Zenfolio: Excellent platform for professional photo websites

For amateur and professional photographers looking to have a more substantial online presence than a simple Picasa or Flikr account, the easiest and most efficient option is to use a third party website platform. There are a wide number of these advertised, including Photoshelter, Clikpic, Photobucket, Foliosnap and BigBlackBag. But having recently redeveloped my own photo website (www.simonbirkenhead.com), I have discovered a wide variety in the functionality, cost and ease of use.

I initially began building my new site using Photoshelter, as it had been recommended by Will Burrard-Lucas, a professional photographer I respect. However I quickly became frustrated by the lack of customisation features and the Lightroom plugin didn't offer full integration with Lightroom's Publish feature. 

Instead I trialled ZENFOLIO, which I have found to be excellent and which now powers my own photo website at www.simonbirkenhead.com.

Great Zenfolio features I have been really impressed by:

• Good range of layout templates and impressive customisation features
• Automatic resizing of images and slideshows based on the viewer's screen resolution. This also means site owners can export full-sized images into Zenfolio and the software will automatically downsize. 
• Custom disable of right-click save, providing security over illegal downloading
• Fully integrated e-commerce, allowing viewers to order either prints or licences directly from your website, with custom pricing set by the owner. And because Zenfolio stores full-sized versions of all your images, there's no need for the site owner to be involved in the printing process.
• Automatic watermarking that you can instantly switch on/off by gallery or individual print
• Lightroom plugin that is fully compatible with Lightroom's Publish feature, allowing easy export directly into Zenfolio
• Automatic import of metadata from each photo's file, avoiding the need to create individual titles and descriptions (a big negative against Clikpic).
• Ability to add individual photos to multiple image collections, so you don't have to upload the same image several times and any changes made to the photo (e.g. viewer comments or changed metadata) are reflected across all the collections it appears in
• Easy sharing of individual photos or entire galleries using Facebook, Twitter or direct URLs
• Custom security settings for each photo or gallery, allowing you to make it fully public, accessible only with a passport, or accessible only by specific users you invite. Perfect for private photoshoots such as weddings or portrait sessions.
• Unlimited storage allowance allowing site owners to upload full resolution images without having to worry about hitting storage limits
• Full integration with Google Analytics allowing transparency into visitor interest
• Integration with custom domains, allowing URLs such as my own simonbirkenhead.com to point to Zenfolio's pages without any Zenfolio branding.
• Ability to download any files back to your computer - since site owners can upload full resolution versions of all their photos, this effectively turns Zenfolio into an online backup for all your best photos
• Website guestbook and ability for viewers to submit comments for any photos - a great way to receive feedback on your photos from your friends and followers
• Great price - just $100 per year for the premium account. A single image sold from my site for $600 paid for the site 6 times over!