Custom Hostname

chucksense

Hello,
First off, some background.
I'm very interested in setting up a SM account, however I want everything on my own personal (non-commerical) domain.

I do not need the rest of the features offered in poweruser/pro account levels, nor would I be willing to pay for pro for just that feature alone.

I currently have a gallery solution that works quite well, but the reason I'm looking into SM is two-fold:
1) The ability to back up full-res images without space limitations. :thumb
2) The ability for users or order prints (I don't want to make money off of them, it's just for family and friends).

I would be content with the domain being "passed off" to SM when a user selects to order a print, but want to avoid having to update two different sites (both my own and SM) just to have this capability.

So, this brings me to a suggestion and a question.

Could Smugmug set up custom pricing levels so somebody like myself could get just the feature they want, without paying for a ton they don't? I understand you don't currently do this.

If I were to create a web application on my site that does this using the Web API, would it be considered a "discouraged" use? I would essentially use SM as a "picture hosting" service, but would plug the framework into my existing site. I would be willing to follow any necessary cobranding rules (including displaying SM copyrights, "powered-by", etc). I figured it would be good to ask before I jump in and start programming away.

Please keep in mind this is for strictly non-commercial use. If I ever were to take it to a commercial level, I would just get the pro account.

Thanks for your time, and please let me know your thoughts.

-Chuck

Andy

chucksense wrote:

Hello,
First off, some background.
I'm very interested in setting up a SM account, however I want everything on my own personal (non-commerical) domain.

I do not need the rest of the features offered in poweruser/pro account levels, nor would I be willing to pay for pro for just that feature alone.

I currently have a gallery solution that works quite well, but the reason I'm looking into SM is two-fold:
1) The ability to back up full-res images without space limitations.
2) The ability for users or order prints (I don't want to make money off of them, it's just for family and friends).

I would be content with the domain being "passed off" to SM when a user selects to order a print, but want to avoid having to update two different sites (both my own and SM) just to have this capability.

So, this brings me to a suggestion and a question.

Could Smugmug set up custom pricing levels so somebody like myself could get just the feature they want, without paying for a ton they don't? I understand you don't currently do this.

If I were to create a web application on my site that does this using the Web API, would it be considered a "discouraged" use? I would essentially use SM as a "picture hosting" service, but would plug the framework into my existing site. I would be willing to follow any necessary cobranding rules (including displaying SM copyrights, "powered-by", etc). I figured it would be good to ask before I jump in and start programming away.

Please keep in mind this is for strictly non-commercial use. If I ever were to take it to a commercial level, I would just get the pro account.

Thanks for your time, and please let me know your thoughts.

-Chuck

Hi Chuck - did you get the reply we sent to you from help@smugmug .com at 5pm (Eastern time) today? In order to have custom hostname, you must be at a pro level account. I wish I had a better answer for you.

Regarding your other question, you can request an api key and the engineers can look your request over. But from what you describe, you can link your photos from your SmugMug site to your other site, no problem. In order for your visitors to order prints, the photos actually have to be on your SmugMug site.

I hope this helps.

All the best,

chucksense

Andy wrote:

Hi Chuck - did you get the reply we sent to you from help@smugmug .com at 5pm (Eastern time) today? In order to have custom hostname, you must be at a pro level account. I wish I had a better answer for you.

Regarding your other question, you can request an api key and the engineers can look your request over. But from what you describe, you can link your photos from your SmugMug site to your other site, no problem. In order for your visitors to order prints, the photos actually have to be on your SmugMug site.

I hope this helps.

All the best,

I did get the response, hence why that portion was a suggestion. I will go ahead and request an API key, though I'm not a registered user yet. I want to be sure that if I go forward with developing something like this, it will be allowed under the SM TOS. The last thing I want to do is step on toes or violate rules.

Thanks again for your help! I must admit, so far SM has done nothing but exceed expectations and I look forward to joining the ranks.

-Chuck

Mike Lane

chucksense wrote:

I did get the response, hence why that portion was a suggestion. I will go ahead and request an API key, though I'm not a registered user yet. I want to be sure that if I go forward with developing something like this, it will be allowed under the SM TOS. The last thing I want to do is step on toes or violate rules.

Thanks again for your help! I must admit, so far SM has done nothing but exceed expectations and I look forward to joining the ranks.

-Chuck

Hey Chuck,

I've been dying to get some pointers on how to integrate smugmug into sites using the API. Maybe if things work out you can post a few pointers on the forums about it?

chucksense

Mike Lane wrote:

Hey Chuck,

I've been dying to get some pointers on how to integrate smugmug into sites using the API. Maybe if things work out you can post a few pointers on the forums about it?

Definitely! I'm not a first class programmer, but anything I write will be available for the smugs public!

Mike Lane