I must confess that when going to buy prints from any independent photographer I am also going to feel more confident when the site instills a sense of confidence in me, especially when passing over credit card details. How you instill 'said confidence' is probably different for each of us, but for me it's definitely a professional and polished feel, in addition to properly though out processes and help sheets.
Jumping straight to Zenfolio it has my immediate attention in this area, it is not only intuitive but pretty and polished with it; more so as a customer it allows me to purchase a print both quick and easily (e.g. without having to register, I can purchase as 'guest'). The interface for actually viewing photographs is indeed very nice, and only the sliding (initially hidden) picture menu being a possible area for confusion.
As an international buyer I also pleasantly surprised by the shipping costs; enticing photographers to use this site would appear easy with the rich feature set, but if you're customer then gets charged astronomically for prints and shipping you're going nowhere fast.
So the answer the ultimate question, am I more likely to buy a print via Zenfolio than ExposureManager? Definitely!
Jim Reverend
· 1 year ago
Thank you, sir. I really appreciate the feedback.
That was my thought too. The look and feel of the site alone makes it feel more professional, and more serious about itself. As far as prints go, using MPix goes a long way for that as well as they are one of the best online print makers in the US.
They take a bit more of a profit cut, they cost a bit more every month, and there are a few features that are simply missing. But, despite all of that, it just seems like a better service.
I'm glad you agree with me. I'm considering switching and that's the direction I was leaning. It's nice to have someone else's opinion to back that up.
All Comments
Jumping straight to Zenfolio it has my immediate attention in this area, it is not only intuitive but pretty and polished with it; more so as a customer it allows me to purchase a print both quick and easily (e.g. without having to register, I can purchase as 'guest'). The interface for actually viewing photographs is indeed very nice, and only the sliding (initially hidden) picture menu being a possible area for confusion.
As an international buyer I also pleasantly surprised by the shipping costs; enticing photographers to use this site would appear easy with the rich feature set, but if you're customer then gets charged astronomically for prints and shipping you're going nowhere fast.
So the answer the ultimate question, am I more likely to buy a print via Zenfolio than ExposureManager? Definitely!
That was my thought too. The look and feel of the site alone makes it
feel more professional, and more serious about itself. As far as
prints go, using MPix goes a long way for that as well as they are one
of the best online print makers in the US.
They take a bit more of a profit cut, they cost a bit more every
month, and there are a few features that are simply missing. But,
despite all of that, it just seems like a better service.
I'm glad you agree with me. I'm considering switching and that's the
direction I was leaning. It's nice to have someone else's opinion to
back that up.