The Enthusiast's Guide to Photo Galleries

Photo Gallery Pitfalls to Avoid

When searching for somewhere to set up your own photo galleries, you'll likely come across some sites that make the process more cumbersome than it needs to be. Fortunately, there are a good number of photo galleries that are designed with the user in mind. The good ones stand out because they tackle the following key issues head-on:

1. Lack of instructions: When searching for a suitable photo sharing site to post your photos, the first thing you should consider is whether it offers quick and easy instructions on how to get started. After all, you're excited about this whole idea of getting your photos online and sharing them with friends. Photo galleries that don't immediately provide you with quick-start instructions take away from the thrill.

2. Minimal help section: Fortunately, the best photo galleries do provide you with all the help you need to get started and to figure out how things work. Galleries to avoid often overlook this important element, which that makes the user's experience much more enjoyable.

3. Excessive ads: Basically, there are two types of photo galleries: Those that do everything right with the user in mind, and those in it for themselves. The former provides a clean interface that enables you to get to all the right tools quickly and easily. The latter is more interested in making money by filling their pages with ads that distract you from your goal.

4. Limited free storage: The storage space provided on most photo galleries is probably sufficient for most photo-sharing enthusiasts. But if you have huge quantities of large photos you want to share with friends and family do keep an eye out for storage limits. Limited storage means you'll have to keep constant watch over how much space you've used and remove images when you reach your limit.

5. Too much clutter: Excessive use of ads is just one form of clutter that can overwhelm the visitor. Another element that can get in your way is text that fills the page, making it that much more work for you to find what you really need to get started. These photo galleries seem to feel the need to provide you with far more information than you really need to know.

When you begin your search for a site to set up your photo galleries, remember the do's and don'ts outlined above. The great news is that you are certain to find any number of excellent photo galleries that put you and your photos first -- you'll find lots of info about the good ones here.