Pictures tell stories, but sometimes the story is bigger than the frame: crazy moments, behind-the-scenes secrets, you-had-to-be-there experiences. A photo blog offers the perfect opportunity to share those stories with the world. But managing another site or customizing it to match your main site is a tedious task. So why not keep it simple and keep your blog where your photos are—on SmugMug?

This step-by-step guide will walk you through everything you need to set up a photo blog on your SmugMug site.

Step 1: Create a folder for blog entries.

First, you’ll want to create a folder to contain all your future blog entries and name it something simple, like “Blog.” This will not only help you keep things organized, it will also give your blog a shorter, readable URL. This makes it easier for your visitors to remember, and it can also boost your search-engine optimization (SEO).

Step 2: Create a gallery outside the blog folder.

You’ll need a place to upload the photos you’ll be sharing in each blog post, but you don’t want this gallery to live within your blog folder or else the gallery itself will show up on your blog landing page. We recommend naming the gallery something that relates to your blog, such as “Blog Photos,” and using the Organizer tree to drag the gallery close to your blog folder. This will help keep things organized as you add more content to your blog in the future.

If you don’t want this gallery to be discoverable in your site’s navigation, change its accessibility setting to Unlisted. This will keep the gallery itself hidden from view but allow the photos within it to be seen when you add them to a new blog post. Have a Portfolio or higher plan? Encourage more sales of your blog-worthy photos by making the gallery Public instead and creating a pricelist for it.

Step 3: Upload photos to your new gallery.

Now that you’ve got your new gallery, it’s time to fill it with photos! Upload photos for each blog post as you go, or upload several photos at once for blogs to come in the future. For an extra SEO boost, title and keyword your photos after you upload them.

‍Step 4: Create a page for a new blog post.

Now you’re ready to blog! Create a page within your blog folder for a new post and select from one of the available layouts to kick things off with ease. Want complete control? Choose the Custom page option for full reign. 

We recommend making the page Public and filling in all the page-settings information for the best SEO, but at a minimum you’ll want to enter an eye-catching title. Your title will automatically create a custom URL for the page, but you can change the URL to anything you want. Keeping it readable and informative will help search engines and potential visitors get a great idea of what they’re in for before they even click the link. And if you add a feature image, a thumbnail will appear alongside your blog’s search results.

Step 5: Customize the post.

Now that you’re all set up, it’s time to design your blog. Navigate to your new page and open the Customizer to reveal all the goodies available for your blog post. Drag and drop different content blocks onto the page to craft your perfect post. These are just a few ideas on how to use the blocks to bring out the best of your blog:

Photos, slideshow, or carousel.

Show off what the people came for: your photos! You’ve got several options in the Photos category to display your images in style. Drop in Single Photo blocks to maximize the size of your work and fill your page with large, beautiful images, or drag in a Slideshow or Carousel block for a more compact display. Want your visitors to be able to fill their screens with your work? Buy a photo? You can choose how you want your photos to react when clicked: open large in a lightbox, take the viewer to a gallery or different URL, or keep it as is.

Text, HTML, and CSS.

Use Text content blocks to fill in the story between your photos. For additional styling, use the HTML and CSS blocks for more control over how text and other content appears on the page, like we did for the sample blog at the top of this article.

Title.

Title content blocks are a great way to break up text on the page and give your visitors strong entry points into the story behind your photos. Use them as subheads to chop up larger blocks of text or highlight photo captions. We recommend using at least one at the very top of the page for the title of your blog post.

Separator.

We love this underrated feature for creating clear boundaries and visual breathing room. You’ll find it under the Design category of your customization options, perfect for giving your page a polished look.

Step 6: Get social.

For a finishing touch, don’t forget to invite your readers to join the conversation!

Comments.

Even if a conversation is happening on social media, it can be nice to give your visitors the option to leave direct comments on your blog post. Add the Comments block to give fans one more way to communicate with you. We offer a moderation option so you can review all comments before they’re posted to your site. To enable this feature, visit your Account Settings > Stats > Comments section and click on the Details button. You’ll see a checkbox in the upper right of the following page to require comment approval.

Step 7: Publish.

Photos are in. Story is written. Design is polished to perfection. Your post is ready for its debut! Once you’re ready, click the green Done button in the upper right-hand corner and select Publish Now. Still unsure? Try the Preview button instead to get a glimpse of what your visitors will see before the post goes live. Or if you’ve written posts for future release, choose the Save for Later option after you click Done. You can come back to the post later and publish whenever it’s time.

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Ready to start your own photo blog? Share it with us on Facebook, X, or Instagram! Or if you’ve gotten stuck somewhere, our Support Heroes are standing by.