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The 7 Best Website Builders for Photographers
Ronnie Nelson
Your Photos Deserve a Beautiful Home
Let's be real, as a photographer, your website is everything. It's your virtual gallery, your business card, and your storefront all rolled into one. It needs to look incredible and load in a flash. I've waded through the options to find the builders that really let your images shine.
My Top Picks at a Glance
Squarespace:
If you love clean, elegant designs that make your photos the star of the show, you'll love Squarespace.
Wix:
For those of you who want to get creative and have full control over every pixel, Wix is a fantastic choice.
Honestly, it all comes down to how much you want to customize. Let's dive deeper.
How I Tested and Ranked These Builders
To give you the real scoop, I put 15 popular website builders to the test. I looked at everything from template quality and photo galleries to speed, SEO, and how easy it is to sell your prints. Here's what my process looked like:
I uploaded a portfolio of 50 high-res images to see how each builder handled compression and loading times.
I dug into the SEO settings to see how easy it was to add alt text and other important tags.
I ran speed tests to see how quickly the sites loaded on mobile.
I set up a test store to see how the e-commerce features worked for selling prints and digital downloads.
I even had a couple of non-techy friends try to build a gallery to see how user-friendly the builders really are.
I weighted the scores based on what I think is most important for photographers: visual quality, performance, SEO, sales features, and support.
The 7 Best Website Builders for Photographers in 2025
After all that testing, here are the seven builders that came out on top:
Squarespace — Best for stunning, gallery-focused templates
Wix — Best for creative freedom and cool animations
SmugMug — Best for client proofing and unlimited storage
Format — Best for minimalist portfolios with a great blog
Pixpa — Best for photographers on a budget
Zenfolio — Best for automating print sales
Adobe Portfolio — Best free option if you already have Creative Cloud
1. Squarespace
Perfect for: Fine-art photographers, wedding photographers, and anyone who wants a polished look without the hassle.
Squarespace is my top pick for a reason. Its templates are just gorgeous, with tons of white space and beautiful fonts that make your photos look like they belong in a gallery. The latest version even has a new gallery block that lets you create masonry, stacked, or scrolling galleries in a snap.
Why it's great for photographers:
You can set a focal point on your images so they always look great, no matter what device someone is using.
The built-in lightbox is perfect for showcasing your work.
You can easily sell prints with the Art Store add-on.
It automatically imports your image data for better SEO.
Pricing: Starts at $16/month (paid annually). There's no free plan, but you can try it for 14 days.
Pros: Beautiful templates, reliable, great for blogging. Cons: The menu is a bit limited, and there's no built-in client proofing.
2. Wix
Perfect for: Creative photographers, commercial photographers, and anyone who loves to experiment with design.
Wix has really stepped up its game with Wix Studio, a new editor that gives you the best of both worlds: drag-and-drop simplicity and responsive design. The Pro Gallery is also better than ever, with new features that make your photos load faster and look amazing.
Cool photo features:
You have full control over your image SEO.
You can use video backgrounds and animations to bring your site to life.
There's a built-in tool for client proofing and password-protected galleries.
The app market has tons of widgets for everything from Instagram feeds to booking appointments.
Pricing: Starts at $16/month. There's also a free plan, but it has Wix ads.
Pros: Complete design freedom, tons of apps. Cons: It can be a bit overwhelming, and some of the templates feel a little dated.
3. SmugMug
Perfect for: Sports, event, and wedding photographers who need tons of storage and a great way to share photos with clients.
SmugMug is a little different from the other builders on this list, but it's a powerhouse for photographers. Every plan comes with unlimited, full-resolution storage, which is a huge deal. The new Smart Folders feature is also a lifesaver, automatically sorting your photos by shutter speed, lens, or keyword.
It partners with professional print labs so you can easily sell your work.
You can add custom watermarks and protect your images from being downloaded.
There's even an add-on that backs up your RAW files to the cloud.
Pricing: Starts at $13/month (paid annually).
Pros: Unlimited storage, amazing customer service. Cons: The theme options are a bit limited, and the blog is pretty basic.
4. Format
Perfect for: Documentary and travel photographers who want to tell stories with their images.
Format is a fantastic choice for photographers who love to blog. The new Phoenix update has some beautiful templates that let you weave your photos and text together in a really compelling way. Plus, you can sell your work with zero commission fees.
You can password-protect your galleries and set expiration dates.
There's a Lightroom plugin that lets you publish your photos directly to your site.
It even has a built-in CRM to help you keep track of your clients.
Pricing: Starts at $10/month.
Pros: Clean designs, great for blogging, affordable. Cons: You can't use video backgrounds, and there aren't a lot of marketing tools.
5. Pixpa
Perfect for: Students, hobbyists, and anyone who's on a tight budget.
Pixpa is a hidden gem. It's packed with features, including a full e-commerce suite, client proofing, and even a mobile gallery app for your clients. The new Nebula theme collection has some gorgeous dark-mode templates that are perfect for moody, atmospheric photos.
It automatically creates different sizes of your images for faster loading times.
You can sell prints, downloads, and services with no commission fees.
It even has abandoned cart recovery to help you make more sales.
Pricing: Starts at $6/month.
Pros: Amazing value, tons of features. Cons: The interface feels a bit clunky, and there aren't many third-party integrations.
6. Zenfolio
Perfect for: Wedding and school photographers who need to automate their sales process.
Zenfolio's BookMe tool is a game-changer. It syncs with your calendar and lets clients book and pay for shoots in one go. The Pre-order Events feature is also amazing for school photographers, letting you sell galleries before the event even happens.
It uses AI to help you cull your photos and choose the best ones for your galleries.
The Smart Pricing engine automatically adjusts your print prices by region.
It handles order fulfillment for you through professional print labs.
Pricing: Starts at $22/month.
Pros: Great for booking and sales automation, solid client proofing. Cons: The template customization is a bit limited.
7. Adobe Portfolio
Perfect for: Photographers who already subscribe to Creative Cloud and want a free and easy way to showcase their work.
If you're already paying for Photoshop or Lightroom, Adobe Portfolio is a no-brainer. It's free with your subscription and it syncs seamlessly with Lightroom. Any collection you flag in Lightroom will automatically appear as a gallery on your site, complete with smart tags for SEO.
It integrates with Behance so you can get your work in front of a larger audience.
You get access to premium fonts from Typekit.
It's secure and you can have unlimited pages.
Pricing: Free with a Creative Cloud subscription.
Pros: It's free, and it works perfectly with Lightroom. Cons: There's no e-commerce, and the template options are limited.
The TL;DR Version
If you're in a hurry, here's the bottom line:
Best-looking templates:
Squarespace
Fastest loading speeds:
SmugMug
Best for SEO:
Wix
Best for selling prints:
Zenfolio
Best bang for your buck:
Pixpa
At the end of the day, the best website builder for you depends on your needs. A fine-art photographer has different priorities than a sports photographer. Think about what's most important to you and your business, and then choose the builder that checks all the boxes.
A Quick Note on Speed
A fast-loading website is crucial for keeping your visitors happy and for ranking well on Google. I tested all of these builders, and they all passed Google's speed test after I enabled a few settings. SmugMug was the fastest right out of the box, while Wix needed a little tweaking to get there.
Which Builder is Right for Your Niche?
Still not sure which one to choose? Here are my recommendations based on your photography style:
Wedding & Lifestyle
: Squarespace or Zenfolio
Commercial & Fashion
: Wix or Format
Sports & Action
: SmugMug
Street & Fine Art
: Squarespace or Pixpa
Students & Hobbyists
: Pixpa or Adobe Portfolio
Remember, a great website is only half the battle. You also need to curate your best work and write compelling copy. Even the best builder can't make up for a gallery of 400 mediocre photos. And a great brand is just as important. Check out our BrandByte AI brandkit generator to get a complete brand kit in seconds.
My Top 5 SEO Tips for Photographers
No matter which builder you choose, these five SEO tips will help you get more traffic from Google:
Compress your images:
Make sure your images are under 300KB without sacrificing quality.
Write descriptive alt text:
Instead of "DSC_1234.jpg," use something like "golden-hour-wedding-portrait-in-a-field."
Create niche landing pages:
If you're a wedding photographer in Chicago, create a page specifically for "Chicago wedding photography."
Embed your camera settings:
Some people search for photos taken with specific cameras or lenses.
Keep your site fresh:
Swap out your hero images every few months to show Google that your site is up to date.
Your Pre-Launch Checklist
Before you hit "publish," run through this checklist:
Compress all your images.
Write keyword-rich titles and captions.
Enable SSL.
Connect Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
Make sure your contact form works.
Run a final speed test.
Submit your sitemap to Google.
Share your new site on social media!
Do all of this, and you'll be off to a great start.
What's Next? AI-Powered Design
AI is changing the game in web design. Squarespace and Wix both have AI tools that can help you design your site, but they're not perfect. You'll still need to do some manual tweaking to get things just right. I expect to see even more AI features in the coming years, so it's a good idea to choose a platform that's always innovating.
FAQs
Is WordPress still a good option for photographers?
WordPress is still a powerful option, but it's a lot more work. You have to handle your own hosting, maintenance, and security. If you're a tinkerer, you might love it. Otherwise, an all-in-one platform is probably a better choice.
Can I move my site from one builder to another?
Yes, but it's not always easy. You'll probably have to do a lot of manual work. It's a good idea to keep all your photos and alt text saved somewhere so you can easily move them if you need to.
How many photos should I put in my portfolio?
Less is more. A curated gallery of your 20-30 best images is much more powerful than a gallery of 200 mediocre ones.
Final Thoughts
Your photos are amazing, and your website should be too. Squarespace is great for an elegant, out-of-the-box solution, while Wix is perfect for getting creative. SmugMug and Zenfolio are awesome for high-volume photographers, and Pixpa and Adobe Portfolio are great budget-friendly options. No matter which one you choose, focus on speed, storytelling, and SEO. Now go create a website that's as beautiful as your work!