Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Computers & Peripherals => Topic started by: Dave Gurtcheff on September 21, 2011, 12:39:18 pm

Title: Adding multiple photo galleries to new web pges
Post by: Dave Gurtcheff on September 21, 2011, 12:39:18 pm
I posted a while back looking for advice on web authoring software. After much consideration, I purchased Expressions Web 4, partly because I was eligible for an upgrade price. On my earlier post, I stated I was 74 yrs old, and a novice in web development, although I did develop my present site with Frontpage 2002. Well, to make a long story short, I have struggled...Expressions Web is not for beginners. I did purchase two books which helped somewaht in getting me started. So far, I have a home page, and an "About Us" page. My site will have a bunch of separate photo galleries, e.g. Seascapes, Bayscapes, Wildlife, Polly's Dock, Causeway Shack, Barnegat Lighthouse, and more. Front Page had a simple Photo Gallery drag & Drop....piee of cake. It is gone in Expressions! I  downloaded, and paid for "Coffeecup" Photo Gallery. Very slick...I like it, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot integrate it into my new blank web pages. I have tried everything I can think of. Ditto jAlbum; slick, but cannot get it to work in my new pages. I also found an album feature in Bridge...but how to get it into Expressions?
Sorry for the rant....Can someone give me advise as to which gallery program you use in your site, and how to use it? What a pity that one must go to a third party for something as basic as a photo gallery. BTW, I need the ability to label each thumbnail with number, title, and date, such as: D125 ~ "Breaking Wave, LBI", August 1999.
Thanks in avance for listening to me rant!
Very best....
Dave Gurtcheff
Beach Haven, NJ
www.modernpictorials.com
Title: Re: Adding multiple photo galleries to new web pges
Post by: feppe on September 21, 2011, 02:00:49 pm
Wordpress.ORG is free (as in beer), and used by a lot of photography websites, and is very flexible with plugins. It has a relatively small learning curve, and a great support community. I'm updating my site to use WP.

Wordpress.COM is related, but costs.
Title: Re: Adding multiple photo galleries to new web pges
Post by: RFPhotography on September 21, 2011, 04:02:31 pm
I'll second WP.  It's what I use and it works well.  Learning curve can be steep or shallow depending on how much you want to customise a canned theme and how many plugins you want to add and for what purpose.  Mine is completely modded (there's nothing left of the original) so the curve was fairly steep for a non-programmer but if you use a canned theme, it's pretty simple.  I built a site for someone else using it as well.  Very flexible.  As feppe says, there is a plethora of plugins that enhance functionality.  Plugins can't be used with the free WP.org option but can with the paid WP.com option.  There's a built in gallery format in WP that, I think, most themes support.  Plugins are available to enhance it (e.g., lightbox).  If you don't want a blog (WP's original purpose), you can set it up so that there is no blog page.  I know you've already put out the money but the future frustration foregone might make up for the outlay of the $$ on the existing software.  

Rather than going with a WP hosted solution, I'd suggest buying a hosting plan from a reliable provider.  It's going to be less expensive and provide much more storage space/throughput.  

A link to my site is in my signature.  This is the other one I built, http://peterstamp.com/.  Again, the canned theme was completely modded and there's nothing left of it.
Title: Re: Adding multiple photo galleries to new web pges
Post by: Dave Gurtcheff on September 21, 2011, 04:25:32 pm
Thank you both. I will look into Wordpress.
Dave
Title: Re: Adding multiple photo galleries to new web pges
Post by: feppe on September 21, 2011, 04:49:02 pm
Plugins can't be used with the free WP.org option but can with the paid WP.com option.

If you host your site on WP.org, you can't use plugins, but if you host on your own server or pay for hosting through GoDaddy or similar and install WP there, you can use plugins with the free version of WP downloadable from WP.org.
Title: Re: Adding multiple photo galleries to new web pges
Post by: RFPhotography on September 21, 2011, 07:50:09 pm
Yes, that's right.  Sorry for the confusion, it was an incomplete thought on using plugins. 
Title: Re: Adding multiple photo galleries to new web pges
Post by: feppe on September 21, 2011, 08:14:50 pm
Yes, that's right.  Sorry for the confusion, it was an incomplete thought on using plugins. 

It gets confusing, and it's not helped by the .org and .com versions of Wordpress, which are very different.
Title: Re: Adding multiple photo galleries to new web pges
Post by: Craig Lamson on September 21, 2011, 10:53:53 pm
I use Simpleviewer, works great and the price is right.

Easy to cut and paste into a E4 webpage ( all my pages are done in E4 )

http://www.simpleviewer.net/products/
Title: Re: Adding multiple photo galleries to new web pges
Post by: Sareesh Sudhakaran on September 21, 2011, 11:58:26 pm
.org allows free 3rd-party plug-ins (and whatever else you want to do with it). You'll need a web hosting service that allows for wordpress (or your own server) to run .org. This is the most professional way (also the hardest way for a newbie).

.com is rigid and limited in its structure (and policies). Avoid it if you can.

However, to get a decent photo gallery that looks professional, you might have to pay for a template. There are thousands of free ones out there, but you'll have to customize the one you like to the point of frustration. I've downloaded and tested a hundred free templates for my blog, and I've still had to customize (and rewrite some code) to get the blog to the point where it is.

In your case, I suggest hiring someone to setup a wordpress website. You give them the template, and let them do the data entry, customization and coding. If it's too expensive, find somebody in India/China who might be able to do it for around $100 (Try craigslist, elancer, etc). Once its set up, all you have to do is maintain it - which is easy compared to what you've been going through. Hope this helps.

Title: Re: Adding multiple photo galleries to new web pges
Post by: RFPhotography on September 22, 2011, 07:55:32 am
OK, this is getting more confusing by the minute.  And I'm partly guilty.  Let's try to put and end to it.

Wordpress.org is the body that develops and updates the base Wordpress platform.  I was incorrect earlier in saying that they offer free hosting. 

Wordpress.com is associated with WP.org.  It's a commercial venture.  It offers paid hosting of a Wordpress site.  It also offers free hosting.  With the free hosting, your site URL will have the .wordpress.com suffix.  You can't use plugins.  You're limited to the size of the site.  You can't mod the canned theme unless you pay for an annual upgrade fee.  You're limited to the number of available themes.  WP.com can put ads on your site with the free hosting option.  If you opt for the paid hosting your site URL can be customised so it would be whateveryourname.com/ca/co.uk/any other available domain suffix.  You an use plugins but I'm not sure if there are restrictions.  You're very limited to how much data throughput and storage.  Not sure how much flexibility you have in modding the theme with the paid hosting but it may be full flexibility.  All themes are available to be used.  No ads.  It's quite expensive.

You can also have the Wordpress platform installed and hosted by a third party hosting company (e.g., HostPapa, GoDaddy).  Here you are using the platform developed by Wordpress.org.  Not all hosting companies allow the installation of the WP database so if you're going to go this route you need to make sure your hosting company can do it.  You can use a canned theme.  You can fully mod a canned theme.  You can develop and install your own theme.  You can use whatever plugins you want.  Your only restrictions on data throughput and storage come from the hosting company.