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Not everyone has the skill, time, or desire to DIY their own deign and customization. The options seem endless (blessing and a curse)...and so are the tweaks. Not everyone has the money to hire someone to do it for them either.

A complete A-Z video tutorial would help a lot of "lost" people get their SmugMug site from bare bones to a nice, finished, and fully functional photography site.

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Typically I would flag this, but that would remove the post. I would instead like to direct everyone to this discussion for insight into the reason why we cannot accept this kind of content here: What to do with self-promotion and referral codes – Robert Cartaino♦ Feb 9 '12 at 16:23
Wow...that was a slap in the face. My question is legit, and so is my answer. I made a heavy edit to hopefully address the "promo" stuff. I wasn't aware...now I am. I hope you open up this question as there is a good chance others will create similar video tutorials which would be highly valuable to the SmugMug community. – Ryan Oakley Feb 10 '12 at 3:21

closed as off topic by Robert Cartaino♦ Feb 9 '12 at 16:24

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1 Answer

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Yes, there is.

I created this video tutorial to help you make a site that looks and works like this:

http://www.johnnywalkerphotography.smugmug.com/ (demo site)

Who is this video tutorial for:

It's ideal for new SmugMug users as I start the tutorial from scratch.

But I know many people that have existing and well established SmugMug sites that have used some or all of the tutorial videos to redesign their site.

The tutorail is also good for people that:

  • Want a nice looking site up quickly
  • Want a nice looking site up without having to pay someone
  • Want a nice looking site up without the having to learn CSS and figure it all out on their own.

Though I created the tutorial for my "professional wedding photography" audience that read my blog, the steps can be used to create any professional or amateur website.

Features of the site that I will help you make:

  • Clean, clear, pleasing design
  • Homepage slideshow
  • Navigation bar created using the Easy Customizer
  • Banner image (I created a bonus video tutorial on how to make your own DYI banner image)
  • Special "Work With Me" Page (which could be used for any other special page like "About Me", "Testimonails", "Services", etc.)
  • Steps on how to easily create a "Portfolio" gallery using photos from uploaded galleries.
  • 95% customization using the Easy Customizer (making it very easy for you to later add "your own touch")
  • For the little bit of advanced customization, I give you all the CSS code that is needed. You just need to cut and paste the code into your site.

The video tutorial includes:

  • 8 easy to follow youtube videos with clear audio and video of my screen showing you exactly how to do each step.
  • Play, pause, follow the instructions. Rinse and repeat!
  • Entire tutorial can be completed in just a few hours.
  • If you leave questions on my blog or on the YouTube page, I will answer them in a timely fashion (usually less than 24 hours). Some questions lead to me creating supplementary tutorial videos!

I hope it helps.

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I am going to go ahead and say that self promotion of coupon codes is not desirable here, and should likely be removed. I have opened up a discussion on our meta site to see if the community agrees: meta.smugmug.stackexchange.com/questions/71/… – dpollitt♦ Feb 9 '12 at 15:08
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The amount of self promotion on this page is really quite extreme. You asked and answered your own question, and the entire answer reads like an advertisement. The section just quoting customer reviews has no real relevancy to this site for example. I have a hard time not flagging this for moderation to close. While I applaud you taking the time to create a video such as this, I think it would fit much better when someone organically asks this question and you provide a link with a few points on the highlights, not an advertisement for yourself. – dpollitt♦ Feb 9 '12 at 15:16
@dpollitt it was a little over the top, but I would like to assume he means well. I do not have the rep to edit, but I just made a suggested edit, that takes a bunch of the stuff out. I have not had a chance to watch the videos, but again I would like to assume that they might actually be helpful to someone. – jschoen Feb 9 '12 at 16:23
Though SmugMug made a sticky dgrin thread in their customization section for this video tutorial, I'm surprised that it's "flagged" in this forum. But that's ok...I know that the tutorials are needed and helpful and would like the post to stay on this site...so I made a HEAVY edit to remove the self-promotion. I think I've learned my lesson. – Ryan Oakley Feb 10 '12 at 3:45
Thanks for the edits. I think with them this answer is within our self-promotion guidelines. Keep in mind, though, that if you are keen on doing more extensive promotion of your own stuff, we have reasonable advertising rates. – Anna Lear♦ Feb 10 '12 at 6:17
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