- Standard Membership: $39.95 per year
- Power Membership: $59.95 per year
- Pro Membership: $149.95 per year
- Great looking and feature packed photo sharing web site
- Share your photos with family and friends with the minimum of fuss
- No limit on the number of photos you can upload
- Set up Flash slideshows that can be embedded in your blog or viewed directly on the site
- Gorgeous looking photo galleries
- Buy prints and gifts at competitive prices
- Add photos directly from Picasa, Photoshop, Lightroom, iPhoto and others
- No ads or spam to bother you
- If your photos are tagged with a location they can be displayed on a Google Map
- Shoot, geotag and upload with one click on an iPhone
- Growing list of themes to style your galleries and photos
- Upload full resolution high quality video (Power and Pro subscribers only)
- Set up a custom look for your website (Power subscribers only)
- Full Web 2.0 functionality with developer APIs, communities and feeds
- Protect your images by disabling downloading or print ordering
- Allow users to leave comments on your photos
- No limit to the amount of traffic you can have looking at your photos
- Galleries auto-size to fit any display
- Comprehensive security features
- Password protect your galleries or remove them from public viewing
- Prevent others from linking to your photos in other sites
- Fast email support
- Custom branding and ability to sell digital downloads with Pro membership
- Files are backed up on two different servers for extra security
- Extremely fast access world wide
- Free trial available
- Compatible with almost any device that can run a web browser
SmugMug is a top quality web site that is well deserved of the number one spot in our top ten list of photo sharing web sites. From the instant you arrive at the stylishly designed main page you know you are going to get a top quality experience from beginning to end. It's so easy to upload your photos and present them in such a great looking way that never again will your family and friends be bored when sitting through your holiday snaps. That is unless you really go wild with the unlimited upload space that SmugMug provides and document every single minute of your trip. While we are well aware there are plenty of free options out there vying for your business we think SmugMug is well worth the money for the excellent level of service it offers.
The first thing you will want to do after signing up for a SmugMug account is to start uploading some photos. Thankfully this is made so easy that you could probably teach your Gran to do it in a few minutes if you want regular updates on what her cat has been up to. By far the simplest way to do it is just to drag and drop photo files onto the browser window itself. SmugMug then lists all the photos you are about to upload before you click the ok button to send them on their way. The upload time is only really limited by the speed of your internet connection as the SmugMug servers are geared up to receive them as fast as you can send. Of course there are also other ways to get your photos out there for the world to see. If you use Photoshop or Picassa you can download a small plug-in that will enable you to upload to SmugMug directly from these applications. If that doesn't suit you it is possible to upload directly from an iPhone - and if you do, and your photos are geo-tagged, they will be displayed on a Google Map when visitors view your albums.
It isn't just photos you can upload to SmugMug either. If you subscribe to a power or a pro membership you can also upload video clips of up to ten minutes long. Power users are limited to DVD quality, but Pro users can upload full resolution high definition footage - much better quality than you will see on YouTube.
Once you have some photos or videos uploaded to your account, they are there for the world to see. Just give your friends the customized web site address for your web page and they can view any of the albums that you have specified for public viewing. For privacy it is easy to password protect certain albums or even to prevent them from being viewed at all. Visitors to your website get a great looking and easy to use interface for viewing your photos by default, but it is also possible to create Flash slideshows of your favourite snaps to show off. These can be embedded in another website or blog and so will automatically change if you update the slideshow from your account. One of the most important things we should point out about SmugMug is that, unlike many free photo sharing websites, it doesn't limit the amount of photos you can upload or the amount of visitors who can come to look at them. If you have ever run into these kinds of problems on other sites this will come as a great relief.
You, and anyone visiting your albums, can order prints of any photos that you have on display. This is great if you are the type of person who forgets to ever get prints made of your best photos as it means you can be sure your Mum will come along and make sure to order some. These can be ordered directly through the SmugMug labs and for very reasonable prices. If you want something a bit extra special SmugMug links directly to its partners so that you can order leather bound albums of your printed photos, framed prints and various other items. Most of these are pretty good value - especially when you consider how easy it is to order.
If you opt for the most expensive Pro membership, SmugMug offers one last handy feature if you are interested in trying to make a bit of cash from your snaps. It allows you to sell digital downloads of any photos you upload directly through the web site with a quick and easy payment system. Of course SmugMug does take a small percentage of each download, but it is still a good way of showing off what you can do and making a small profit while you're at it.
SmugMug is one of the best photo sharing sites around and that's why it deserves the number one spot here. It is elegantly designed, easy to use and we don't think you will find a better service for the money. The more advanced options will no doubt attract more serious users, but most people will find all they need with a standard membership. A free trial is available so we highly recommend giving it a go as soon as possible.
Click the button below to check out SmugMug.com for yourself...
