Tag Archives: photos

How to Create a Style Guide for Your Website in 5 Steps

Posted on May 24, 2019 by Hosting

The post How to Create a Style Guide for Your Website in 5 Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog . Websites are online storefronts for small businesses. Because they play a pivotal role in the customer experience, your team must make it a priority. A style guide helps your small business develop a cohesive look for your website. Without a clear branding style, customers will disengage and leave your site. Style guides also ensure there aren’t any discrepancies in your branding strategy. Let’s streamline your online presence. Here are 5 elements to consider in your website style guide. 1. Brand Voice Branding is the overall perception of your small business. It’s how you differentiate your products and services from others in the market. Brand voice is part of building your website. You get to show visitors your brand personality and unique qualities. Voice can range from casual and calm to vibrant and risky. In the  chart below , each voice characteristic corresponds with suggested actions (and inactions) for businesses. For instance, a company aiming for an authentic voice should portray honesty and ownership of mistakes and stay away from marketing jargon. A description of your brand voice isn’t always enough. When developing your style guide, you also should include explicit examples for your team to follow. This tactic eliminates any uncertainty when posting copy to your site. Web design affects many internal departments. Your sales team needs to know the appropriate messaging to secure customers. The finance team is interested in the actual costs, and human resources wants to attract new employees. Therefore, it’s helpful to get input from your entire team when making key brand decisions. Choose a brand voice that inspires your customers. Then, you can start developing a website that represents your brand story.   2. Navigation Laying out your website is just as critical as selecting the right words and images. When visitors land on your site, they should easily tell where to go next. It’s vital that your team craft a straightforward roadmap for their visit. For starters, keep your main heading options under six. Too many choices can overwhelm visitors and can cause them to take no action at all. Drop-down  menus also can offer structure, giving visitors access to additional pages without multiple clicks. When mapping out your navigation, conduct customer research and examine data from conversion optimization tools like heatmaps. You’ll want to begin with what’s important. Andy Crestodina , the co-founder and CMO of Orbit Media, provides his perspective: “In website navigation, just like any list, items at the beginning and the end are most effective, because this is where attention and retention are highest. Always seek to put the things that are most important to visitors in the most visually prominent places.” Effective navigation helps customers buy your products. So, streamline the navigation bar to increase engagement.   3. Colors Red, blue, purple, yellow. The colors on your website matter to your visitors. They can either spark an invitation to stay or ignite a reaction to leave your site immediately. Colors influence consumers’ perceptions of your brand. While each color represents something different for every individual, humans do recognize specific colors to represent different emotions. Yet, studies recommend that companies select colors that support the brand personality they want to portray, instead of aligning with stereotypical color associations. Your team then can add meaning to the chosen colors through other branding aspects. The  diagram below shows the connection between a color and a meaning. For example, lime green can translate into competence with a brand personality of reliability and intelligence. Colors relay an essential message your customers. Don’t force your brand to adhere to the traditional norms of what a color embodies. Find the right palette for your small business.   4. Fonts Fonts are usually the last thing on a small business owner’s mind. However, fonts help communicate your brand’s voice. Script fonts can portray a young, playful company, while a slab font can mean a bold, established brand. Google Fonts is an interactive library of more than 900 fonts. It’s an easy-to-use tool to experiment with fonts and compare your top choices. Avoid fonts that aren’t legible or clear. Consumers shouldn’t have to squint their eyes to read your text or take a second look just to be certain. Jill Chongva , a WordPress website designer, says: “It’s best to use fonts that complement each other and work together without being jarring for the reader. This usually means choosing a combination of a serif font and a sans serif font that don’t fight for the reader’s attention.” It’s also wise to not select fonts similar to well-known brands, like Coca-Cola or Nike. You want a distinct font that separates your small business from the competition. What font expresses your brand? Do your research and select one that will grab your consumers’ attention.   5. Images Images impact how consumers see your small business. With a couple of pictures, buyers can quickly determine whether they can see themselves with your product. In your style guide, outline the type of images that are acceptable for brand promotion. Specify the recommended file format and display size. You also may want to limit the number of images per page—leaving some white space. That way, your visitors don’t get bombarded with too many visuals at once. Invest in quality product photography . You want images that display the fine details of your product. For example, if you sell purses, consumers should see every pattern design. The image should give them a sense of how the product would look and feel in real life. Customers can become accustomed to the same old stock photos. For your website to stand out, you may want to shoot your own photos. Most smartphones are capable of taking high-quality pictures. So, encourage your team to share their photos from the last company retreat or team-building outing. Choose your images carefully. The image specifications make a huge difference for your website.   Your Website’s Style Guide Websites are open invitations for customers to learn about your small business. Style guides create a roadmap to establish your brand. With the right elements, your team can build a better customer experience. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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When You Need Professional Photography For Your Website

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Hosting

The post When You Need Professional Photography For Your Website appeared first on HostGator Blog . Imagine if in just 2 short seconds you could start to build trust and authority with your customer… For most of us, this is the key to more sales online. The truth is that with most people the 2-second shot clock starts the instant a visitor lands on your webpage. Understanding how to convert customers online was a key for me in going from zero to over 1.3 million dollars in online business in under 60 days . Content Is King… Think Again! You may have heard this statement before… people will tell you ‘content is king.’ The belief is that the content you create is the most important component in your brand. Before we take a look at this idea, let me share a statistic with you. You have on average 2.2 seconds to make a good impression before someone leaves your website. Yes… just 2.2 seconds. Most people who visit a website decide if they will stay or leave immediately within 2.2 seconds. You might be thinking, “that doesn’t feel fair! I spent weeks building my website!” When you land on a website that looks like it was built in 1995, what do you do? You leave! Why? Because you don’t trust it! This is why content is not king; visuals are king ! Because without visuals that command authority, your viewer won’t ever give your content the opportunity it deserves. The most significant visual component to your website and design are your photos. Professional Photos To The Rescue The easiest way to build trust and authority on your website is by using professional photos. This is true for your brand, a business, or a blog. In professional media, there are two types of photos that you could use – stock photos that you license and your own photos. Stock Photography Stock photography refers to professional photos that you license to use. Some stock photography is royalty free, meaning you don’t need to pay royalty fees or license fees for each use. Some royalty free stock photography is free, and others are paid. Either way, be sure you look at the copyright and license agreement to determine if or how you can use the photography. For instance, do you have to give credit citation or link to the creator? Note: the Gator Website Builder comes with an extensive library of stock photos that are free to use with your package. I can tell you from experience that even the pricier options are worth it. Visuals are one of the most powerful pieces of the internet. If you’ve ever hired a photographer for professional headshots, a wedding, or an event, then you know how expensive and time-consuming photography can be. Select the Perfect Stock Photo An essential component of stock photography is understanding why you’re using it. Before you can select the perfect stock photo , you want to know and understand precisely why you need it. You can’t know what you need without understanding why. One of the biggest keys to selecting the perfect stock photo for your website is having a goal in mind. The goal is to elicit an emotional response. I have a strong background in songwriting, and I have found that understanding music has helped to show this aspect of human psychology. But you don’t want to write music. You’re here because you’re building a website. So why do you care? When I have to write a song I have a lot of tools on the table to use. I have instruments to choose from, a tempo to pick, melody, rhythm, and lyrics. The end goal that I’ve found in music is to create an emotional response in the listener. The same purpose applies to business and sales. This is because all buyers buy with emotion. If my goal in a song is to write something to make someone sad, I will write a slow tempo ballad with sad lyrics in a minor key. That is how I get that emotion, and those are the tools that I have. But what about a website? What tools do I have to build the emotion? Photos Copywriting Design/Layout Videos Photography is the easiest way to create an emotional response in your reader because a picture is truly worth 1,000 words. Here are a few examples below of websites that I’ve built to show you how this works: This is the page that shows homes for sale. The image gives an emotional feeling of pride and love for the child running into the brand new big house as the parents walk up with the boxes moving in. The sun is shining, the child is excited, and the dad looks proud. If I were to try to start the top of this page with copywriting to portray the same emotion, I would have to write out a long story about being proud of buying your first home for your family. Frankly, if you landed on the website and you were looking for houses to buy, you probably would never read it! The photo tells you the entire story within seconds. If you are looking to buy a home for your family, this may trigger the emotional response. You might feel happy and proud just being on this page with the idea of even looking to purchase a home. Here is a stock photo of a person installing a solar panel system on a roof from a company’s website in New Jersey. The photo is professional, the lighting is beautiful, the sun is setting/rising behind him. With the center focus of the work, the headline and form sit perfectly on the website. When you land on this page, it commands authority within 2.2 seconds. You know what this site is and you will be inclined to either fill out the form or explore the website more. If you were looking for a company that did solar maintenance, you wouldn’t leave. But hypothetically, what if we just used a different photo and not a stock photo? How would that look? This would be if I used one of the client’s photos they took with an expensive camera from a job they were on. Is this a bad photo? No. Is it clear what the company does? Not at all. Is it a boring photo? Yes. When you compare the two you can see that the difference between the website that impresses you vs confuses you, the only difference is the photo choice. When To Not Use Stock Photography Now that you know how to select the perfect stock photo for your site, let’s talk about when you don’t need a stock photo. This mainly applies to any time that you’re looking to build a personal brand instead of a corporate one. Why wouldn’t you want to use a stock photo? The reason is that people start to become immune to stock photography. They are so used to seeing stock photos in advertisements and corporate websites, that sometimes it isn’t the right fit. So what else can you use for your personal brand? The answer is professional photography and headshots custom to you. The Keys To Great Photos There are a few key elements to a good professional photo or headshot. Rather than give you a tutorial on things like lens aperture and different lighting styles, I will suggest that you get someone who knows photography to take them. One of the keys to photos on a website is to understand the difference between a hero image for the home page and photos that showcase and build rapport. Here are three examples of websites that build trust and authority with professionalism for personal brands. Blake Nubar builds sales funnels and showcases his 2 comma club award. My website, Tom Camp Media, has a headshot with a grey background and a ring light to draw focus to the eyes. Kinect With Katina shares fitness and health tips. Her headshot is a ring light with a dark background as well. When it comes to personal brands the easiest way to grab attention and build authority is a good quality photo of you. But your photos don’t always need to be serious… as a matter of fact, I recommend that they aren’t always serious once you get beyond the home page! Quirky photos are memorable. Here are a few examples of photos that have a quirkiness to them: Must love dogs. Liz shares photos on her site that are goofy and she always has these ridiculous glasses in each photo. The not so corporate headshot. Are these photos that I would put on my business card? Most likely not, but they are memorable! I would use these types of photos for other pages and not above the fold on the home page. The reason is that you want to build authority and then rapport, but this is a personal opinion. Conclusion Knowing when to use stock photography vs. professional headshot photos is entirely up to you, your audience, and the scenario. Understanding these methods have helped me immensely in creating sales pages that convert customers. I hope that this simple method helps you to make the right decision for your next website project. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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4 Best Free WordPress Themes for Photography Blogs

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Hosting

The post 4 Best Free WordPress Themes for Photography Blogs appeared first on HostGator Blog . A well-designed blog is a must, by definition, for photo bloggers, but professional photographers and Instagram addicts can benefit from having a photo blog, too. That’s because a blog that’s set up to show off images does more than connect bloggers and fans. A regularly updated blog also helps pro photographers keep their portfolio current and helps them rank better in search results. And photographers with a following on Instagram can use a blog to reach a wider audience with their images and build a list of prospects who may want to buy prints, products, or how-to know-how. To create a photo-friendly blog, you’ll need a theme that’s designed with images in mind. Here are four of our free favorite WordPress themes for photography blogs. 1. Camer Camer is an image-grid based theme from Blogging Theme Styles . Images on Camer’s pages only display text when site tap or mouse over them, which keeps visitors’ focus on your work, not your words. Camer’s layout for computer screens features a full-width text header above a 4-column image grid. On phones, Camer displays images in a single column. The free version of Camer is designed to work with Gutenberg, the new modular editor for WordPress that’s meant to make it easier for users without web design backgrounds to create and update their websites. Camer’s free version includes an unusually wide array of design options, such as five page templates, thirteen sidebar position options, a built-in menu for social media feeds, and more.   To get tools to let you adjust the width of each section on your pages, plus additional layouts, page templates, and sidebar positions, you can upgrade to Camer Pro ($49).   2. Himalayas Himalayas from Theme Grill is one of the most popular single-page themes around, and it’s a great option for photo bloggers who want to keep their site simple while showing off their best work. The full-width banner slider is followed by a blog section with featured images and text snippets and a portfolio section that’s all images with mouse-over/tap text display. There’s a built-in call-to-action button so you can invite your visitors to sign up for your newsletter, contact you to book a sitting, or visit your online store. Services and portfolio widgets help showcase your work, too. The pro version ($69) is WooCommerce compatible and includes Google fonts along with font size, color palette, and slider options not available in the free version.   3. Image Gridly Photographers can display their work and their words with Image Gridly from Superb Themes . The name probably gives away that the layout for this theme is an image grid. Unlike Camer (above) Image Gridly overlays titles on the lower third of each image, so users can see text related to each photo without having to tap or mouse over. Image Gridly’s desktop display includes a full-width banner photo with a three-column image grid below it. On smartphones, Image Gridly’s display has a full-width banner followed by featured post images displayed in a single column. Image Gridly’s free version is a great choice for showing off photography, but it lacks some of the features that other free themes include, like tools to customize the theme’s appearance, Google fonts , and speed and search optimization. Upgrading to the premium version (starting at $26) adds these features and tools.   4. Juliet Juliet is a minimalist, image-heavy, feminine theme from Lyra Themes that’s a solid choice for photo bloggers who enjoy writing about their work. It’s designed as a fashion blog theme, but the full-width image header followed by a 4-column row of featured images from different blog categories works for other types of photography, too. Juliet is responsive, WooCommerce compatible, and lightweight for fast image load times . The free version also gives you options for image and text logos, overlay colors for the banner, background color and image, sidebars, headers and footers, and two different skins. Although the free version has enough features to get most photo bloggers off to a strong start, the pro version ($35 plus $8/month for support and updates) has a lot to recommend it, like a lookbook template that could make a great portfolio tool, additional video display options, Jetpack-powered social media sharing tools, and an email subscription widget.   Picturing Your Ideal Photo Blog Theme Each theme publisher offers a live demo so you can see how their designs look and work on computers, tablets, and phones. However, it’s a good idea to try out the themes you like with your own blog content before you commit to one theme. As you try them out, ask yourself a few questions: How does the theme look with your content? Does the overall design of the theme work with the overall themes and mood of your photos? For example, a soft-looking theme like Juliet might be a great showcase for portrait photography but not so much for shots of brutalist architecture. Do you want to make money with your blog ? If you plan to sell prints of your work on your site, display ads, or set up a customer service chatbot to connect with potential clients, does the theme integrate easily with the tools you’ll need to use? How quickly does your site load with the theme installed? Images can dramatically slow down page load times, which can lead to lower search-results rankings, more bounces, and less traffic overall. Ideally, each page on your photography site should load in less than 3 seconds. Once you start using a theme, keep an eye on your blog’s bounce rate, the average length of time visitors spend on your site, and whether conversions are increasing, falling, or staying flat to get a sense of whether your theme is helping visitors get the most from your content. You can also listen for feedback from your visitors to see what they think of it. Do the images display properly for them? Can they navigate around the site easily? Use their questions and comments to get a clear picture of where the theme is working for you and where it may need improvement. Then, optimize your photo blog with these essential tools . Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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How to Design an eCommerce Website

Posted on November 5, 2018 by Hosting

The post How to Design an eCommerce Website appeared first on HostGator Blog . When building an eCommerce website , you know that the ultimate goal of the site is to get people to make purchases. You can’t just focus on building an e-commerce site that looks great (although that’s worth doing too) – you have to make sure every element of the web design guides people toward the point of buying something from you. Fortunately, building an eC ommerce website is easier than it’s ever been. You don’t have to hire an expensive designer or learn coding from scratch. If you don’t have much money to spend or time to work with, you can use a eCommerce website builder to create an eCommerce site that’s professional and geared toward achieving your goals. Whether you build the website yourself or hire someone to do the legwork, there are a few important steps you should take to make sure your eCommerce website will do its job. 1. Organize Your eCommerce Website Based On How People Shop. One of the first steps to building an eCommerce website is figuring out what pages and categories to include. You’ll obviously want a home page and pages for each of your different products. But how will you organize all those product pages so that people can find what they’re looking for? Think about how your potential customers are likely to shop and browse and build out the site architecture that makes the most sense based on that. For example, if you sell pet food and supplies, you might organize your website based on the type of pet your visitors have (dog, cat, fish, mouse, etc.) with subcategories under each for product types (toys, treats, food, etc.). Anyone visiting the site can pretty quickly figure out how to narrow down their search based on their particular needs.  And by visiting a page that groups a lot of similar products together, they can browse all the dog treats or cat toys available and pick the one they most want.   2. Make Your eCommerce Site Responsive. According to mobile shopping trends , almost a third of all shopping online now happens on mobile devices. If your eCommerce website doesn’t work well on mobile, you’ll be missing out on a lot of potential sales (and it will hurt your SEO to boot). For most eCommerce websites , the best way to make your website mobile friendly is to make it responsive. Responsive websites provide the same information and images on each page no matter what device they’re on, but they position them differently in order to make the page fit the screen. An image that shows up next to text on the desktop will show up below it, for instance. Luckily, responsive websites have become enough of a norm that a good website builder or designer will offer a responsive option as a matter of course.   3. Include a Search Bar. Many of your visitors will be content to browse the site to find items they like, but some will know exactly what they’re looking for. A search bar gives them a way to get directly to the page they need and is, therefore, one of those features that every eCommerce site should have .   4. Have a Shopping Cart. Your ideal customer isn’t going to see one item they like and go straight to the purchase process. They’ll spend some time browsing and choosing several items they want. A shopping cart is another standard feature of eCommerce stores because it allows visitors to save the items they want to purchase while they continue browsing, and then go through the purchasing process once for all of them. And for visitors that add items to a shopping cart but don’t buy right away, you can follow up with a reminder email to your customers to help nudge them back to the site toward a purchase.   5. Include Wish List Functionality. Including wish list functionality accomplishes a few different things: It gives people an easy place to point friends and family in the lead up to a gift-giving event – a situation people regularly make purchases for. For people who prefer to do research before they buy a product, it gives them a chance to save the items they like for possible future purchase. For anyone avoiding impulse buys for budgetary reasons, they can mark now the things they want to come back for later. Giving people a way to use your website to create a list of items they want creates a few opportunities where those items are more likely to become future sales.   6. Include Reviews. Over half of regular online shoppers  say they read reviews almost every time they shop online. Looking at customer reviews has become a regular part of the purchasing process.By including a review feature on your website, you give your customers a way to hear directly from each other – which is more powerful than what you can tell them. Enabling reviews from third parties shows your customers you’re confident that your products can stand up to customers’ honest feedback. And if the reviews are positive (which they should be if your products are solid), they’ll increase your sales. As an added benefit, reviews can help you gain valuable feedback about the products you offer and the service experience your customers have. You may be able to pick up some tips that help you improve your eCommerce business results over time. For example, at HostGator, we feature reviews on a dedicated page on our site: 7. Offer a Guest Checkout Option. When someone takes the step of creating an account on your website, it provides you with awesome long-term opportunities. It means they can use some of the features we’ve talked about here – like creating wish lists and adding reviews –  and that you can provide them with relevant promotional emails and reminder emails after cart abandonment. But creating an account takes time and for some visitors who aren’t sure they’ll come back, it can feel like an inconvenience to have to take the steps of creating an account. They just want to make their purchase already. Including an easier guest checkout option removes friction from the checkout process so more people are willing to go through the whole process, rather than changing their mind when it looks too time-consuming. 8. Invest in High-Quality Product Photography. For physical products, a photograph can often tell your visitors valuable information about the product that your words can’t communicate as well. 78% of online shoppers say they want to see images that bring products to life. You not only need to provide photographs for all of the products you sell, but you should also invest in making sure the images are high quality. Whether you take the photos yourself or invest in a professional product photographer, make sure the images you use look great and show your products in the best light.   9. Make Your Contact Info Easy to Find. You should do your best to answer all the common questions your customers may have on your website, but even so, you’ll have customers that need to get in touch at some point. When that happens, make it as easy as possible for them to find a way to get in touch about whatever issue they’re having. Don’t make them dig through the website for a simple email address or phone number. You can’t provide good customer service until your customer has successfully managed to get in touch. And customer service is the best tool you have for repeat business.   10. Perform User Testing. Building an eCommerce website requires doing a lot of guessing about what people will respond to. Even if you work really hard to put your potential visitors first and try to design the site based on how you think they’ll behave, you won’t get it all right on your own. Before you launch, do some  website usability testing . Bring in some other people who can look at your website with fresh eyes. Have them take the steps on the site you most want your visitors to take – like creating an account, making a purchase, and signing up for the email list. They can provide honest feedback about any difficulties or inconvenience they experienced. Their feedback will enable you to make any last minute tweaks needed to correct problems you didn’t know how to see yourself.   Design Your eCommerce Website with Quality in Mind eCommerce businesses live and die on the quality of their websites. Make sure you do your due diligence to build a successful eCommerce site that can do the main job you need it to. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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Top 5 WordPress Portfolio Plugins

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Hosting

The post Top 5 WordPress Portfolio Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog . If you’re a creative person who wants to show off your work, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better way to do it than combining the power of WordPress with a top-notch WordPress portfolio plugin . Right out of the box, taking advantage of managed WordPress hosting allows you to add images and create basic galleries to your WordPress site, but the overall functionality is a bit limited. If you truly want to show off your work to impress potential clients, then you’ll want a professional WordPress website portfolio plugin behind you. With WordPress, creating your dream portfolio site doesn’t have to be that difficult. WordPress is a very beginner-friendly platform, and most plugins also include extensive documentation to help walk you through any tough spots. Below you’ll learn what WordPress portfolio plugins are, the benefits that using one of these plugins will bring you, the kind of features that are absolutely necessary, and finally, the top portfolio plugins we recommend. What Are WordPress Portfolio Plugins ? If you’re familiar with WordPress, then you know there are about a million popular WordPress plugins you can choose to help customize your site. It’s easy to get overwhelmed throughout the plugin search. But that’s why posts like this exist—to help you find the absolute best plugin for your needs. But…what are WordPress portfolio plugins ? Glad you asked. WordPress portfolio plugins will help you easily present your creative work in the best light. So, if you’re looking for a graphic designer theme , photographer, videographer, or any other kind of visually-oriented creative theme, a portfolio plugin will help you put your best foot forward. WordPress portfolio plugins will help you easily create one-of-a-kind displays. Trying to do this yourself would take some immense coding skills. But, with a plugin, you can do it in a few hours. Depending on the portfolio plugin you choose you’ll have a variety of different features and layouts to choose from. Most portfolio plugins exist to help you accomplish the same goal—showcasing your creative work in a beautiful and enticing manner. Some WordPress portfolio plugins may be best suited for different types of media, so make sure you pay attention to the individual plugin feature sets we’ve highlighted below.   What Are the Benefits of Using a WordPress Portfolio Plugin ? Any creative who’s looking for a unique way to present their work can benefit from a  portfolio plugin. While visually oriented creators will probably get the most benefit from a WordPress portfolio plugin , even freelance writers can use a portfolio plugin to showcase their past writing clips. If you’re building a portfolio website to help you get hired by more clients, then a portfolio plugin is a no-brainer. Simply uploading your photos to a basic WordPress site page without any styling won’t give that much of an effect—and clients won’t be impressed. Best of all, WordPress portfolio plugins are incredibly easy to use. You simply install the plugin, upload your media, add various effects, and press publish. Plus, most of the top WordPress portfolio plugins out there include documentation that will walk you through any points you might get stuck on. If you want to save yourself some time, while building a beautiful portfolio you can show off to potential clients to help you land a new gig, then you’ll want to use a WordPress portfolio plugin .   Using a WordPress Portfolio Plugin vs. a WordPress Portfolio Theme A lot of WordPress themes already have built-in portfolio features. If you already have a WordPress portfolio theme, then why would you want to install a portfolio plugin? Don’t they accomplish the exact same thing? One of the main reasons concerns what each element of WordPress is supposed to address. Generally, WordPress portfolio themes should handle the visually oriented elements of your site, while plugins exist to add more features to your site. Adding a portfolio to your site falls under the functionality portion, so you’ll usually want to handle this with a WordPress portfolio plugin. For example, let’s say that you decide to change themes, but your portfolio was created with the built-in theme features. Once you switch themes all of this data will be lost, and you’ll be stuck having to re-create your portfolio from scratch. If you take the plugin approach you’ll not only get more control over the final appearance of your portfolio page but if you ever want to switch themes you can bring all of this data with you.   What to Look for in a WordPress Portfolio Plugin Most portfolio plugins have a similar set of features. This can be a good thing, as it makes the selection process a little bit easier. But still, there are a few must-haves you should look out for. These include: Support for various types of media. Unless you’re solely a photographer, you’ll have different forms of media you want to display. The ability to create more than a single portfolio. Chances are you have a variety of different styles of work. Look for a plugin that allows for multiple styles or types of portfolio pages. Various overlay features. Now, you might just want a very simple portfolio. But, the ability to add animations, text, overlays, and other features can really help your portfolio stand out. A plugin that’s easy to use. The last thing you want is to spend hours and hours trying to set up your portfolio. Now that you know what to look for in a portfolio plugin, here are a few questions that will help you vet the actual quality of the plugin: What is the general consensus of the reviews? Is it above four-stars? Does the plugin provide dedicated support or documentation? Is it regularly updated in alignment with the latest version of WordPress? Does it have all the features you require, like support for videos or WooCommerce products? Now that you have a better idea of why you need a WordPress portfolio plugin , along with the kinds of features you’ll want to look out for, it’s time to get into the real reason you’re reading this post—the plugins themselves.   Top 5 Best WordPress Portfolio Plugins There are a lot of WordPress portfolio plugins out there on the market, both free and paid. Instead of having to dig through and test out every plugin yourself, here are some of the best of the best. Below you’ll find a mix of both free and premium plugins to fit any budget. Without further ado, here are five of the best WordPress portfolio plugins currently on the market.   1. Envira Gallery Envira Gallery is available as a free and premium gallery plugin. But, it lets you do a lot more than just upload your photos. This plugin is incredibly easy to use and can leave you with a beautiful portfolio in a matter of minutes. It’s equipped with dark and drop customization, pre-existing designs and layouts to match your existing design, and it’s super fast. The last thing you want is a slow loading portfolio plugin that affects the rest of your site’s loading speed. Once you install this portfolio plugin you’ll be amazed at the selection of responsive, retina-ready designs and layouts. There are even some unique features that let you display your WooCommerce products (if you’re running an WooCommerce store ), and even social sharing options.   2. Nimble Portfolio Nimble Portfolio is a feature-packed portfolio plugin that’s entirely free. With this plugin, you can create a wide range of different types of portfolios. For example, you can create galleries filled with posts, pages, images, videos, and even WooCommerce products. Each element of your portfolio is displayed in an attractive circular thumbnail. Once your users click on a certain element of your portfolio it’ll pop-up in a lightbox. There’s also a built-in filtering feature that lets your users sort your portfolio based on the type of media they want to see. Plus, your portfolio will look good on any screen size as the plugin automatically creates responsive portfolio pages. If you want to add even more features to your portfolio, then there are a number of premium extensions you can purchase . These will give you additional options like more sorting options, portfolio skins, light boxes, and more.   3. Easy Portfolio If you’re looking for an easy to use plugin, then Easy Portfolio might be the perfect plugin for your needs. It’s exactly like it sounds, a very easy to use plugin that can help you create an interactive slider. If you’re not comfortable changing a bunch of plugin settings, or just want a simple portfolio that does the job, then consider this WordPress portfolio plugin . It’s super easy to use. Once you install the plugin, just add whatever content you desire, describe your images or projects and click save. Then, you’ll be given a shortcode that you just copy and paste into any page on your site. Best of all, Easy Portfolio is a free plugin, so there’s no investment required to get an elegant portfolio up and running on your site.   4. Go Portfolio Go Portfolio is a feature-packed WordPress portfolio plugin . This is a premium plugin and there isn’t a free version available, so if you’re on a budget then you might want to choose another plugin on this list. Right out of the box you’ll have four different styles you can choose from. Each of these has their own unique look with different thumbnail shapes, overlays, and built-in effects. This makes it easy to start adding a portfolio WordPress theme to your site without having to adjust a bunch of additional settings. Beyond choosing your portfolio style you’ll have access to a lot of different customization elements, like the color choice, font style and size, and adding filtering options. Finally, you’ll be able to add a variety of forms of media like images, videos, audio clips, and even WooCommerce products. There’s also a cool feature that gives you the option to sell your images or videos that are embedded in your gallery. With WooCommerce integration and a beautiful portfolio display, you can easily add a new income stream.   5. Essential Grid Premium WordPress Plugin Essential Grid Premium WordPress Plugin is an all-in-one portfolio builder. It truly shines in its flexibility and versatility. If you’re not quite sure how you want your portfolio page to be structured, then this plugin can be incredibly useful. It’s equipped with 30 different skins you can use to craft a unique portfolio. Plus, it has its own drag and drop builder that allows you to create your own skin, giving your portfolio a one-of-a-kind look. No matter what kind of media you want to use for your portfolio, this plugin can more than likely support it. You’ll be able to craft a portfolio with images, audio, video, blog posts, logos, and even WooCommerce products. Every portfolio you create is also fully responsive and can be filtered by your visitors, so they can see the exact kind of content they wish. If you’re looking for a premium WordPress portfolio plugin that affords you the flexibility to do whatever you desire with your portfolio, then this plugin is worth checking out.   Choosing Your WordPress Portfolio Plugin An online portfolio plugin for WordPress can be a great way to showcase your creative work in a stunning fashion. Hopefully, you have a better idea of why you’d want to use a portfolio plugin, along with some of the best recommendations to help you get started. The way that you display your creative work is almost as important as the work itself. With the sheer amount of WordPress portfolio plugins available there’s no excuse for having a lackluster portfolio. Remember, to use any of the awesome plugins above you’re going to need a host, a domain name, and a website running WordPress. If you haven’t found the right host yet, consider HostGator’s WordPress hosting.   Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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