# SmugMug or Zenfolio?



## np2576 (Feb 25, 2015)

Which one do you like and why?


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## mackguyver (Feb 26, 2015)

SmugMug and I had criticized them in the past when they moved to a new platform, but I have completely changed my mind and I'm extremely happy with them now. They have excellent support and the kinks have been worked out of everything and their site is really easy to use now. The only feature I wish they would add is the ability to make a blog like Photoshelter, which seems to be better in that way.


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## distant.star (Feb 26, 2015)

.
Why do you ask?


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## JimKarczewski (Feb 26, 2015)

Was with Smug for 4 years, switched to Zen because Smug doesn't allow self-fulfilled orders.

Sorry, but I can get canvases and metal MUCH cheaper than the labs they offer, so I want to fulfill those items myself and there is no way to do that on Smug, last I checked,


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## wsheldon (Feb 26, 2015)

JimKarczewski said:


> Was with Smug for 4 years, switched to Zen because Smug doesn't allow self-fulfilled orders.
> 
> Sorry, but I can get canvases and metal MUCH cheaper than the labs they offer, so I want to fulfill those items myself and there is no way to do that on Smug, last I checked,



I hadn't thought about that before, but I believe you're right. You can turn off selling in a gallery all together, and insert yourself in the middle by holding proofs for final editing after ordering and having print packages sent to you for personal delivery, but you can't use their shopping cart for a sale without using one of their print vendors. I'm happy with their labs and prices so far, but that's an interesting point in favor of Zen.

Another issue with selling on SmugMug is that you need to pay twice as much to upgrade from a Portfolio account to a Business account just to add features like multiple price lists and coupons, which are trivial for them to implement but essential for event sales. I can live without assistant access logins, event planning tools and boutique packaging, but I do need different price lists and the occasional event coupon so I feel they're taking advantage of me a bit.

One last minor annoyance is their immaturity when it comes to communication ("Kacching - who loves ya', baby" when you make a sale - give me a break).

But that said, I do like their site layout tools and general operation, so I've stuck with them for the past few years and will likely continue.


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## Chris Geiger (Feb 26, 2015)

I self host all the photos from every wedding. It cost me nothing to put them on my web site. I keep all wedding on my site for one year, then they get deleted.


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## LetTheRightLensIn (Feb 27, 2015)

I used smugmug for a long time, but Zenfolio all the way. I switched a while back and it's much easier to do all sorts of things.

The one thing I GREATLY dislike about both is that both ban anything but sRGB gamut!!!! Grrrrrr!!! Photo peeps should lead the color management charge not hold it back and to out and out ban it even if a user 100% knows what they are doing and 100% wants to use it for some photos..... what next? Ban color, since B&W is more artistic? Leave it up the user, don't decide the art for them and think you know better. SmugMug seemed more dead set against allowing wide gamut and posted all sorts of nonsense praising sRGB in all cases at all costs. bah. Soon nearly every monitor will be wide gamut too (probably by 2018).

I use Flickr to host all my wide gamut stuff (which is almost backwards from how I'd want it, but what can you do).

Flickr gets images a lot more attention.


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## sleepnever (Feb 27, 2015)

I tried them all out and ended up going with SmugMug, where I've been going on 2yrs now. SquareSpace I had all sorts of browser issues with. Zenfolio, their designs were just too simplistic and frankly, ugly, for me. SmugMug's UI is a little convoluted in places, but they do have a lot of options and their site designs are very nice for desktop and mobile.


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## FEBS (Feb 27, 2015)

I use Smugmug for more then a year now. I am happy with all the functionalities they offer, except the print services they offer. They are to expensive and for me, living in Belgium, they are not that close in our area, so almost always international freight.


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## Tabor Warren Photography (Mar 25, 2015)

Smugmug, all the way, everyday. If you want an incredible customer service experience, there is nothing quite like Smugmug. I remember one time I ran into a financial crunch as my renewal was approaching and asked if I could have a one month grace period. Done. They gave me ~45 days grace in exchange for simply being a good customer. Quite a bit has sold from our online galleries, and a couple of clients were not completely satisfied, Smugmug contacted me and together found a resolution. Each time it has been simple, and quick. I doubt I would leave Smugmug over anything else that could be remotely better. They are simply that good.

I hope this helps!
-Tabor


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