If you’re a photography business owner, your website is probably one of the most important things in your business. More than just a place to store your work and show it off; it’s also how potential clients find out about you! What are you doing with it if you’re not using your site to attract new clients and grow your business? There are countless reasons why hiring a professional website designer might be right for you; read on to learn the top 10 signs that it’s time to hire one for your photography business.

1- You Don’t have a Website

If you’re like most photographers, the thought of creating a website has crossed your mind. However, the idea is quickly dismissed because you think it would be too time-consuming or expensive. Creating your own website can be as easy as typing text and uploading images. If this sounds like something you feel like doing yourself, then, by all means, go for it! Just keep in mind that unless you have experience in marketing or coding websites (or both), it may not be worth the effort for what little return on investment (ROI) there will be.

A professionally designed site should come with a custom domain name so that customers can easily remember where to find you online and even more importantly, they’ll know whom they’re dealing with when they get there!

2 – You’re Using a Freebie Template or Hosting Platform

If you are using a freebie template or hosting platform, you should strongly consider hiring a professional to build you a new website. There are several reasons for this.

First and foremost, there are too many limitations on freebie templates to design precisely what you want. Second, most free hosting platforms will not allow you to change the look and feel of your website as often as you would like because they don’t want their users bored with their designs too quickly.

3 – Your Site is NOT Mobile-Friendly.

If your website is not mobile-friendly, you are losing potential business. Mobile devices are the most common way people access the internet.

If your site isn’t responsive and optimized for mobile devices, you’ll lose out on a great deal of traffic that would otherwise be viewing it if it was. Responsive means that the design resizes itself based on device width so, in essence, every single page of your site can look good no matter what kind of screen it’s viewed on, be it a desktop or tablet or phone.

Hire a professional to make your website work seamlessly across all devices!

4 – Your Gallery is Outdated and not Cohesive with Your Brand

Your photography website should be your best face forward. It’s your first impression with new clients, making or breaking whether they decide to hire you. If your site isn’t up to snuff and you aren’t looking for ways to improve it, this may be a sign that you’re ready for a change.

One of the most important things a good photographer’s website has is an easily navigable gallery that showcases their work in an organized fashion. It should also showcase only your best images while maintaining cohesion with your brand identity. Your gallery should also be accessible for people who don’t know much about photography to understand what makes each image great without being too technical!

If your gallery doesn’t reflect these things, then it might be time for a website redesign by someone who does know what they’re doing.

5 – Your Spending More Time on your Site Than Photographing Clients.

If you spend more time on your website than photographing clients, you need help. A professional website designer can take care of the details so that you can focus on what matters most: being a photographer.

Many photographers find that their websites significantly drain their time and energy. It’s hard to focus on taking clients when you’re also trying to ensure your website is up-to-date, looking good, and getting traffic.

6 – You’re not Marketing Your Business via Social Media, SEO, or Email Newsletters

This is a huge one, but it’s also something you can quickly fix.

Suppose your photography business doesn’t have a social media presence and isn’t using SEO or email newsletters to market yourself and your services (which are free). In that case, it’s time for you to have a professional website designer work on your site. You want potential eagle eyes clients to come to a well designed, responsible and easy to navigate website!

Social media is an essential tool in the marketing arsenal of any modern business person. It helps you connect with clients and customers build trust, make sales, etc., all things a photography business needs help with if they want to succeed in this competitive industry.

7 –  Stuck on a Platform that isn’t Working For You

If your business uses a platform like Wix or WordPress, and you don’t have the time or skills to learn something new, it’s probably time to give up control of your website design. If you are investing in developing an ecommerce store, it’s time to consider hiring someone who can create a custom solution best suited for your business needs.

8 – There are Errors on your Site

If your website site isn’t working correctly, a professional website designer will ensure that your images load properly and that there aren’t any other errors on the pages of your website. For example:

• Broken links – Links that take you elsewhere but don’t work (or lead you nowhere) are very frustrating for visitors and can damage your SEO rankings.

• Missing images – Images help pages load faster; without them, your site will seem less attractive and more difficult for people with slow internet connection.

9- Your Site is Ranking Poorly in Search Engine Results

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a must for any website. It’s important to have a site that can rank well in search engines so potential clients can find your business. If a site doesn’t rank well, it’s not just missing out on business; it’s losing money because clients are being driven away by poor results.

In addition to SEO, as mentioned above, consider mobile-friendliness when building especially if you plan on taking photos of weddings or other events off-site or outdoors. People tend to use smart phones and tablets more than computers; therefore, hiring a professional to create an optimized version of your website for mobile users will help ensure you reach as many people as possible!

10- Your Branding is Bland

Branding is important. It’s how your customers recognize you and what sets you apart from the crowd, which builds trust and helps differentiate you from the competition. If as a photographer your have website that doesn’t reflect your brand well, likely, people won’t even know who you are when they walk through the door! This can turn off potential clients or even cause them to choose another photography business over yours. A professional web designer can help create a stunning custom website that showcases you brand in its best light.

Final thoughts…

If your site doesn’t work for you or your customers, you need someone to make it a better experience

Your website reflects your photography business, so if it doesn’t work for you or your customers, or If you’re spending more money on advertising than on improving your site because it’s not working well enough to generate leads, it’s time to get a professional involved.