OK - so Blu Domain is out for me right now - I am trying to decide between Winklet or Flash Palette and need opinions from photographers who have used either one or both - I know nothing, nada, ziltch - when it comes to web development, html, codes, etc... - so for me a template looks great, sounds great, but is it really so easy to figure out?

I need votes, opinions, show me your websites using either product - yikes - I really need to decide - btw my budget is way tight - I'm looking at buying the Winklet #22 portfolio template for approx. $100 - or the Flash Palette mini for $150

Thanks all
Heather

My first website was (still is) a winklet design. It has served me well for almost a year and a half, and I'm about to shell out more money for one of the big boys. I have no complaints whatsoever about winklet. I put it together myself, I maintain it myself, and they were very quick to respond to any questions I had. It has been a great "first website" for me, especially for the price. Check it out if you like, although I haven't updated any gallery other than the wedding one in AGES--I'm kind of embarrassed about some of the pics on there But like I said, I'm upgrading soon

Blu offers mini sites, too, don't they, at $200? Just thought I'd mention it if you're stuck on Blu.

There are other options besides these three, too, just FYI, and a lot of chatter about different companies if you search the forum.

I haven't used either, but saw a review recently (I'll see if I can dig it out...) and the reviewer noted that the editing interface for FP is more intuitive/easier to work with. I don't know the gradations, so it could be minor differences, but if I remember correctly, you can get a FP demo to see how you like it...

I've had both winklet and flash palette and I have to say, I'm really glad I knew at least *a little* html with winklet. I loved my site, but was ready to go into a simpler route and i love my flash palette.

If you know nothing, I would suggest flash palette. Its literally drag and drop. With winklet, I think its helpful if you have some coding knowledge.

Ksenia

Winklet customized mine for me - very quickly and very cheaply.

Hey Heather,

I told you my opinions of Winklet (great low budget/starter site, sucky CS). The HTML stuff can throw you at first, but they have a fabulous "cheat sheet" on their website that got me through it all and I had ZERO knowledge when I got mine. A friend of mine has a flash pallette... she chose it over winklet, but didn't really say why.

Thank you, Thank you for all of your helpful advice - I think I will give the FP trial a go and if I'm happy, will probably purchase from them as I like their templates.

Will let you all know once I'm through - HOPEFULLY before I'm TOO old to pick up my camera anymore

Heather

IMHO having seen tons of sites using all the designs listed above, Flash Palette sites are by far the best for the money.

I would recommend flashpalette since their admin allows easier editing for all your site content, and their designs are very nice. I've seen some very beatiful sites come out of there.

another company that is coming out at the end of september is portfoliositez.com, they will be offering hosting and a fully editable flash template for $9.95/mo.

If you go with winklet make sure you don't spend too much on hosting, you should be able to get hosting from between $6-$10/mo. Some good hosting companies that get great reviews on the forums are bluehost.com and 1and1.com.

I just finished (almost finished but already uploaded a test version to be precise ) my brand new flash palette site and I love it! I definitely couldn't afford a bludomain site at this point and I think the basic mini site (which I used) works perfectly with my style. You can check it out katyregnier.com and let me know if you need any help setting yours up!