Ian Middleton

Writer - Photographer - Teacher

Content creator - web Design - SEO - SEM

Website Design for Photographers

Website design for photographers who want their work seen and sold

I design fast, beautiful, easy-to-manage websites for photographers. Choose from a simple portfolio to a complete business site with print sales. Built by someone who's also a working photographer, so the images always come first.

Website design for photographers by a working photographer
WHY IT MATTERS

Instagram is rented land. Your website is the one place online that's entirely yours.

A client or print buyer usually decides whether to trust your work within seconds of landing on your site. This is the first thing to get right.

First impressions
Years of skill behind the camera can be undone in seconds by a cluttered or dated website.
Get found on Google
People searching "wedding photographer in [town]" find you only if your site is actually built to be found.
Sell directly, keep more
No marketplace fees, no algorithm deciding who sees your prints — just your work, your terms.
Responsive Design
More than half your visitors land on a phone — your galleries need to shine there too.
CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE

Choose the right website for your needs

Not every photographer needs the same website. You can always grow into a bigger package later.

01 - Portfolio Website

From £1200

A beautiful, professional showcase

Homepage, About, Contact
WordPress, SmugMug or Squarespace
Galleries by category
Mobile responsive
Speed Optimised
SEO-friendly structure

02 - Gallery, Print Sales & Blog

From £1800

Turn your work into direct income

Everything in Portfolio
Blog Setup
Full print / product shop
+ optional Fine Art America link-out
Payment & fulfilment set up

03 - Complete Business Website

From £2500

Portfolio, sales, blog, bookings — all of it

Everything in Portfolio + Sales
Blog, workshops, tours, courses
Online booking & payment system
Booking enquiry system
Newsletter & client galleries
PICK A PLATFORM

Which website platform is best for a photography ecommerce website?

The right platform depends on how hands-on you want to be, not on which is easiest for me to sell you.

WordPress

Full creative control, any print lab or payment provider. Long-term growth.

Best for full control

SmugMug

Print fulfilment and lab printing handled entirely for you; built for photographers.

Best for zero admin

Squarespace

Polished design out of the box with a built-in shop — you manage fulfilment.

Best for design & ease

+ Fine Art America

FAA’s “Pro” tier has no styling, blog or newsletter, so it doesn’t work as a standalone site. Instead, link out to it from whichever platform above you choose and let FAA handle printing, payment and shipping. Use it entirely on its own with no ecommerce setup required, or alongside a WooCommerce shop to widen your product range.

Website platforms Compared
Comparison of WordPress, SmugMug and Squarespace as a photography website platform
Feature WordPress SmugMug Squarespace
Portfolio quality Excellent — fully custom Excellent — built for photographers Excellent — strong templates
Ecommerce Full control, any print lab or payment provider Built-in print lab & fulfilment Built-in shop, manual fulfilment or POD
Blogging Best-in-class, most flexible Basic but workable Good, clean blog tools
SEO potential Highest — full control over structure & plugins Good, some limitations Good, some limitations
Ease of use Moderate — benefits from professional setup Very easy Very easy
Ongoing cost Hosting + occasional maintenance Monthly plan fee Monthly plan fee
Scalability Unlimited — grows with your business Good within photography use-case Good for small–medium shops
Best suited for Photographers wanting full control & long-term growth Photographers who want zero fulfilment admin Photographers who value design polish & simplicity
Print fulfilment options — how printing, payment & shipping get handled
Comparison of WooCommerce, SmugMug commerce and Fine Art America as print fulfilment routes
Feature WooCommerce (self-run) SmugMug commerce Fine Art America (link-out)
Printing & shipping You choose which lab to use Handled entirely by SmugMug Handled entirely by FAA
Payment processing Set up on your own site (Stripe, PayPal, etc.) Handled by SmugMug Handled by FAA
Setup effort Highest — full store build Low Lowest — just add "Buy This Print" links
Product range Unlimited — your choice of lab and products Photographer-focused print range Very wide — prints, canvas, home decor, phone cases, and more
Checkout stays on your site? Yes Mostly No — finishes on FAA
Works alongside another route? N/A — it's your main shop N/A — it's your main shop Yes — alone with any platform, or alongside WooCommerce
Best for Full control and no third-party fees Zero admin on a photography-first platform No ecommerce setup at all, or more products without more admin
THE COMPLETE SOLUTION

Everything a working photography business needs, in one place

Not just a shop window — a working platform that brings in bookings, sells prints, promotes workshops, and grows an audience.

Booking enquiries
A real booking flow, not a generic form.
Blog & SEO
Location guides and stories that keep bringing search traffic.
Workshops & tours
Itineraries, pricing and availability, ready to book.
Client galleries
Deliver shoots professionally, password-protected.
COMPARE PACKAGES

Compare the three website packages

Photography Website packages Compared
Comparison of the Portfolio, Portfolio plus Print Sales, and Complete Business website packages
Included Portfolio Website Portfolio + Print Sales Complete Business Website
Starting price £595 £1,500 £2,500
Homepage, About, Contact
Portfolio galleries & categories
Mobile responsive
SEO-friendly structure
Print / product sales
Blog Optional add-on Optional add-on
Workshops / tours / courses pages
Booking enquiry system Basic contact form Basic contact form Dedicated booking flow
Newsletter signup Optional add-on Optional add-on
Client galleries Optional add-on Optional add-on
Best for Getting a professional presence live quickly Turning your portfolio into income Running your whole photography business online
BUILT IN AS STANDARD

Every photography website I build includes

Mobile-responsive design
Most visitors arrive on a phone, not a desktop.
Fast page loads
Optimised imagery that doesn't crawl to load.
SEO from the ground up
Proper structure, meta data and image alt text.
Easy self-management
Update galleries and pricing yourself, any time.
Secure hosting options
Self-managed or fully managed — your choice.
Training included
A walkthrough so you're confident from day one.
WHAT IT ACTUALLY DOES

What a properly built website does for your photography

SHOWCASE YOUR BEST WORK

A website that clearly shows your photos at their best

A poorly optimised image — wrong colour space, over-compressed — can make great photography look flat on screen. Because I understand both photography and web design, I know exactly how to prepare and display your images so they look as strong online as they do to you.
INCOME WHILE YOU SLEEP

Earn from work you've already shot

Your back catalogue keeps earning long after you’ve taken it, through print sales that run largely by themselves. I sell work from over 15 years ago. There is no sell by date on photos.

MORE BOOKINGS

Fewer messages to chase

A clear and well laid out site with all information easily accessible along with a good enquiry or booking flow, turns casual browsers into real leads, without you chasing every DM.

SEQUENCE — HOW WE'LL WORK TOGETHER

My website design process

1
Discovery call

We discuss your goals, style, ideal platform; no jargon, no pressure.

2
Content & images

I guide you on gathering and preparing your strongest work.

3
Design & build

Built around your photography, not a generic template.

4
Review & refine

You get to fully review the site before launch, I refine based on feedback.

5
Launch & training

We go live with a full handover walkthrough.

6
Ongoing support

Self-managed or fully managed — entirely your choice.

SELF-PORTRAIT — WHY WORK WITH ME

A photographer who designs websites, not the other way round

My own galleries, workshops and print sales run through sites I’ve built the same way I build them for clients — image compression without losing quality, gallery structures that help buyers browse, and SEO that isn’t sold as a confusing add-on.

  • Proven track record building photographer, workshop and photo tour websites
  • Practical SEO built into every site from day one
  • Flexible support — one-off or ongoing, entirely your choice
  • No lock-in — self-managed sites are genuinely yours to take anywhere
Dean Allan, Professional Landscape Photographer

“As a Professional Photographer, imagery is very important to me… Ian understood the importance of projecting my images in the strongest way possible.”

Melvin Nicholson, Pro Photographer

“He has transformed my website and thus my business as a result through his knowledge, commitment, and dedication.”

Ian Middleton writer and photographer
Highly professional and exceptional service, worth more than 5 Stars ! Ian transformed my antiquated website into a stunning modern website. Throughout the entire process Ian was available to offer advice and suggestions on the best build for my type of photography. This was a two-way engaging process with regular updates from Ian. In addition, Ian also gave me valuable advice on SEO, Online Payment options, how to create an Onine Store and other ideas and web features that could be implemented at a later stage. The whole process was very smooth and at the end Ian gave a very helpful Handover presentation via Zoom video call. Ian is extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and clearly has a passion for his work, going above and beyond. Ian is very affable, our discussions during the Zoom video calls extended well beyond the website requirements into many other areas of photography and travel. I would definitely recommend Ian to anyone looking to build a website or who requires web related services
Ade - Photographer
Above And Beyond. 5 Stars !
Ade
All reviews
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Jim Harvey profile picture
Jim Harvey
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I used Ian to build my wordpress photography and essay website and it was great. He was friendly, saved me a lot of time and money chasing rabbits that I didn't know about and answered all of my many questions quickly. I literally could not have done it without him and the end result was way better than anything I could do myself. I'm in the US so there was a time zone difference, but it didn't seem to matter at all. Highly recommended.
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Jim Coda profile picture
Jim Coda
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I’ve had a nature photo gallery website since 2009 and a WordPress nature photography blog since 2010. I like to blog about my nature photography experiences and believe WordPress provides the best blogging platform for ease of use and SEO benefits. I always wanted the photo gallery to be on the same website as the blog, but I never saw a WordPress website that had what I thought was a really good photo gallery as part of it. I came to believe WordPress was great for blogging but not so great for showing one’s photos. Then I found Ian. After looking at his site and others he has created, I came to believe Ian could create a great photo gallery as part of a WordPress website. Thanks to Ian, I now have that. Ian is a walking encyclopedia on WordPress and SEO. I’ve also become tired of doing my own printing, using and maintaining a large format printer. Ian has built my site so buyers are seamlessly transferred to my Fine Art America site to purchase prints. Ian is also the easiest guy in the world to work with, and he has agreed to maintain my site while I concentrate on photography. If you want a great photo gallery integrated into a great blogging platform do what I did and contact Ian.
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Ollie Taylor profile picture
Ollie Taylor
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Ian completed a website for me and as it evolves and progresses, he’s definitely the right person to undertake further work on it. He’s a pleasure to work with and easily transforms rough ideas you give him into functional and neat designs; extremely knowledgeable in his field of web design and SEO. Highly recommend.
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Claudia Daniels profile picture
Claudia Daniels
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I highly recommend Ian Middleton Web Design Services. Ian is great to work with, highly knowledgeable, professional and efficient. His monthly management service has been essential in keeping our website current and dynamic. He answers questions quickly and is very helpful with his advice and responses. We are glad that we signed up with him!
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PJ McCormack
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Have to say dealing with Ian was a pleasure from start to finish, true professional. Complete redesign of our website and not only does it look better, it works. From the moment it launched we started moving up the google ranking and within a week we were no 1 (up from 36) for a lot of the searches for our particular business. Highly recommend Ian and have to say, if you’re not working with him – you’re missing out.
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Tim Bryan profile picture
Tim Bryan
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I have used Ian twice now . First he consulted me when I started to design my first Word Press site. Then later at the end I had him come in and help me with some issues I had been unable to fix and put the finishing touches on the site, do the SEO and redo my choice of plugins. I realized then I should have brought him back into the project way before then. Ian is highly knowledgeable about WordPress and easy to work with. I highly recommend him for you WP project.
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Rodney O Callaghan Photography profile picture
Rodney O Callaghan Photography
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Ian has designed the most fantastic website for my photography workshops & tours business. From the very beginning Ian has been an absolute pleasure to work with. He is professional, enthusiastic and very personable. Not only did Ian work with me on my vision of what I wanted the website to accomplish, he also made numerous fantastic recommendations on how the website could further be enhanced and optimised for best performance and reach. Ian provided regular updates on how the site build was progressing and has talked us through all aspects of the site and it's running since it went live. He has great patience and answers questions without any delay. With his knowledge, expertise and recommendations I now have a website I feel truly showcases my photography business. I have no doubt my business will 100% benefit from the new website Ian has created. I would highly recommend Ian and the fantastic services he offers. If I could give 10 stars I would!
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Sarah Howard profile picture
Sarah Howard
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Ian Middleton designed a website for my photography workshop business. He is brilliant to put it simply. As a photographer himself he understood my needs and made helpful suggestions throughout regarding the design and also how we could optimise the website for SEO. He was, and continues to be, incredibly helpful and patient, and is always there to offer advice and assistance should I need it when updating the website myself. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking for a great looking and well performing website at a reasonable price.
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Julian Elliott profile picture
Julian Elliott
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Ian created a website for me that has changed my business. Through his extraordinary efforts I now have a website that not only showcases the work that I do as a photographer but also gives me a storefront for my photography tours. Ian goes beyond what you would expect from a website designer. He's always on hand to help out and also show you too how it is that you can keep his sitebuild up to date. I cannot thank him enough for his amazing work which continues.
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Pablo Pérez
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Ian is a professional specialist in web design and above all in customer service. I am very grateful for his good work. Daniel, Spain.
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paul placitelli
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What can I say! Ian was fantastic from the beginning concept to completion of the project and beyond with ongoing support. He listened to the vision I was after and made suggestions, not only with the design process, but also how he could optimise and maximise the platform online. Ian kept me informed with regular updates throughout, providing visuals on how the design was looking. Ian also provided me with ono to one training on how to amend and update the web page, during and after completion. He has a very calming and nurturing teaching style, and is very patient, which is great, as it can take me a while to grasp technical information! His knowledge on web design is top class and he really knows his stuff, to be able to advise as to the best design for your needs.I am so pleased with the platform he has created for me, and I am already experience an uplift in customers since the launch. I would thoroughly recommend Ian to anyone looking for this service, without hesitation. Paul Placitelli.
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Caroline Hurt
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Ian has been fantastic at building my photgraphy website form scratch. He has also been very helpful at following up with any teething issues I had. I would highly recommend.
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Back Road Photography profile picture
Back Road Photography
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Ian did a great job on helping design my photography website. He was informative and knowledgeable and delivered on what he said he would.. I would highly recommend him. Thank you again for the help!
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Kevin Brown profile picture
Kevin Brown
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Ian did a great job designing my photography website. He was very professional and informative in answering all my questions! I would definitely recommend him for website design. Thank you for all the help!
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Louise Welcome profile picture
Louise Welcome
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I have known Ian both as a photography tutor (some years ago) and as someone who I really wanted to take charge of building my website. His guidance and patience with me has been utterly appreciated. His objective approach to building my website has also meant that I have had the courage to 'let go of my darlings' so that the end product is impactful and competitive. I now have a website that is visually strong, incorporates my youtube channel and is visible - it's now down to me to develop my marketing strategy to take full advantage of his excellent work! Thank you Ian.
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Dean Allan profile picture
Dean Allan
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I am a Professional Landscape Photographer and have had a website for a very long time. However, I was looking at refreshing it, updating it and improving it. My website is very important to me, so when a friend recommended Ian and suggested I contact him with a view to doing all these things, I was only too happy to do so. As a Professional Photographer, imagery is very important to me and I knew straightaway after speaking with Ian, that we were on the same page. As a Professional Photographer himself, Ian understood the importance of projecting my images in the strongest way possible. This allied with his incredible website skills he was able to build a new website for me which has exceeded all my expectations. Ian's in depth knowledge and understanding of my website needs was admirable and very reassuring. Not only does it look amazing, but it also has so much information which the viewer is guided through the site effortlessly. This has already increased the amount of traffic coming through my site. I have jumped to the 1st page of all the search engines for my landscape locations since Ian has been involved with my website. I would thoroughly recommend Ian if you are looking for a new website or just looking at improving the mechanics of an existing one. His manner is extremely professional and he is always available to guide me through anything I am unsure with and deals with it in a polite, prompt and skillful way.
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Paul Thomson profile picture
Paul Thomson
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Ian did a great job in providing me with a report on what I should change on my website. After agreeing the work Ian kept me updated throughout the whole process and made sure I was happy with what was done. After the work was complete he showed me what a difference it had made especially to SEO and that showed straight away in Google search results. I can totally recommend Ian’s services he is absolutely fantastic at what he does and a pleasure to work with. Highly recommended ⭐️🌟⭐️🌟
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Melinda golden profile picture
Melinda golden
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I am a new small business owner. I was really struggling putting together a website. While seeking to gain more knowledge, I came across Ian's SmugMug tutorial YouTube videos. After visiting his website, I discovered his web design services and decided to reach out. I am very glad I did. Through trail and error, he helped me create a website far greater than what I had envisioned. I am confident and proud of how my work is portrayed! Ian was flexible and patient with my schedule. He was quick to respond to any request or concern. Most importantly, he was able to work with me and provide my fantastic website within MY budget. No contract, hourly rates, and he has stated/proven he is available for further assistance if I need any! What I appreciated most about working with Ian; for every request I had, along with making the adjustments himself, he would send me a tutorial video, just so I could have an understanding/knowledge of how he accomplished something on my site. He made the process seamless and exciting for me. I am so thrilled I utilized his services. I would highly recommend for any service he offers!
QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Frequently asked questions

How much does a photography website cost?

A simple portfolio starts from around £1200. Portfolio with print sales starts from £1,800 depending on platform. A complete business website starts from around £2,500 — every quote follows a short discovery call.

Which platform is best for selling prints?

It depends how hands-on you want to be. WordPress gives the most control, SmugMug handles fulfilment entirely, and Squarespace offers the most design polish.

Is Fine Art America good as my main website?

Not on its own — no styling, blog or newsletter. It works far better as a fulfilment link-out from your real site, either alone (no ecommerce setup needed) or alongside WooCommerce for a wider product range.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. I build the site and train you to manage galleries, blog posts and pricing — no coding required. A fully managed option is also available.

How long does a build take?

A portfolio site typically takes 2–4 weeks. A complete business site usually takes 4–8 weeks, depending on how quickly content is ready.

Can you redesign my existing website instead?

Yes — redesigns and improvements to existing sites on any of these platforms are a large part of what I do.

Portfolio - Photography websites I've built already

Landscape
Locations

Dean Allan Photography

Louise Welcome

Julian Elliott

Boldly Her Photography

Cymon Taylor

Photo Tours Worldwide

Rodney O'Callaghan

Image Seen Workshops

Paulo Silva Photography

Ade Photo
Tours

Astrophotography Workshops

McCormack Imaging Studio

Photo Tours
Spain

Randy Roy Photography

Jim Coda Photography

paul placitelli Photography

Dark Skies
Tenerife Guide

Steve Strong Photography

Kevin Brown Photography

Golden Hour Photography

Ready to give your photography the website it deserves?

Whether you need a simple portfolio, a print shop, or a complete business platform — let’s talk about what you actually need.

Full Name *
Email *
Do you have an existing website? *
Which platform is it built with? *
Please give me the full url of your current website (including https://) *
Do you have a Portfolio I can Look at? *
Please give me the full url of your portfolio *
Please tell me a bit about your photography, business and your goals for the website *
How did you hear about me? *