Working with custom pages and galleries

photoman10

I had a number of people evaluating my new SM website and the majority asked if I could make a page for my galleries menu button that just opened a thumbnail of each gallery with a cover image, add some text letting them know how the galleries worked, then do away with the drop down menu.

Fair request and quick made a custom page.
https://www.normstokesphotography.com/Norm-Stokes-Fine-Art-Photography-Galleries

As you can see I added a H1 tag and a paragraph that has the information requested. I know for SEO the text is not the best but i am going to change it around when I get time but to have the ability to add content to the page will be a SEO benefit.

I then said, hey I am using the SM gallery style and it is in my opinion seriously lacking as there is NO way I can find to suppress the meta title and meta description that is included in the style. What if I made a custom page that has that SM appearance that has no meta title and description and allows me to format the page like I did the galleries link above. That would allow me to add meaningful SEO content on the page plus have a presentation of each gallery that is liked, easy to use.

Well, I went down in flames, I can build the basic page but cannot find anyway to attach a gallery and make it look like the SM style. All I seem to be able to do is add a gallery but it is just a thumbnail. I cannot find a way to attach a gallery and apply the SM style on the custom page.

Does anyone have any ideas as t how that could be done? I asked SM help and never got an answer which seems to be getting to be a common thing.

Hikin' Mike

Sorry, I don't understand your question. Looks like you have created a page that lists all of your galleries, right? Isn't that what you wanted?

photoman10

LOL, I figured I did a crummy job explain my 2nd goal. Yes the 1st objective was met but I want to be able to due at the same type of custom page for each of the actual galleries like
https://www.normstokesphotography.com/Photo-galleries/Birds-and-Butterflies/

I want to display a gallery with the sm style like they have but to be formatted like the new custom page I have. I do not want the meta title and meta description on there. I cannot edit the sm style currently used on those pages as the formatting is locked. does this clear it up and make it understandable?

Hikin' Mike

Clear as mud.

If you want to hide the Title and Description in the SM-style Galleries, then add this to you CSS: .sm-user-ui .sm-gallery-image-container .sm-tile-info {display: none;}

If that isn't what you want, then I have a feeling it's impossible to create without either an example (website or pictures).

Hikin' Mike

The more I read your question, I THINK I know what you're looking for. If you're looking for a page to display all galleries with a thumbnail, title and description, then you can look at these:

https://gallery.imagesinthebackcountry.com/Smugmug-customization/Services-Page-with-Image-Description-and-More-Horizontal

https://gallery.imagesinthebackcountry.com/Smugmug-customization/Services-Page-with-Image-Description-and-More

photoman10

I can try that CSS, thanks. It is very simpler what i want to do, make all the galleries like the 1st link I posted so the breadcrumb is above a text paragraph I insert above the Gallery while at the same time not having the meta title and meta description showing which makes it a mess. Like I said, I can make a page that looks like the 1st link with just one gallery in it but I cannot figure out how I can apply the SM style like that used in the 2nd link. does that clear it up better? I want only one gallery in the sub galleries just like the 2nd link but I want the 2nd link to be formatted like the first link

Hikin' Mike

Did you see my other comment above?

photoman10

Yes just did but that is not what I want. I want

https://www.normstokesphotography.com/Photo-galleries/Birds-and-Butterflies/

to look like

https://www.normstokesphotography.com/Norm-Stokes-Fine-Art-Photography-Galleries

with only that one gallery and retain the SM style of the birds and butterflies gallery. The css will work to suppress the meta title and meta description but that still will not allow me to insert a text block between the breadcrumb and the images in the gallery. I could add a text clock above the breadcrumb but that would look very stupid.

photoman10

As you can see between the breadcrumb and the images the SM style has everything locked, I cannot add a text block between them

photoman10

Hikin' Mike

Change from the SM-style Gallery to "Thumbnails"?

photoman10

I will look at that but that would not give me the look of the SM style, that would just be a long list of thumbnails as I add images. This way the customer sees the caption text below the selected image. In fact unless I am missing something I cannot apply a stye when I insert a gallery on a custom page. so that would not work, i would still only see anion of the gallery requiring the visitor to click on it to see the style i want

Hikin' Mike

Guess I just don't understand. You want the SM-style to look like your Gallery Page. That would be the "Thumbnail Style".

photoman10

Take my main galleries pages top half then add a gallery to the bottom half that looks like the current sub galleries.

top section example

Bottom section minus the meta title and meta description on the left

Combined, one page, that was I can still have the breadcrumb at the top and content below it before the images in the galary using the SM style

Hikin' Mike

You can add a Text Block or HTML/CSS Block to your Galleries. That content will display on every Gallery.

Hikin' Mike

If that won't work for you, then I'm afraid your asking something that just can't be done.

photoman10

But I want unique text content above the gallery on each gallery page describing the content of that Gallery, not inside the gallery

photoman10

Here is an example of the format i want but as you can see i cannot find a way to apply the SM Style to this gallery in a custom page so it looks retarded

Hikin' Mike

Can't be done.

photoman10

so sad, so much for the "fully customizable in the sales literature". I do appreciate your help, I figured I was trying to do something that should be able to be done but can't. I am researching the WP stuff and it appears i may have found a piece of code that emulates a server on my mac for WP offline development. I am waiting for some answers but if it is what I was told I will be getting that and the WP code for local development, then look for a host where I will have enough disk space with WP but in and migrate everything in a completed fashion. I will have to make the best of a bad situation until the subscription runs out next Nov then leave SM. I had a number of others who were going to follow me here but they see the limitations I see and want no part of it. They will be doing WP as well. So far in the first month with SM my average ranking has dropped from the mid 20's to down in the 60's effectively shutting me down tighter than a covid lockdown. Valid indexed files has went from 223 (yes with my previous host, images got indexed) down to 12, should be higher by a couple but google has not discovered them and the sitemap is out of date. Sure miss the dynamic sitemap updates of the previous host. I had such high hopes. Again, thanks for your help, you have helped me more than SM has and I appreciate it.

photoman10

BTW Hunkin' Mike, I tried that CSS code to remove the meta title and meta description (on the left just above the images) in the gallery and it did not do anything.

photoman10

Hey Hukin' Mike, check this out, I did a test and converted a gallery to custom, this would allow me to have unique text on each gallery. now if i could suppress the meta title and meta description n=below the text I would be golden. Yes I lose the inherited properties of the galleries but I do not care, I can deal with that.

Hikin' Mike

Thought you were talking about the title and description UNDER the large image.You want the Gallery title and description.

Try this:

.sm-user-ui .sm-gallery-cover-title,
.sm-user-ui .sm-gallery-cover-description {display: none;}

photoman10

Now we are talking, this is it, this is what I want!!! You are the BOMB!!!!!!!! Of course this is not the finished product but converting to a custom gallery I now I can add unique SEO content to each gallery and with the code hidden from view with CSS in theory google will not see the duplication from the gallery settings. Crossing my fingers there. Kind of a hack but I don't care this is much better than the original format, I thank you for the CSS

Hikin' Mike

Glad it worked out.

photoman10

it will be major help, the way it was there was no SEO on the galleries. Do you have more CSS I will want to be using ROFL? Feel free to email me offline

Hikin' Mike

You do know that there is "SEO" on each Gallery? Each has a Title (H1) and a Description, those two things you asked me to remove.

photoman10

I know they are Title and H1 but they are the same exact as the gallery settings when you build the gallery and there was no way to put in an organized page together that looks right, Title, H1, content, etc.. Hopefully by deleting using the CSS the SE's will no longer see that and see the customized version I can now do. By doing so I can add my own title, H1, H2, and content on each Gallery that is unique with no duplication in the tags. I can also add internal links as needed plus a lot more customization as long as I do not get carried away and detract from the actual image gallery. Your point is well noted and thought about.

Hikin' Mike

You might take a look at my "SEO for the Photographer" link in my signature if you haven't already...

photoman10

Will do my friend, thanks