We live in an age when blogging is a widespread technique that allows us to create and control our virtual identities (personal or occupational). Photoblog is also another blogging method used by many photographers globally these days.
The purpose of photoblogging basically depends on the niche it’s used. If it’s used in travel photography, it’s meant for documenting travel photography. If it’s used in landscape photography, it’s for documenting landscape photography.
The same cause applies to the other genres too. This method enables a blogger to make a visual representation of a theme or content including relevant textual context.
Photoblogging apparently is easy but building a productive photoblog might be a little bit trickier than you think. Posting photographs on social media platforms with a few captions or texts is not the whole thing that’s required. Additionally, there’s much more to it.
Therefore, whether you’re a beginner or an expert in photography, this article can be a wholesome guide for you. No matter if you are on your way to building a photoblog, you will have takeaways from this blog.
What is a Photoblog?
Before we cut to the chase, let’s understand what photoblog is. Photoblog is a kind of blog in which postings show up mainly with photography. That means instead of texts, the focus is given to photos in photoblog.
In photoblog, photos are posted and laid out in reverse chronological order to let current pictures of each new post show up on top or front page. Photoblog can showcase a unifying theme through the posted photographs or it can even display random pictures.
8 Stages to Build a Dynamic Photoblog
Building a photoblog of your own can be a great way to enhance your photography work to the next level.
To start a photoblog, there are essentially several innovative and practical features that you need to take into consideration. What’s more important is the dedication, which is required to keep continuing with it.
Now, how about proceeding with a thorough step-by-step guideline in order to build a photoblog? Let’s get acquainted with the 8 stages that we have rounded up in this write-up.
1. Start with Planning a Strategy
To begin with, take a while to write and describe the motive behind your photoblog before selecting any certain theme. It is really important to define why you are creating the photoblog.
For example- Is it to showcase your photography work? Or are you just simply telling stories with casual images? The motive can even be to sell pictures on your website? Based on your knowledge, interests, and benefits, you can decide and select the accurate theme.
2. Decide on Your Photoblog Niche
This step might seem quite similar to the first one but not exactly identical. Rather, both are interlinked.
Although photography itself is acknowledged as a blog niche, you need to be more precise about it to create a solid and materialistic blog. Thus, you will be able to grow the probability of getting more traffic for your website.
There are many concepts for the photography niche from which you can choose your ideal one. Check them out underneath-
- Travel Photography
- Wedding Photography
- Product Photography
- Landscape Photography
- Fashion Photography
- Portrait Photography
- Food Photography
- Documentary Photography
- Film Photography
- Stock Photography
- Wildlife Photography
- Mobile Photography
- Lifestyle Photography
- Street Photography
- Real Estate Photography
However, regardless of what you are setting as your photoblog niche, you can explore photography using your photoblog.
Photography business, photo editing, photo retouching, advertising on social media for professional photographers, and DIY photo hacks are also some more related topics available that you can explore.
3. Select a Platform for your Blog
One of the most crucial steps for building a photoblog is selecting a blogging platform. Out there, you can find numerous options (free & paid both) available. But we would like to recommend WordPress.org as it’s considered to be the best choice so far.
WordPress is branded as the most renowned CMS (Content Management System) all over the world because of its authority over 455 million websites across the internet. It’s versatile, dependable, and easily usable.
Apart from that, many world-famous brands like Disney, Time Magazine, Sony, CNN, The Next Web, PlayStation, etc. trust the services provided by WordPress and are using it.
There are also several other platforms like Wix, Divi, or Weebly available that offer many readymade attractive templates to build websites like a pro quite effortlessly. But the drawback of these platforms is the limitations of versatile usage.
However, WordPress is tremendously adaptable to use contrariwise. Also, you have the advantage to install further tools in order to develop your site if required. That’s why it is considered to be the most preferred platform worldwide.
Now here’s a reminder for you to bear in mind. Don’t get confused between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. Both are not the same and have several differences.
WordPress.com is mostly suitable for amateurs or non-professional bloggers who started blogging as a hobby. Even though it has both free and paid plans, still it’s not sufficiently flexible for bloggers who want to be paid or plan to build a virtual presence through blogging.
The one we are recommending is WordPress.org as it offers both paid and free features that are fundamental and helpful if you are planning to blog commercially. Moreover, its paid plans are also very much cost-effective.
4. Domain Name Selection
Before we get into selecting a domain name, let’s first understand what a domain is. A domain name is mainly the text netizens type in their browser through which they can visit and explore your blog.
Now, the selection of an admirable and satisfactory domain name is the key point behind the success of your photoblog. Preferably, it should be an influential keyword, something connected to your photoblog niche.
Thus, your domain name can let your viewers find you easily as well as the search engines can simply identify the central theme of your blog.
No matter what you select as a domain name for your photoblog site, be certain it’s not anything dense or complex but something catchy and memorable. For your convenience, some tips are mentioned below-
- Describe the core of your photoblog concept in 2-3 words
- Keep it shorter as much as possible (around 15 letters or less)
- If possible, try picking a domain- .com
- Skip hyphens and numbers from using
- Make sure it’s easy to pronounce, spell, and also related to your photoblog niche
- Last but not the least, it should be a unique and non-existing name (any existing brands/sites can’t be using your selected name already)
Nevertheless, don’t end up getting stuck in this step to get a perfect and flawless domain name which results in wasting your precious time. Instead, you should invest more time to build your photoblog more creatively.
And so, the pro tip is as soon as you have a list of names after enough brainstorming and researching, look for accessible domain names on Namecheap/GoDaddy. Simply opt for your preferred one and just go for it!
5. Purchasing and Hosting your Domain
Just in case you are not familiar with the term web hosting, let’s try to get a glimpse of an idea of it first. A provision that allows you to store your website and its every record securely on the internet is fundamentally known as web hosting.
Given that, once you have got an accessible domain name available, it’s time for you to secure it. And to do so, you need to buy the domain name with dependable hosting service.
Though you have the option to purchase and host your domain through the same service provider with a single transaction, it’s better to purchase them separately. In this way, you are able to receive more flexibility for your site.
So now, to register and purchase your domain name, you can pick any one among some popular domain registrars like GoDaddy, Domain.com, Google domains, or Namecheap. And for hosting your domain, we recommend Bluehost, a secured and affordable hosting service.
6. Set up your Photography Webpage
After you have completed the installation process of WordPress and purchased your domain name along with a hosting service, it’s time to set up the structure and outlook of your photoblog.
So to carry on with it, you can start by selecting a lovely WordPress theme. Then create the menu and main pages. Lastly, install some plugins if necessary.
Relax! Don’t be too agitated about this step. There is no need for you to appoint any web developer/designer to get your job done here.
The best part is that WordPress offers the facility of various kinds of templates & tools for customizing your blog. Whether you are a beginner or an expert you can always use these ready prototypes to improve your blog’s appearance.
Nonetheless, it can be a little bit difficult at first if you are completely new to using WordPress without any experience.
But no worries! Fortunately, you can get enough assistance and guidance from online tutorials and learn how to make the best use of every tool & plugin that you have installed. Hence, take your time and proceed once you have gained some ideas.
7. Start your Photoblog
At this stage, you are all set to start blogging. Building a new blog using WordPress is quite easy and simple. You can compare it with the process of creating a fresh or new page as it’s pretty much similar except for a few variations.
So in order to post your initial blog on WordPress, we have included a couple of instructions that you can act according to:
- Keep your paragraphs short. Write around 2-4 lines.
- Add headings, bold words, and bullet points to make your blog skimmable.
- Upload your photos. Keep adding more pictures to make your photoblog more desirable.
- Make your blog valuable by leaving certain beneficial content for your visitors.
8. Start Promoting
Lastly, all that is left for you to do is promoting your photoblog. Hurry up and start promoting it! Once your photoblog is ready, you can do the promotion on many online photography mediums and also on social media platforms.
Moreover, you can open an Instagram account or a Facebook page for your website as well to keep your audiences updated and maintain interaction with them.
Final Words-Guide to Build Photoblog
To sum up, building a photoblog of your own can be entertaining and thrilling for both amateurs and professional photographers.
However, it requires time, dedication, hard work, and luck to make a profitable and popular photo blog that would meet up the expectations of maximum audiences. You must plan a strategy and be prepared to publish a blog every week. As a result, you will be able to reach out and engage more people with your work.
So, follow the guidelines of this article mentioned above to start photo blogging and make sure to be consistent with it to build a successful photoblog.
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