OK, so I finally broke free from smugmug. It is adiction, and not a good one. I was on a trial account, and I tried, and tried, and tried a LOTS of things to customize look so it looks professional. The fact is, no matter what I did, I still think it is not pro enough (especially with "powered by smugmug" on the bottom, which makes it just another photo hosting site (probably the best one outhere, period). I just don't think it is worth the time spent on trying to make a pro-looking site out of photo hosting site. If I took a photo for every hour I spent on smugmug, I'd have a good gallery by now.
Needles to say to cost of membership to actually be able to customize, and have a domain name, which is the one of the most important things in pro site, in my opinion.
So, It just not make sense, unless you are planning to actually learn css and html and get paid for that type of work.
That being said, I WILL open a paid account for on-line proofing and storage for potential clients and my self. This is really a very good site to host photos indeed. I will just get a basic accout, though. For photo hosting site, it does not matter what url says or how pages look like - it does not need to look professional anyway. For what it is, it is perfect. For what is not, i's just not - plain and simple. Now, this is my own opinion so I am not saying it is not good enough for someone else. Just wanted to share my experience so I can feel better after all of the hours spent on smugmug :)
SO, good bye smugmug, hello smughmug!
I'm out for good, from customizing that is.

Originally Posted by Darko OK, so I finally broke free from smugmug. It is adiction, and not a good one. I was on a trial account, and I tried, and tried, and tried a LOTS of things to customize look so it looks professional. The fact is, no matter what I did, I still think it is not pro enough (especially with "powered by smugmug" on the bottom, which makes it just another photo hosting site (probably the best one outhere, period). I just don't think it is worth the time spent on trying to make a pro-looking site out of photo hosting site. If I took a photo for every hour I spent on smugmug, I'd have a good gallery by now. Needles to say to cost of membership to actually be able to customize, and have a domain name, which is the one of the most important things in pro site, in my opinion. So, It just not make sense, unless you are planning to actually learn css and html and get paid for that type of work. That being said, I WILL open a paid account for on-line proofing and storage for potential clients and my self. This is really a very good site to host photos indeed. I will just get a basic accout, though. For photo hosting site, it does not matter what url says or how pages look like - it does not need to look professional anyway. For what it is, it is perfect. For what is not, i's just not - plain and simple. Now, this is my own opinion so I am not saying it is not good enough for someone else. Just wanted to share my experience so I can feel better after all of the hours spent on smugmug :) SO, good bye smugmug, hello smughmug! I'm out for good, from customizing that is.

Hey there.... You don't need to know CSS and HTML etc. to make a good looking site. Andy, Allen, Ivar etc are really helpful and guide you along the way. Case in point- I don't know programming, HTML, CSS et al... however I probably spent around a weekend (and a few random hours) to get my site to where I want it to be. All the good folks at Smugmug really helped me out along the way and now I get complimented on my site all the time. Now- it may not be the best site out there, but it is what I want to show to my friends... Don't give up...

You can check my site out at http://shniks.smugmug.com


And to all you guys at Smugmug (Andy, Allen, Ivar ...) You guys rock... thanks so much for all your fantastic help...


Cheers,


N

Originally Posted by shniks Hey there.... You don't need to know CSS and HTML etc. to make a good looking site. Andy, Allen, Ivar etc are really helpful and guide you along the way. Case in point- I don't know programming, HTML, CSS et al... however I probably spent around a weekend (and a few random hours) to get my site to where I want it to be. All the good folks at Smugmug really helped me out along the way and now I get complimented on my site all the time. Now- it may not be the best site out there, but it is what I want to show to my friends... Don't give up... And to all you guys at Smugmug (Andy, Allen, Ivar ...) You guys rock... thanks so much for all your fantastic help...

I have to 2nd this and include Barb as well - maybe more folks too!

Feel free to contact me as well - not a pro, but maybe I can help you out ?

Shicks & brophy, thanks for the positive input. I was getting frustrated and decided not to spend any more time on customizing as it was taking me a lot of time for research, regardless of outcome. Maybe, when tutorials for more advanced options are clearly listed and sorted out (instead of trying to weed trough this forum for every little design change), I 'll give it another shot. All the best,
Darko