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Frustration!

DebCamDebCam Registered Users Posts: 13 Big grins
edited March 17, 2014 in SmugMug Support
I have been trying on and off for MONTHS to create some sort of "new" smugmug site that looks anything like I want and one that I feel comfortable with using the settings. I have spent hours and am really trying to give it a chance. I am not opposed to change and a new site could look pretty cool if it wasn't so hard (for me) to set up.


So, for my question. I have not unveiled anything yet, so can I just keep my legacy site indefinitely and not even worry and stress over all this? because frankly I don't have any more time or patience.

Thanks,
Deb
Deb Campbell
http://www.debcampbellphoto.com

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    mbellotmbellot Registered Users Posts: 465 Major grins
    edited March 15, 2014
    DebCam wrote: »
    So, for my question. I have not unveiled anything yet, so can I just keep my legacy site indefinitely and not even worry and stress over all this? because frankly I don't have any more time or patience.

    I can't say officially since I don't work for SM, but I would imagine that some day you (we) will be forced to abandon legacy mode.

    I refuse to migrate. I won't even give new SM a test drive, mostly because I expect my experience would mirror yours. They shoved a half baked steaming pile down our throats in order to unveil something (anything) less than a year (barely) after the 100% price hike.
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    LPCLPC Registered Users Posts: 481 Major grins
    edited March 16, 2014
    I imagine a year from the time new SM was released would be fair. Running up to that you will probably get some email reminders and then maybe 30 days grace and then if you still do nothing you will be 'migrated' to a default style new SM site. Best to plan ahead really as it will happen.
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    DebCamDebCam Registered Users Posts: 13 Big grins
    edited March 16, 2014
    LPC wrote: »
    I imagine a year from the time new SM was released would be fair. Running up to that you will probably get some email reminders and then maybe 30 days grace and then if you still do nothing you will be 'migrated' to a default style new SM site. Best to plan ahead really as it will happen.

    ok, thanks..time to pop some more tylenol and back to the drawing board I guess.
    Deb Campbell
    http://www.debcampbellphoto.com
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    AlamethAlameth Registered Users Posts: 94 Big grins
    edited March 16, 2014
    DebCam wrote: »
    I have been trying on and off for MONTHS to create some sort of "new" smugmug site that looks anything like I want and one that I feel comfortable with using the settings. I have spent hours and am really trying to give it a chance. I am not opposed to change and a new site could look pretty cool if it wasn't so hard (for me) to set up.

    That'd be me, too. I've poured hours into trying to understand and sandbox the new SmugMug, become a habitual reader of DGrin, and even tried competing services. The conclusion was that if I started all over from scratch, the old SmugMug would still be my first choice. Right now I'm leaning towards reverting to hosting my own site. It'd be about the same amount of work, I can get a look I'm happy with, and I'll never get the rug pulled out from under me again.

    I really wish SmugMug would continue to offer the old indefinitely, including to new customers so that I could resume referring my friends here. Barring that, I wish SmugMug would just say how much longer we have.
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    AlamethAlameth Registered Users Posts: 94 Big grins
    edited March 16, 2014
    mbellot wrote: »
    I refuse to migrate. I won't even give new SM a test drive, mostly because I expect my experience would mirror yours. They shoved a half baked steaming pile down our throats in order to unveil something (anything) less than a year (barely) after the 100% price hike.

    I wouldn't be anywhere near that critical; obviously there's plenty of folks who like the new SmugMug a lot. (One of my pro friends migrated in a day and is thrilled with the result.) I just think the SmugMug management took a long hard look at their competition and the marketplace (as I just did), and determined that lavish customization and beautiful presentation were more important than functionality or ease of use. My class of utilitarian photography is a dying market, gone off to iPhones and Picasa. I kinda get that, even if I don't like it.

    Which is why I'd just like SmugMug to be clear about their plans.
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    vdotmatrixvdotmatrix Registered Users Posts: 343 Major grins
    edited March 16, 2014
    AHhhhhh SHIT!! Can I say shit here? Anyway....I migrated the other day.

    I am starting every page anew. Although it is a SOB right now, I feel I am making progress.....I have to switch back and forth to LEGACY to see where I am.....

    WARNING: if you make a gallery a CUSTOM gallery, you loose all the modifications from legacy.....I THINK..or at least that happened already.



    The New SMUGMUG is cool....LEARNING CURVE is a little steep......

    But some things I did tonight really really looks nice....and I was bitching a minute ago...but I am really bitching at myself...

    try it ..ask questions....people wil help us!!!
    http://penosoimages.com
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    AceCo55AceCo55 Registered Users Posts: 950 Major grins
    edited March 17, 2014
    Just lost a HUGE amount of feedback on this .... gggrrrrrrr (my fault)
    Shorter version:
    Learn and understand the concept of "content blocks". Types / adding / adjusting
    If you want a multi-level menu structure, learn how to build the structure.
    Get rid of all Journal (Old) galleries (for "About me" type pages). Use the new "Pages" instead

    Some resources:
    http://school.smugmug.com/Video-Tutorials/NEW-SmugMug-Tutorials
    http://help.smugmug.com/
    http://www.aaronmphotography.com/Customizations
    http://www.smugocity.com/

    Seriously it gets a LOT better and a LOT easier as you become familiar with the structure of NewSmug. I have features that I incorporated myself that I could not have done by myself in Legacy. Once you get the basic structure of your website - Folder structure / Gallery structure / what Pages you want - then come to the forums and just deal with one problem at a time. YOU WILL GET THERE - so many others have. New Smug is different - so you will need to just become familiar with the differences. It takes time and I'll bet you were not able to create your Legacy site in a few days.
    If you are going to hold off and used the Sandbox, then I would strongly suggest you create any new galleries in LEGACY. If you create them in NewSmug, and then go back to Legacy, they will not be where you think they should be ... I think Smugmug puts them in a Category called "Other".
    To be honest, it was easier for ME to unveil and then just work in New Smug than to try and keep two structures running. But your situation may well be very different.
    Good luck.
    My opinion does not necessarily make it true. What you do with my opinion is entirely up to you.
    www.acecootephotography.com
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    AlamethAlameth Registered Users Posts: 94 Big grins
    edited March 17, 2014
    vdotmatrix wrote: »
    try it ..ask questions....people wil help us!!!

    I know. The community here is amazing. And the sites people are building with the new SmugMug are truly georgous. If it was a choice between SmugMug and, say, px500 and Zenfolio, the new Smug would win hands down. If I was a wedding photographer or architectural photographer or food photographer or pretty much anyone for whom their portfolio is integral to their marketing (and to keeping their kids fed), I would have migrated to the new Smug already.

    But I'm just a volunteer who shoots kid's events in the evenings and weekends and does post in the wee hours. A few minutes studying my pro friend's work is enough to make it clear that I'm not selling the bike shop any time soon. I'm DWC -- Dad With Camera. My needs for a photo sharing site are simple, although quite specific; and high on that list is time. I've already spent more time on the new Smug than I did maintaining the Old in seven years, only to realize how much more time it's going to take to create something that will probably be beautiful but still missing functionality I currently take for granted.

    All I'm asking right now is for SmugMug to be open about how much longer the old Smug will continue to function so I can make plans.
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    AlamethAlameth Registered Users Posts: 94 Big grins
    edited March 17, 2014
    AceCo55 wrote: »
    If you are going to hold off and used the Sandbox, then I would strongly suggest you create any new galleries in LEGACY.

    Thank you. I enabled the sandbox mode the same day the new Smug was unveiled. I've been playing with it since, and made a hard push at migration a couple of months ago. That's when I discovered that the manual sorting I'd done was gone, new catagories I'd created were not sync'd from old to new, there's no support for odd sized thumbnails on a grid, descriptions are missing, HTML entities are not supported, I'll need custom CSS to handle long folder names, and I'd have to revist all my gallery and folder thumbnails one by one for every gallery and folder. And about then I just wanted to sit down and cry.

    I don't have time for this.
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    AlamethAlameth Registered Users Posts: 94 Big grins
    edited March 17, 2014
    Deb, sorry to hijack your thread. Obviously the replies here were more directed at you than me.
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    vdotmatrixvdotmatrix Registered Users Posts: 343 Major grins
    edited March 17, 2014
    iloveyou.gif
    Some resources:
    http://school.smugmug.com/Video-Tutorials/NEW-SmugMug-Tutorials
    http://help.smugmug.com/
    http://www.aaronmphotography.com/Customizations
    http://www.smugocity.com/
    http://penosoimages.com
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