involves a lot of photography, and she uses Dunked to let her work shine. 

13. Portfoliobox

Portfoliobox is backed by a dedicated community of photographers, designers, DIY crafters, and other creatives. With Portfoliobox, you can start building your photography portfolio in minutes. The platform includes

• Fully customizable web themes
• Zero-commission e-commerce
• Password protection
• Google Analytics integration
• SEO tools

Portfoliobox has three pricing options:

• Light: $3.5/month (when billed annually)
• Pro: $9.5/month (when billed annually)
• Pro Plus: $12.5/month (when billed annually)

The Henrik Korpi website features a grid of stunning photos to pull viewers in without complicated navigation bars or blocks of text.

The Manac Jevscek website makes use of high-resolution food photos arranged in a grid to create an appetizing, one-of-a-kind web experience.

We hope this review of website builders helps you create a beautiful photography website and a successful business. Have any questions? Let us know in the comments. Good luck!