Developing a Website Part 1

In this multi-part blog, I will describe how I build a website from scratch.

The first thing you are probably thinking is, what has website development to do with photography? A website is, for me, the most essential medium where I can show my photos to the world. It’s the same as a good old printed album.

This blog is by no means a tutorial; the idea is to give you an insight into the world of Web development in 2019 without going too deep into the technical aspects. Step by step, I will explain the tools I prefer to design and develop a website. In my case, a photography website.

It all started 20 years ago.

It’s already more than 20 years since I stepped into the world of developing websites as a profession. Nostalgically, I look back and realize how different it is to build a website nowadays compared to those early days.

Microsoft Notepad, HTML, tables, Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver, basic CSS styling and animated gifs were the main tools to give a website a unique layout. But web design and development has changed dramatically in 20 years! We could only dream of the possibilities that we have today.

Now, you don’t even need to know about coding anymore. With online site builders like Wix, Sitebuilder, Duda and many others, you can have a decent site quickly. I don’t recommend those products if you are serious about having your unique website without any restrictions.

Do I need a Website?

For professional use, it’s quite an obvious choice to have a website. It’s the first contact with the outside world, a relatively cheap medium to promote or sell your products.

For a hobby wildlife & nature photographer like me, it’s maybe not so obvious. You could ask, why not post your photos on social media like Facebook, Instagram, or many photo-sharing websites? And all for free! Yes, I do it all the time, but only to promote this website and encourage people to visit it.

So why do I need a personal website? There are many reasons why I wanted a website; one of them is to get complete control over the design and the way my photos are presented. For example, the layout of Facebook is, in my opinion, an ugly one and looks outdated. It’s not the most beautiful environment to share photos. I cannot understand why this multi-billion-dollar company doesn’t invest in a decent design for its platform.

Another reason, and maybe the most important one, is to show my photos not only to people who have a social media account or need to be friends with me to see my pictures and blogs. A personal website is accessible to everyone!

To be continued…

Update: Click here to read Developing a Website Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6

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