The beginning of the year can be a slow time for photo-taking, but it’s a great time to work on everything else you do with photography: update your portfolio, create or clean up your photo website, set new business goals, or even write down a new bucket list of shots to take.

We all change with time, so whether it’s been two years or five since your website has seen a makeover, you’ll want to present the truest version of yourself to your fans.

Here are a few tips to get your online self ready, without frustration.

Breathe new life into your existing site.

There’s no better way to feel “new” than to make changes to the site you already have. Thankfully, SmugMug makes this easy. Tip: If you’re short on time, pick just one or two of the following steps; but tackle all five for maximum results.

1. Kill your darlings. 

We’ve heard 24 images is the ideal number of photos for your portfolio. If you’ve been taking photos for a while, you probably have more favorites than this for sentimental reasons. Now’s a great time to trim that back. Creatives call this "killing your darlings."

• Be critical. Be sure your short list features only your most powerful work.
• Stay on topic. If you’re looking to book sports events, get rid of the landscapes in your portfolio. Or create a separate portfolio gallery for each type of work so you can link your clients directly to the most relevant one.
• Enlist your fellow photo friends. Removing your own emotion about your photos is extremely difficult, but friends with good taste can help you pick the gems best suited for your portfolio. Ask them to choose the photos they think tell the best story. 

2. Reorganize what you have.

Think like a fan who stumbles onto your site: What interests you?

• Reorganize the photos on your site using the Organizer on SmugMug. Drag old photos from your portfolio gallery to your archives, and drag your new favorites into your portfolio. If you’d rather not shuffle photos, use the collect tool to place a virtual copy of the original into your portfolio gallery.
• Want to make big changes? The Organizer will also let you move, collect, and delete images, galleries, and folders all in one go. Or simply change the privacy settings on your pages, galleries, and folders to hide your older content without actually removing it from your site.

Dozens of beautiful layouts come free with every SmugMug site.

3. Paint the front door.

Changing your theme, site design, or homepage gives you the biggest bang for your buck. (Especially since it all comes free with your existing SmugMug subscription.)

• Your SmugMug membership includes dozens of beautiful designs that instantly change the look and feel of your site. Change a little or a lot, and your original design stays the same until you’re ready to share it with the world.
• If you’ve reorganized your content like we recommended above, don’t forget to update your navigation bars and your homepage layout to direct people to the new stuff.

4. Ask, “Can my site be found?”

Do an SEO audit. Whether you need your friends to find your site, want to attract new clients, or simply want to be Internet famous, your website and photos need to be found by search engines like Google.

• Update your meta descriptions, meta keywords, custom URLs, and photo keywords. Make sure they’re specific and relevant to your photography, location, business, and more.
  
  Poor example: "wedding photos"
  Good example: "Salt Lake City analog medium format wedding photography and portraiture by Hass L. Blad"

• Double-check your privacy settings in your account settings and on your public galleries and pages, like your portfolio. Remember: Private and Unlisted galleries can’t be seen by search engines.

5. Pros: Look at your business plan.

Is your goal this year to break the bank in sales? 

• Update your pricelists. Inflation, cost-of-living increases, and you getting better at your job are all reasons to keep your prices competitive. If you don’t know how much to charge, we’ve got some basic tips on how to price your work.
• Review (and use) all the Pro business tools available to you from SmugMug.
• Avoid theft! Keep your images protected from unauthorized use.

We hope these tips help you create a website you’ll always love to share. Whether it’s January, June, or any time of the year, your confidence could always use a boost.