Author Topic: Perfect solution for selling on your own website (Read 23379 times)

elvinstar · « **on:** November 04, 2012, 08:48 »

OK, let's have it...

What would you like to see in a "Sell on your own website" software package? If there's enough interest, I'm going to be working with another coder to put something together that will be:

Rich in features (based upon your input)
AFFORDABLE
Easy to install

Please list your wants/needs in this thread and we'll see what we can come up with for you!

cthoman · « **Reply #1 on:** November 04, 2012, 10:36 »

It would probably have to be significantly better than my current KTools store. Otherwise it wouldn't be worth the effort to switch, fix links, change workflow, etc.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #2 on:** November 04, 2012, 10:43 »

Quote from: elvinstar on November 04, 2012, 08:48

OK, let's have it...

What would you like to see in a "Sell on your own website" software package? If there's enough interest, I'm going to be working with another coder to put something together that will be:
Rich in features (based upon your input)
AFFORDABLE
Easy to install

Please list your wants/needs in this thread and we'll see what we can come up with for you!

Why not just read through one of the many "What we want in a stock agency" threads?

elvinstar · « **Reply #3 on:** November 04, 2012, 10:47 »

Quote from: sjlocke on November 04, 2012, 10:43

Quote from: elvinstar on November 04, 2012, 08:48
OK, let's have it...

What would you like to see in a "Sell on your own website" software package? If there's enough interest, I'm going to be working with another coder to put something together that will be:
Rich in features (based upon your input)
AFFORDABLE
Easy to install

Please list your wants/needs in this thread and we'll see what we can come up with for you!

Why not just read through one of the many "What we want in a stock agency" threads?

I would think that there a large number of differences between selling on your own website and selling on a site with many contributors.

elvinstar · « **Reply #4 on:** November 04, 2012, 10:49 »

Quote from: cthoman on November 04, 2012, 10:36

It would probably have to be significantly better than my current KTools store. Otherwise it wouldn't be worth the effort to switch, fix links, change workflow, etc.

Which features would you like to see added? What needs improvement?

The more information that you guys provide, the better the final product will be.

Pixart · « **Reply #5 on:** November 04, 2012, 11:54 »

- Ability to sell physical goods.
- Ability to charge local taxes (I need to calculate 1 or 2 taxes depending on postal code or none for out-of-country)
- Auto renumbering/renaming system. I gave my shots sequential numbers, but went and put the model's name in it too... 1523-JakeSmith-Hockey. Mistake!
- Ability to set a blanket price series, but to be able to change it for special or exclusive content.
- Instant download - no waiting for an e-mail with a link that they can pass to all their friends.
- Collections/packages - I imagine if we can upload a zip we can make our own collection
- Repositionable watermark

You really get what you pay for. I've been looking at some Wordpress and Woocommerce photo stores but they don't auto watermark or auto resize. The more I look into the work I would have to put into it (or pay to have put into it), the better K-tools looks.

elvinstar · « **Reply #6 on:** November 04, 2012, 12:23 »

Keep 'em coming!

elvinstar · « **Reply #7 on:** November 04, 2012, 12:44 »

Would you prefer something that installs on a database on an existing website or acts as its own website?

Pixart · « **Reply #8 on:** November 04, 2012, 13:49 »

Also - ability to make password protected galleries for clients/family/boudoir etc..

You are speaking to stock photographers here so I will likely be the only one who says that I would like something I can run on a website. Each K-tools site I have seen looks like a stock photo agency, and I had come to the conclusion that I would need a stock photo site and a separate website. My husband is urging me to hire someone for what we want.

cascoly · « **Reply #9 on:** November 04, 2012, 14:02 »

Quote from: elvinstar on November 04, 2012, 10:47

Quote from: sjlocke on November 04, 2012, 10:43
Quote from: elvinstar on November 04, 2012, 08:48
OK, let's have it...

What would you like to see in a "Sell on your own website" software package? If there's enough interest, I'm going to be working with another coder to put something together that will be:
Rich in features (based upon your input)
AFFORDABLE
Easy to install

Please list your wants/needs in this thread and we'll see what we can come up with for you!

Why not just read through one of the many "What we want in a stock agency" threads?

I would think that there a large number of differences between selling on your own website and selling on a site with many contributors.

none of that matters if the site doesnt get seen - unless you can produce that traffic, there are already many established solutions out there - ktools, smugmug, et al

elvinstar · « **Reply #10 on:** November 04, 2012, 15:36 »

Quote from: cascoly on November 04, 2012, 14:02

Quote from: elvinstar on November 04, 2012, 10:47
Quote from: sjlocke on November 04, 2012, 10:43
Quote from: elvinstar on November 04, 2012, 08:48
OK, let's have it...

What would you like to see in a "Sell on your own website" software package? If there's enough interest, I'm going to be working with another coder to put something together that will be:
Rich in features (based upon your input)
AFFORDABLE
Easy to install

Please list your wants/needs in this thread and we'll see what we can come up with for you!

Why not just read through one of the many "What we want in a stock agency" threads?

I would think that there a large number of differences between selling on your own website and selling on a site with many contributors.

none of that matters if the site doesnt get seen - unless you can produce that traffic, there are already many established solutions out there - ktools, smugmug, et al

So you expect the site to provide traffic for you? I'm not really sure that's what everyone has in mind.

Other opinions on this topic would be helpful!

mattdixon · « **Reply #11 on:** November 04, 2012, 15:41 »

Galleries with custom options - thumbnail size, no of rows width etc
Nested galleries (Galleries within galleries)

Relevant search results - no of sales, views, keywords, orientation etc
or better still open source search query code so we can create our own best match

Nice looking download page with ability to link (with thumbnail) to similar images via llightbox (like iStock)
One click payment

Contributor option
or custom skin version of Virtual Agency like Photoshelter

Easy integration and CSS customisation with a Word Press front end theme (hosted separately) - Like Graph Paper Press and Photoshelter

Ultimately a photostore where artists could link their stores together to create a bigger library.

You sure you want to do this? :-)

sharpshot · « **Reply #12 on:** November 04, 2012, 15:55 »

Quote from: elvinstar on November 04, 2012, 15:36

Quote from: cascoly on November 04, 2012, 14:02
Quote from: elvinstar on November 04, 2012, 10:47
Quote from: sjlocke on November 04, 2012, 10:43
Quote from: elvinstar on November 04, 2012, 08:48
OK, let's have it...

What would you like to see in a "Sell on your own website" software package? If there's enough interest, I'm going to be working with another coder to put something together that will be:
Rich in features (based upon your input)
AFFORDABLE
Easy to install

Please list your wants/needs in this thread and we'll see what we can come up with for you!

Why not just read through one of the many "What we want in a stock agency" threads?

I would think that there a large number of differences between selling on your own website and selling on a site with many contributors.

none of that matters if the site doesnt get seen - unless you can produce that traffic, there are already many established solutions out there - ktools, smugmug, et al

So you expect the site to provide traffic for you? I'm not really sure that's what everyone has in mind.

Other opinions on this topic would be helpful!

That's what puts me off having my own site. People who do quite well seem to just about cover their costs. What's the point in that? I'd rather have something more attractive to buyers. We've talked about a search that can combine lots of peoples sites here a few times. That would be great, as buyers would have a bigger more diverse collection of images to look at. The thought of us all having individual sites that a buyer has to search through individually doesn't appeal to me.

elvinstar · « **Reply #13 on:** November 04, 2012, 17:35 »

Lots of good ideas here, but what about all of you that are just looking? We want to hear from you, too! This is a potentially very exciting project and I've got a great coder excited about it, too.

mattdixon · « **Reply #14 on:** November 04, 2012, 19:39 »

Categories - Royalty Free, Editorial, etc -
Different price points within categories Gold, Silver, Bronze for Royalty Free, Editorial and Prints

Social Media sharing throughout site - backend open code box so it can easily be updated - not outdated
Customer sign up list that can be emailed with promotions - with customisation
Ability to import email lists
SEO optimised throughout

Good graphic design and layout to site - not something that looks like it was built in the 80's

chromaco · « **Reply #15 on:** November 04, 2012, 20:37 »

Since we are throwing out ideas...I would like to see some sort of "parent site" that ties all of the individual sites together. Perhaps with a search option like "search this site" or "search entire network". I would even be ok with being a part of one large site but having my own "store" so to speak. Kind of like a mall. Lots of individual stores in one place.

velocicarpo · « **Reply #16 on:** November 04, 2012, 21:08 »

OK, I would be definitely interested.

First, very requested feature would be: a API which allows a metacrawler to index/access the database of the contributors site. This would allow a Portal to be used as a stock search engine for independent sites. The feature should be optional.

Then my list would be:
1. Support of different licenses (RF, RM, Editorial)
2. Variety of payment gateways or the possibility for third party coders to easily integrate modules. Don`t be lazy and just put paypal in. Perfect would be to a SWIFT support, but well....
3. SEO. I was toying around with almost every script there and SEO is definitely one of the most important point. No site is serving you if the bots can`t see your stuff.
4. Cloud support! Amazon S3 e.g. is much cheaper and more reliable than any local space.
5. Don`t overbloat it with features and keep the bug count low.
6. Easy customization. Some scripts work with "Modules" you can visually arrange. Very attractive feature...

Thats my top list I guess. I only mentioned the most important points.

sharpshot · « **Reply #17 on:** November 05, 2012, 02:56 »

Quote from: elvinstar on November 04, 2012, 17:35

Lots of good ideas here, but what about all of you that are just looking? We want to hear from you, too! This is a potentially very exciting project and I've got a great coder excited about it, too.

I hope you are also asking lots of buyers what they want as well. There's been a few sites that have everything that contributors want but haven't attracted buyers. Getting them involved from the start would be a good idea. There's lots of benefits for all of us, if we can reduce the costs of buying and selling images.

microstockphoto.co.uk · « **Reply #18 on:** November 05, 2012, 03:07 »

I want sales from my own web site, so SEO is the most important thing.

Code it in a manner that every single tag is indexed in google.

Also, consider a central search engine for all ports using your tool.

mattdixon · « **Reply #19 on:** November 05, 2012, 07:11 »

I don't necessarily want a central search hub for every single store, if its there I would want the option to opt in or out.

I absolutely do want to be able to create a virtual agency where selected artists can band together into bigger portals. The ability to skin the front end of that agency using Word Press or CSS would be a deal breaker for me. Otherwise there is no difference from Ktools or Photoshelter.

I would prefer to host the shop myself so I can pick a speedy ISP. I know Photoshelter have had intermittent speed issues by hosting all the sites under one roof.

Bullet proof customer friendly search - make or brake for me. Open source would be great so niche sites could cater for their style of photography - Yuri's site is an excellent example.

If you manage to crack this you could take the industry full circle and have a game changer on your hands - Good Luck

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #20 on:** November 05, 2012, 08:52 »

Quote from: elvinstar on November 04, 2012, 08:48

OK, let's have it...

What would you like to see in a "Sell on your own website" software package? If there's enough interest, I'm going to be working with another coder to put something together that will be:
Rich in features (based upon your input)
AFFORDABLE
Easy to install

Please list your wants/needs in this thread and we'll see what we can come up with for you!

This sounds like you just want to code together a site as a hobby. That's not going to work. This needs to be a business venture, it needs dependability, and support. Ktools says they have more than 6000 customers. They have a support ticket system, they have forums. There are 130 tickets in the support queue right now. If you're just going to do this in your spare time, don't waste your time.

Suggestions - Ktools is trying to do too much, instead of concentrating on being a stock site. A new solution should concentrate on being a functional usable stock site. It needs to work for Joe NoComputerKnowledge as plugNplay, yet be easily modifiable (and upgradable, unlike KTools) for those that want to dig into it.

There needs to be good documentation so people know what to expect from their install instead of just floundering around trying to figure out what different functions are.

It needs the basic things all sites have - # of images per page changable by user, sorts that hold their choice from page to page, SEO optimized links, an exportable database or API, ... just all the things that you use a site for and don't realize.

I should be able to access the Central Database and make a request to have other peoples' work searchable on my site as well, and pay them X percent for the privilege.

click_click · « **Reply #21 on:** November 05, 2012, 09:16 »

Sean has a point. Support and updates have to be a must for the future, therefore it should be planned as a business.

If that is already considered I could think of a few more things to be included (if not already mentioned):

- automatic custom watermarking (just upload high-res files and the system resizes and watermarks automatically - probably very obvious)
- support various file types (footage, vectors, audio, flash etc.)
- customized splitting of file sizes, some photographers only want to offer S,M,L sizes - other would like to offer XXS, XS, S,M,L,XL,XXL,XXXL
- auto preview of images when hovering over search result thumbnails
- thumbnail size selector on every page of search results or gallery page
- custom download limit option (can be set to 1,2 or 3 dls per purchase to prevent abuse - instead of email link)
- code has to be fast - speed is essential
- display similars/series underneath file preview (like at FT or Canstock)
- automatic customer notification system when new content is added (promotional tools)

I'm sure I can think of more but here you go.

elvinstar · « **Reply #22 on:** November 05, 2012, 09:21 »

Sean,

With the exception of the first paragraph, we agree on almost everything. There is no way that I would even consider something of this complexity if it were just a "hobby."

Our goal is to provide a solution that fits the needs of microstock photographers wishing to sell their own images on their own site in addition to (or instead of) paying a huge percentage of each sale to an agency.

We are NOT trying to create another stock agency.

With that being said, we plan to build this system with an eye toward future connectability of the sites to allow artists to "link" sites or have a network-wide search. This would, of course, be an opt-in feature. Not everyone wants to participate and those who don't shouldn't be forced to.

Our plan is to first focus on photographers and add features for illustrators later. Trying to do too many things at once is a recipe for failure.

Of course this solution needs to be:

SEO-friendly
easy to install and use for people without webdev knowledge and experience
social media-friendly
easy to configure

While all of those things were on our radar before the first post went up, we want input because it is impossible for us to think of every feature that people might want.

Not every feature mentioned on this thread will be included out of the gate. Our plan is to release a rock-solid, functional solution with new features added regularly after they have been tested to death. Of course there will be support, as well.

A great idea full of bugs does no good for anyone.

Please, guys, keep the ideas and suggestions coming. As our list of first-release features gets firmed-up, we'll keep you posted.

Poncke · « **Reply #23 on:** November 05, 2012, 09:52 »

I dont have my own site yet, but I am in the market to go with either Ktools or Photoshelter at some point. But if you can make a better one, I am your customer.

For what I understand is that a proper SEARCH engine is eminent.

cthoman · « **Reply #24 on:** November 05, 2012, 10:04 »

Quote from: elvinstar on November 04, 2012, 10:49

Quote from: cthoman on November 04, 2012, 10:36
It would probably have to be significantly better than my current KTools store. Otherwise it wouldn't be worth the effort to switch, fix links, change workflow, etc.

Which features would you like to see added? What needs improvement?

The more information that you guys provide, the better the final product will be.

I'd say search would probably be the next thing that needs tackling on my site. Probably some decent cross-selling or up-selling features too. A software package that was upgradeable would have been nice too. I've basically been abandoned by the Ktools folks.

At this point though, a custom solution might be my next platform. Either that or just continue to keep making tweaks to what I already have. It really depends on how the site continues to grow.

elvinstar · « **Reply #25 on:** November 05, 2012, 10:44 »

Search is DEFINITELY one of the items at the top of our priority list. As a buyer (and also a submitter), I've experienced the pain of bad search myself.

cascoly · « **Reply #26 on:** November 05, 2012, 18:30 »

rather than re-invent the wheel, itvwould help to take a good look at the opensource GALLERY to see what might already be available.

the sticking point though will still be SEO - how will this new site be able to outperform or even just compete with agencies that already have staff devoted to SEO?

i've rarely found any of my images in my smugmug portfolio in google searches, but quite often find my images on the first search page with links to the major stock agencies. (my smugmug images all have the same tags that are given to the agencies)

elvinstar · « **Reply #27 on:** November 05, 2012, 21:53 »

I guess a question that needs to be asked is how people plan to use this software.

Do you plan to rely on Google searches, or will you be directing potential buyers to your site?

THP Creative · « **Reply #28 on:** November 06, 2012, 02:08 »

Mostly Google searches for me, therefore SEO is hugely important.

Also, I personally would a prefer a reasonable one-off cost to buy the software (after a free trial to test it out) rather than a subscription model.

If you can make this happen, I would seriously be interested, but all the elements need to be there. Thanks for even contemplating it - it's a huge job!

RacePhoto · « **Reply #29 on:** November 06, 2012, 03:06 »

Quote from: chromaco on November 04, 2012, 20:37

Since we are throwing out ideas...I would like to see some sort of "parent site" that ties all of the individual sites together. Perhaps with a search option like "search this site" or "search entire network". I would even be ok with being a part of one large site but having my own "store" so to speak. Kind of like a mall. Lots of individual stores in one place.

Pretty much an interesting way to drive traffic to everyone and let the photos/illustrations speak for themselves. Sure we are competing with each other and at the same time, working in a co-operative fashion would bring more buyers and views to all of us.

Ultimately a photostore where artists could link their stores together to create a bigger library. Yes that's the idea.

I think there are good suggestions for the rest of the features, watermark, re-size. (offer size by price handled by the software) Direct payment by PayPal, Google, or others that provide that service to us. Download set after payment is confirmed and stays active for 48 hours or some selectable fair time for the buyer to download.

But if I had to pick one, I'd like the site to have a "Circle" of friends which allows everyone to promote the other collections. I'm not sure that a search of all sites would be functional because it would need to download and index some constantly changing galleries from everyone, over and over. Links and descriptions to all member sites would be more workable.

mattdixon · « **Reply #30 on:** November 06, 2012, 04:49 »

Quote from: elvinstar on November 05, 2012, 21:53

I guess a question that needs to be asked is how people plan to use this software.

Do you plan to rely on Google searches, or will you be directing potential buyers to your site?

Both are essential, one will drive the other, you want a positive cycle. Without showing up in Google you are pretty much invisible.

elvinstar · « **Reply #31 on:** November 06, 2012, 06:38 »

How would you guys rate your existing solution regarding getting your images found by Google: Excellent, Fair, or Poor?

cascoly · « **Reply #32 on:** November 06, 2012, 18:49 »

Quote from: elvinstar on November 06, 2012, 06:38

How would you guys rate your existing solution regarding getting your images found by Google: Excellent, Fair, or Poor?

first, are you referring to our own sites or our images as represented by agencies?

either way, it's difficult to really know, since it's hard to know what 'found by google' means. a ggogle search requires specific keywords and that can vary tremendously. unfortunately, most agencies dont tell us how our sold images were found. Dreamstime is one of tghe ones that does, and here are some results I found for some recent sales. these were all done by first using the google images area:

image stock currency nicaragua   -- 1st picture
stock photo currency nicaragua -- 1st picture
stock picture currency nicaragua -- 1st picture

image currency nicaragua   no results
photo currency nicaragua   no results
picture currency nicaragua   no results

or
fall rockies    1st page
stock fall rockies   1st row + 2 others
stock photo fall rockies   1st row + 8 others

in all cases these were images on stock agencies, not my site.

i did a more extensive look at this earlier:
http://cascoly.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-use-Google-increase-HubPages-traffic-and-microstock-sales

elvinstar · « **Reply #33 on:** November 06, 2012, 19:29 »

Quote

first, are you referring to our own sites or our images as represented by agencies?

We are referring to images on your own sites. Most hosting packages have fairly detailed stats packages included that will show you where your traffic is coming from. You could also install Google Analytics for free if you need more data from your existing solution.

mattdixon · « **Reply #34 on:** November 08, 2012, 10:57 »

How about setting up a blog of the progress?
Collectively we can could help with ideas along the development stage.
If you guys are serious I would happily invest via kickstarter to get it moving.

djpadavona · « **Reply #35 on:** November 08, 2012, 11:54 »

Quote from: elvinstar on November 06, 2012, 06:38

How would you guys rate your existing solution regarding getting your images found by Google: Excellent, Fair, or Poor?

Out of the box, KTools isn't optimal for SEO. Lots of underscores and characters in the names of images, galleries, etc. You'll need to do some re-writing to improve the SEO. But don't sweat it. If you are relevant, the KTools naming system will do just fine for you.

Getting found by Google is easy. Getting ranked highly is not, but I think that is what you were referring to. I don't think SEO helps as much as the SEO community would lead you to believe. If someone tells you that you need an SEO Expert, assume they are selling SEO services.

Getting your images ranked highly has nothing to do with Photoshelter, KTools, or whatever path you decide to go down. You need to prove to Google that you are highly relevant. Which seems impossible, because how do you become relevant if Google doesn't put you on Page 1?

I look at setting up the store as maybe 1/1000 of the work toward getting yourself recognized. The other 999/1000 is everything else you do to get people's attention.

elvinstar · « **Reply #36 on:** November 13, 2012, 12:28 »

Quote

Getting found by Google is easy. Getting ranked highly is not, but I think that is what you were referring to. I don't think SEO helps as much as the SEO community would lead you to believe. If someone tells you that you need an SEO Expert, assume they are selling SEO services.

Getting your images ranked highly has nothing to do with Photoshelter, KTools, or whatever path you decide to go down. You need to prove to Google that you are highly relevant. Which seems impossible, because how do you become relevant if Google doesn't put you on Page 1?

I look at setting up the store as maybe 1/1000 of the work toward getting yourself recognized. The other 999/1000 is everything else you do to get people's attention.

I've been debating with myself as to whether or not I should post something very similar to what you just said. Thanks for making the decision for me! I don't know if people truly understand just what SEO means. Having links on other website that lead to YOUR website is vitally important in the SEO world, and that's nothing that we can influence.

We're firming up the list of first-launch features and will post here once it's finalized.

Thanks everyone for the input!

elvinstar · « **Reply #37 on:** January 29, 2013, 13:33 »

I just wanted to give you guys an update of where we are in the development process.

So far we have completed the following:

Uploading images (including IPTC recognition)
Primary photo color recognition and listing
Individual photo or .zip archive upload
Portfolio display

Next up:

Payment integration/content delivery
Search functions

We're plugging away!

Jeffrey · « **Reply #38 on:** February 05, 2013, 11:07 »

I will be watching this one too, aside from the other similar project in the other thread...

http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/selling-rf-images-is-really-not-that-hard-php-developers-wanted/

Microbius · « **Reply #39 on:** February 05, 2013, 11:19 »

Quote from: Jeffrey on February 05, 2013, 11:07

I will be watching this one too, aside from the other similar project in the other thread...

http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/selling-rf-images-is-really-not-that-hard-php-developers-wanted/

Honestly the other thread is a lot more interesting, that offers something really new in the cross linking of sites to create a larger network. Another KTools or similar is not all that interesting to me.

elvinstar · « **Reply #40 on:** February 05, 2013, 13:11 »

Quote from: Microbius on February 05, 2013, 11:19

Honestly the other thread is a lot more interesting, that offers something really new in the cross linking of sites to create a larger network. Another KTools or similar is not all that interesting to me.

We ARE planning to offer cross-linking of the individual sites. It was first mentioned in this thread on November 4th.

Microbius · « **Reply #41 on:** February 05, 2013, 14:40 »

Apologies, missed mattdixon's post about that and your response earlier in the thread.

Is that something you plan to offer at the outset or some time down the line? I think that is the exciting thing about the recent threads re. new ways to sell. In any case I am primarily an illustrator so wouldn't be on board at the start.

elvinstar · « **Reply #42 on:** February 05, 2013, 17:17 »

No apologies necessary! While we want to get a product to market as quickly as possible, we also want to be sure that the feature-set is robust enough to be useful right out of the gate.

Of course we'll continue to add features after the initial launch and make the product SUPER easy to update.

You made a good suggestion about having "networks" that could band together so you wouldn't have to worry about quality. That gave us something else to think of and I'm not sure we want to release the option to link individual sites without your suggested feature.

So thanks for a great idea and one more thing to put on our "to-do" list!

brmonico · « **Reply #43 on:** February 05, 2013, 20:39 »

Quote from: Pixart on November 04, 2012, 11:54

- Ability to sell physical goods.
- Ability to charge local taxes (I need to calculate 1 or 2 taxes depending on postal code or none for out-of-country)
- Auto renumbering/renaming system. I gave my shots sequential numbers, but went and put the model's name in it too... 1523-JakeSmith-Hockey. Mistake!
- Ability to set a blanket price series, but to be able to change it for special or exclusive content.
- Instant download - no waiting for an e-mail with a link that they can pass to all their friends.
- Collections/packages - I imagine if we can upload a zip we can make our own collection
- Repositionable watermark

You really get what you pay for. I've been looking at some Wordpress and Woocommerce photo stores but they don't auto watermark or auto resize. The more I look into the work I would have to put into it (or pay to have put into it), the better K-tools looks.

Well you are talking about Ktools version i have.......word by word.....and still does much more.

elvinstar · « **Reply #44 on:** February 05, 2013, 21:20 »

Quote from: brmonico on February 05, 2013, 20:39

Well you are talking about Ktools version i have.......word by word.....and still does much more.

I'm not sure that I understand what you mean. Are you saying that Ktools does all of that and more?

shiyali · « **Reply #45 on:** February 05, 2013, 21:29 »

Quote from: djpadavona on November 08, 2012, 11:54

Quote from: elvinstar on November 06, 2012, 06:38
How would you guys rate your existing solution regarding getting your images found by Google: Excellent, Fair, or Poor?

Out of the box, KTools isn't optimal for SEO. Lots of underscores and characters in the names of images, galleries, etc. You'll need to do some re-writing to improve the SEO. But don't sweat it. If you are relevant, the KTools naming system will do just fine for you.

Getting found by Google is easy. Getting ranked highly is not, but I think that is what you were referring to. I don't think SEO helps as much as the SEO community would lead you to believe. If someone tells you that you need an SEO Expert, assume they are selling SEO services.

Getting your images ranked highly has nothing to do with Photoshelter, KTools, or whatever path you decide to go down. You need to prove to Google that you are highly relevant. Which seems impossible, because how do you become relevant if Google doesn't put you on Page 1?

I look at setting up the store as maybe 1/1000 of the work toward getting yourself recognized. The other 999/1000 is everything else you do to get people's attention.

Wise words. There are several pretty good options available for setting up your own store. Getting people in there is the challenge.

gbalex · « **Reply #46 on:** February 05, 2013, 21:55 »

The features on Yuri's site would be worth a look.

peopleimages.com

brmonico · « **Reply #47 on:** February 06, 2013, 03:23 »

Quote from: elvinstar on February 05, 2013, 21:20

Quote from: brmonico on February 05, 2013, 20:39
Well you are talking about Ktools version i have.......word by word.....and still does much more.

I'm not sure that I understand what you mean. Are you saying that Ktools does all of that and more?

Yes, this last version do it all , in a easy way.... and if understand php and html , or are able to develop the program you have a extremely good work base to start.

elvinstar · « **Reply #48 on:** February 06, 2013, 09:50 »

Thanks for the reply. We're building a solution that people who don't know any programming can use. We want you to be able to focus on creating, not spending a lot of time tweaking your website.

Jeffrey · « **Reply #49 on:** February 06, 2013, 20:44 »

Can you give us an idea of how much would it cost? Just price range, maybe below 100$, below 50$, below 20$?

elvinstar · « **Reply #50 on:** February 06, 2013, 22:22 »

We're looking at an initial release price of $100-$150.

Jeffrey · « **Reply #51 on:** February 06, 2013, 22:24 »

Will you put an option to accept Contributors?

elvinstar · « **Reply #52 on:** February 06, 2013, 22:36 »

That is definitely something we are looking at.

mattdixon · « **Reply #53 on:** February 07, 2013, 06:15 »

Please, NO categories!
Antiquated and time consuming.

Adding images to lightboxes is much better way to organise work.

elvinstar · « **Reply #54 on:** February 07, 2013, 09:32 »

I haven't heard anyone say that they would like to have categories.

No worries!

cthoman · « **Reply #55 on:** February 07, 2013, 10:05 »

Quote from: elvinstar on February 07, 2013, 09:32

I haven't heard anyone say that they would like to have categories.

No worries!

I personally like having categories on my own site. Especially when you can create your own. That way you can organize things into sets, styles or anything that makes it easier to organize your files.

elvinstar · « **Reply #56 on:** February 07, 2013, 10:30 »

When we first sat down, we had talked about a different way of categorizing images. With all of the negative feedback about categories, it's been kind of back-burner, but part of it was already created as an optional feature.

I suppose that it makes more sense to finish the feature and allow people to make individual decisions.

Jeffrey · « **Reply #57 on:** February 08, 2013, 11:30 »

It would be great if there is a one time download or a BUYOUT option for logos and selling one time files.

elvinstar · « **Reply #58 on:** February 08, 2013, 11:47 »

Great suggestion. We're all ears!

indivstock.com · « **Reply #59 on:** February 08, 2013, 21:14 »

deleted

elvinstar · « **Reply #60 on:** February 08, 2013, 21:22 »

More great ideas in there.

grsphoto · « **Reply #61 on:** February 12, 2013, 19:24 »

Have you been talking to buyers of images?

It really doesn't matter too much what sellers ( us ) want, but what do the people who will be putting money into our pockets ( hopefully) want.

Glenn

BelIblis · « **Reply #62 on:** February 12, 2013, 21:09 »

Quote from: grsphoto on February 12, 2013, 19:24

Have you been talking to buyers of images?

It really doesn't matter too much what sellers ( us ) want, but what do the people who will be putting money into our pockets ( hopefully) want.

Glenn

What the sellers want matters VERY much indeed! There's too many e-commerce packages out there that don't do everything I want. I could have the perfect Seller's website, but I would have to incroporate 3 different systems to achieve it.

What the buyers want is: good prices, good imagery, good keywording, good web-design,... And THAT is down to the seller, not the backend-system.

BelIblis · « **Reply #63 on:** February 12, 2013, 21:15 »

Obviously, a differentiation between RM / RF. And – very important:
I would like to see a good shopping system for physical products, particularly for Fine Art print sales:
- different sizes
- different print materials (canvas, paper, c-type, etc...)
- an edition number for each image AND how many prints have already sold in the respective edition (= attracting buyers if the edition is to be "closed" or unavailable soon)

From a web-design point-of-view: It'd be nice if it was based on Wordpress (easy to incorporate within a wordpress blog, or Wordpress FlickR plugins for example)

elvinstar · « **Reply #64 on:** February 12, 2013, 23:14 »

We're talking to as many people as possible for as aspects of the business as we can get our hands on.

I would have to agree that buyers wants are fairly simple:

Good pricing
Good search
Good images

Sellers want a bit more.

Jeffrey · « **Reply #65 on:** February 19, 2013, 10:53 »

What's the percentage progress update?

Excited much.

If I read good reviews, I might choose you over CMSA.

elvinstar · « **Reply #66 on:** February 19, 2013, 21:52 »

I'll have an update for you in the morning!

Jeffrey · « **Reply #67 on:** February 28, 2013, 20:57 »

Several morning have past.

Any updates?

elvinstar · « **Reply #68 on:** March 01, 2013, 01:29 »

We've decided that it's not worth putting all of that effort into producing a product for sale when KonaHawaii is going to be releasing a very similar, free, product in the near future.

Thanks to everyone for their interest and good luck to KonaHawaii!

Poncke · « **Reply #69 on:** March 01, 2013, 05:21 »

Quote from: elvinstar on March 01, 2013, 01:29

We've decided that it's not worth putting all of that effort into producing a product for sale when KonaHawaii is going to be releasing a very similar, free, product in the near future.

Thanks to everyone for their interest and good luck to KonaHawaii!

Not sure if taking a defeat so easy is going to get you far in business in general. If things were easy everyone would do it. Just make sure you have a USP so you can still sell your product.

elvinstar · « **Reply #70 on:** March 01, 2013, 13:56 »

This would actually be my third business. I saw a need and made a move to fill it, but it's hard to compete with free.

Poncke · « **Reply #71 on:** March 01, 2013, 14:14 »

If your product has an USP you can compete with free

Jeffrey · « **Reply #72 on:** March 02, 2013, 08:05 »

You can still sell it maybe below 100$ or something a price that others would still buy it instead of using the free ones, but still a quality.

I'm sure that there are still buyers.

Just like forum scripts, there a lot of free quality forum scripts, but VBulletin is still in the business.

elvinstar · « **Reply #73 on:** March 02, 2013, 08:34 »

Good points. We'll discuss it and let you know.

Jeffrey · « **Reply #74 on:** March 11, 2013, 04:03 »

Konahawaii said he will be "selling his project as a plugin".

Microbius · « **Reply #75 on:** March 11, 2013, 05:11 »

Quote from: Jeffrey on March 11, 2013, 04:03

Konahawaii said he will be "selling his project as a plugin".

I think he said it will be free, but there will be plugins to extend it?

THP Creative · « **Reply #76 on:** March 11, 2013, 05:15 »

Quote from: Microbius on March 11, 2013, 05:11

I think he said it will be free, but there will be plugins to extend it?

That's how I have understood it.

elvinstar · « **Reply #77 on:** March 11, 2013, 07:49 »

I saw that. I've got some other projects (as well as plenty of my full-time work) on my plate, so we'll see how Kona does and possibly revisit in a bit.

Thanks for the interest!

Jeffrey · « **Reply #78 on:** April 12, 2013, 01:19 »

Did you continue your project?

elvinstar · « **Reply #79 on:** April 12, 2013, 21:52 »

We're working on some stuff for other industries at the moment. From here, it looks like Symbiostock is the way to go!

Leo Blanchette · « **Reply #80 on:** April 12, 2013, 21:54 »

Quote from: elvinstar on April 12, 2013, 21:52

We're working on some stuff for other industries at the moment. From here, it looks like Symbiostock is the way to go!

LOL thanks elvin. I hope you can join in the fun soon.

elvinstar · « **Reply #81 on:** April 13, 2013, 08:38 »

I hope so, too! However, the other project that I'm involved in is eating my life!!

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