This is how all software will work someday. No need to hire a web designer. No need to buy software or spend the time to learn it. No installations. No buying upgrades. No platform incompatibilities. Simply, no more problems. Some day all your software will work this way, and be usable wherever you happen to be. And, we are easy to do business with. You will see it throughout the application and the company. This is the future.

The Portfoliohost Webot builds professional looking sites, quickly and easily. Once you have your personal ID and password you can administer your site anytime, from any computer with Internet access, worldwide. That keeps your site fresh and shows your newest and best work.

We host YOUR site and provide continued access to the on-line portfoliohost application used to administer it. We can even host it behind your private URL if you already have one, or feel you need one. You will still have access to all the online administration.

MORE ADVANTAGES:

1. It's your site. So there are no annoying advertising banners or popups from us or anyone else.

2. We don't use "your site" to promote "our brand", or any brand. Photofolio.com is generic use of the words photo and portfolio, and has been common lingo in the industry for decades. We have traced it back over 100 years. We work to keep photofolio.com generic, so everyone can use it as they have for decades. It's your site.

3. No association with other photographers unless you want it.
Why would you want to send your prospective clients to a site where they can immediately click over to your competitors? That's nuts. If you want to associate with others, give them a link from your site to theirs. It's easy with the included link builder. And you control it all. It's your site.

4. Links - Add as many links as you want with no hypertext or programming knowledge at all. Link to your other sites, associates, professional associations, copyright office, your stock agencies, anywhere you want. Some useful links are already included but you can select, edit, or replace them anytime. It's your website.

5. Customized look - You control the background, home page, text, and layout of your pages using our site builder powered by portfoliohost.com We will be adding new backgrounds and styles regularly. Have a design idea, or a favorite site? Let us know. We may create it and make it available.

6. Metatags - Acknowledged as the best way to get your site higher on the most popular search engines. Most other portfolio building webots don't even offer control of your metatags. Why? They want "your customers" to come to "their site" to find you. Most popular packaged software inserts the manufacture's metatags, not yours. Don't be afraid of metatags. We make it easy to control these important pointers properly, so the search engines find YOUR site. (Click the HELP tab on the metatags page for recommendations)

7. Contact YOU - The "contact us" form on your site sends email inquiries directly to you or your rep, or any email address you set in the administration. It's your choice. It's your site. It's easy.

8. Easy, Quick administration - Perhaps the most important advantage is having a "living" site. It is so easy to administer your site that you will keep it fresh with your newest and best images. That is important and a weakness of most websites. Our system makes it easy to click over to "admin mode" and instantly change anything. In seconds, not hours or weeks.

9. Photofolio Partners Program - After your site is set up our partners program enables you to profit from it. Send email to support@photofolio.com for information on the Partners program.

1. Fill out the simple on-line registration form for the 30 day FREE TRIAL. Your ID, password, and new site URL will be emailed to you immediately.

After you receive your ID, URL and password by email, go to your new site.

At the bottom of the page is a link "Site Administration".

Use your ID and PASSWORD to enter the Administration Mode.

IMPORTANT CONCEPT - After your are in the "Administration Mode" you can switch back to visitor mode by clicking "Exit Admin" at the very bottom of each page. This toggle will allow you to see how your site looks as you customize it. To re-enter "admin mode", just click on the "Site Administration" link at the bottom of each page. You can toggle back and forth as often as needed during a session to see the results of your changes.

No one can see the administration mode functions without your password.

If you close the browser session, you will have to login with your ID and password again.

If you need help on any page, just click the HELP tab in the top right corner and a help screen will pop up.

Go to "yourname.photofolio.com and get your Free URL registration. If you are reading this from the site then register NOW to reserve your preferred name before some one else gets it. Registration is FREE for the first 30 Days, and there is no obligation to continue beyond the FREE trial.

Your ID and password will be emailed to you immediately.

Uploading your images is very easy and the most satisfying part of customizing your site. The more organized your images are, the easier the image upload.

You can upload from your computer or from another website that has your images.

You can get inexpensive low-resolution scans of your portfolio images for Internet use. The relative resolution of computer monitors is much lower than any printed media.

For fastest upload from your desktop, prepare your image files as follows:

The information below is shown in both inches and (centimeters) and occasionally (Pixels). Please select the one you are most comfortable with.

For fastest upload with good quality the images should be:

About 8 inches (600 pixels)(21 centimeters)in the longest dimension.

Res 72 pixels per inch (28.346 pixels per centimeter).

Saved in true .jpg format.

Compressing the images to around a 5 will speed up the upload.

Image upload times vary from a few seconds for small images with a fast DSL connection, to several minutes for larger images or slower 56K connections.

The site provides copyright information space for you to customize for all image pages. You may also add copyright notice within the image itself if you wish. It will survive our webot resizing.

You may upload the images in any order because you always control the order and layout of the images interactively.

The PortfolioHost Webot will not enlarge images so if you want a smaller image displayed, just upload a smaller image size. Smaller size is appropriate for the image on your information page, if you use one.

(Some people find it easier to keep track of the images by saving them to a separate diskette.)

Once your images are in digital form, you have completed the most difficult part of setting up your photo portfolio site.

Go to your new site at the address emailed to you. It won't look like much yet, but it will look great in about one hour.

At the bottom of your site there is a "SITE ADMINISTRATION" link. Click on it to get to the Login Page. Use your ID and password to logon. That will put you in the "administration mode" where you can upload images, change text and customize your entire site easily.

If you have your images available, uploading them is fast and easy. You don't need to keep them in any special order. You can rearrange them anytime.

Click the "Pages & Images" Tab, Then Click the "Images" sub tab.

UPLOADING IMAGES FROM YOUR COMPUTER: (some variations are expected on MAC or PC's with various browsers.) The objective is to get the "path" to the image into the upload box. Here is how to do it.

On the upload page click BROWSE to open your local disk storage drives. Browse to the image you want to use.

Once you find the Image filename, a click on your local image file should move the path to the upload box,

Then click "UPLOAD".
Depending on the size image and the speed of your connection, an "Image uploaded successfully" message should appear in a second to about a minute depending on the speed of your connection.

(Please note special instructions for AOL users and Internet Explorer version 4.5 with Macs under "Known Issues", "Troubleshooting" or click the HELP tab at the top of the page.)(Internet Explorer 4.5-7 won't work with Macs)

When the image is successfully uploaded it will show with its thumbnail for captioning. If the image is one you would like to use on your information page, you should note its new file number, which is shown under the image.

Upload additional images the same way.

It's easy to add your images from another Internet site, and no special computer knowledge is needed. (Some variations are expected on MAC or PC's with various browsers.)

On the upload page select the Lower section called "Server Image File" Click BROWSE to open a new browser window. Use it to browse the Internet to your image. Then copy the image path and paste it in the box provided.

When the image is successfully uploaded it will show with its thumbnail for captioning. If the image is one your want to use on your information page, you should note its new file number, which is shown under the image.

Upload additional images the same way.

TROUBLESHOOTING:
Various computers and Browsers handle this differently. Pick yours below.

APPLE COMPUTERS:
MACs with Internet Explorer ver 5 and higher (Note IE 4.5 will not work with MACs)

On most Macs: point to the image and select copy image path, If this option does not show on your browser it may be necessary to open the image in a new window and then copy the image path (URL) to the upload box. Be careful not to duplicate the http://.


A valid image path will start with http and end with .jpg or .gif

Depending on the size image and the speed of your connection an "Image uploaded successfully" message should appear in a second to about a minute.

(Please note special instructions for AOL users and IE 4.5 with MACs under "Known Issues" or click the HELP tab at the top of the page.)

WINDOWS COMPUTERS:

PC's with Microsoft Internet Explorer Ver. 4 and higher.

Browse to your image on the Internet, Right click on the image, then click on properties, and copy the image path, It starts with http and ends with .jpg or .gif. Paste the image path into the upload box and click "UPLOAD"

(Note: Uploading an Internet Image that is not yours, even as a test is copyright infringement and may get you banned from the photofolio.com site.)

Click "Pages & Images" then Click the "Images" sub tab.
Click "Rearrange Image position")
Click UP or DOWN next to each image to change their position relative to the other images.
Click save, to save your work

Click "Pages& Images tab.
Click "Images" sub tab
Click "Change Thumbnail image layout"
Select the radio button next to the preferred layout.
Click "SAVE" to save your work.

Click "Pages & Images" tab
Click "Info" Tab

The information page is to add information about yourself or your business.

You can use one of your images on the Information Page. A self portrait often is a good choice. (you might want to upload a smaller image for use here)

To show a image select one in the Image selector box. (The image numbers shown match the image numbers on your images page.) To hide this image from the rest of the portfolio, simply use the Pages and Images Tab and Images subtab. Select the image you want to use only on the information page and toggle the "Visible" Y/N to N

To add a Topic and Paragraph.
Click "Add an new Item"
Type the Heading into the box provided. (Typical information topics are: Company information, Biography, specialties, Education, Awards, Service to profession, Association memberships.
You can use any topic you want.

Type a paragraph about the topic in the "Body" box.

Click "SAVE to save your work. Add as many topics and paragraphs as needed.

REARRANGE THE POSITION OF THE TOPICS.
Click "rearrange topic order"
Click the up or down links to move topics relative to each other.

Click "SAVE", to save your work.

Click the "Site" Tab
Click the "Home Page" subtab.

Select the radio button to chose which page your visitors will see first.

Click SAVE to save your selection.

Now is a good time to delete the temporary greeting on the bottom of the page.

The lower portion of the page is the temporary page that greeted you when you first came to your site and is no longer needed after you select one of your other pages as the Home page.
Delete the temporary page by clicking the (edit) link,. Then click the DELETE button at the bottom of the page.

If you have need of an all-text page as your home page you can re-create it by clicking "add a new item” to access the text administration page.

The links page allows you to easily add links to any other Internet site or email. Some useful links are already included. You may add, delete, or edit any link, any time.

Click " Pages & Images" Tab
Click "Links" Sub tab

To add a new link, type a brief label in the Label Box.

In the URL box click the arrow to select "Http://" for website or "Email to" Then type or paste the URL or email address you want to link in the URL box.
(Be careful not to duplicate the "HTTP://")

URL links must address a valid hypertext webpage to function properly. The URL should usually end in .html or .htm. You can check it before clicking save by using the right keyboard arrow to be sure the link URL starts with http:// and ends in .html or .htm or addresses the default home page of a site.

Type a comment about the site or email address in the comment box. That will tell your site visitors why they might want to use that link.

Click SAVE to save your work.

To Rearrange your links click the "rearrange Links" and then click the up or down links next to each topic to move them relative to each other.

Click SAVE to save your work.

The "contact us" page is generated to allow visitors to contact YOU. It is presented as a form to help prevent web crawlers from harvesting your Email address. To change the Email address that your messages are sent to, use the admin mode:
Site tab,
Edit sub tab, then change the entry in the "Contact Us email" filed.
Be sure to save your changes using the "save" button at the bottom of the page.

The Gallery page is an optional page that links several photofolio.com site together. It is used only if you have more that one Photofolio.com site.

Multiple photofolio.com site might be used for several specialities, personal work, fine art work, studio rentals etc.
Each site operates independently but are linked seamlessly. See the advanced section below for more information.

Click the "SITE" tab
Click the "EDIT" sub tab
Here you can add your site title in the Title box.

The tagline box is where you can add a slogan or other text, which will appear in smaller text below your title.

The Footer box allows you to add text, which will appear at the bottom of some pages. This is perfect for "Represented by: or other information.

The COPYRIGHT Box allows you to add a copyright notice to all your pages. Typical Copyright notice contains the notice, date, and name, "Copyright 2000 Your name". If you prefer the copyright symbol you may copy and paste it © or try the keystroke Alt+0169.(If you made the image then you usually own the copyright unless you were an employee. Registering with the US Copyright Office strengthens your rights enforcement. It is very easy and very important.
This space can also be used for other text that you wish to show at the bottom of every page.

The "Display Caption" checkbox turns the captions on or off on the thumbnail page. Short caption works well on the thumbnail page, but long captions are better saved for the image display pages.

The “Contact Us” email box is where you put the email address of the person you want mail from the "Contact us" page to go. This might be your address, your office, rep or agent.

Click SAVE to save your work.

This is the easiest and most rewarding step in your new site. It brings all your information and images together for enhanced presentation.

Click the "Site" Tab
Click the "Style" Sub tab.

Select one of the available styles. (You will want to check back often as we are constantly adding new styles. Have a style idea, let us know and we may produce it.)

IMPORTANT - To see the results of your style selection click the "Exit Admin" tab or the "Exit administration" link at the bottom of the page.
This will toggle your view to the Visitors view to review your changes.

(You may need to REFRESH your browser to see the changes)

Click the "Site Administration" Link at the bottom of the page to return to the "ADMINISTRATION MODE”

You can toggle back and forth between the admin and visitor view until you close your browser session. If you closed your browser session you will have to login with your password to re-enter the admin mode.

You can review your pages in Visitor mode and click back to Admin Mode to correct typos and errors anytime, from anywhere.

Click the "Site" tab.
Click the "Metatags" sub tag.

Metatags are easy because we handle all the correct formatting for you.

In the title box type a title for your site that you want the search engines to read.

In the Keywords box type keywords or phrases that your want the search engines to associate with your site. Separate them with commas.

(WARNING: Don't reuse the exact same word over and over. This is a trick that doesn't work any more.)

Similar words or phrases are helpful. Try to anticipate what a person searching the Internet would use to look for you.

DESCRIPTION: Type a description of your site or service in description box. Some search engines will display a portion, or all, of this text next to your listing.

Click SAVE to save your work.

Additional resources worth reading if you want better ranking on search engines are listed under "Search engines" in the ADVANCED section of these instructions.

There are search engines like Yahoo and google, and there are industry specific directories like http://photographersindex.com

Keep in mind that higher ranking in general search engines will also attract more unqualified visitors, and the general public. This maybe considered good or bad, depending on your business.

If you work with specific industries then industry directories like photographersindex.com may work better for your needs as they attract more qualified buyers.

Almost done now.

Click the "MY ACCOUNT" Tab
Click the "Contact Information" Sub tab.
Verify or update your information here.
The email address here should be the site administrator's. This is where we will send notices etc regarding your site.

Customizing your Password:
Click the "MY ACCOUNT Tab
Click the "USER INFORMATION" Sub tab.
Here you can change the temporary ID and Password to something you prefer. Caution - password are case sensitive so write it down accurately.

Payment - When you think you have created a worthy site, we would like you to authorize payment. If you like your site, Please enter your credit card information now. Your card will not be charged until the end of your 30-day free trial, but entering it now assures uninterrupted service.

Note: All credit card information is transferred over a secure Web server. After clicking the PAYMENT INFORMATION button, the SSL (Secured Socket Layer) Protocol will be immediately invoked and your data encrypted.

Click the "MY ACCOUNT" tab
Click the "Payment Information" sub tab.

Complete the form and click the "Submit" button.

Once your information is submitted most of your credit card number will be hidden for security. Enough shows for you to identify it for future updating when needed.

To increase your number of images simply select a different "Type of portfolio” The change will take place immediately and the change will take effect with your next billing cycle.

Click “SUBMIT” to save your work.

That is all there is to making and administrating a great photo portfolio site. You can edit your site anytime from anywhere using the administration mode.

You credit card statements will show your payments to Visual Image Group Inc.

It's easy to set your browser to use your new site as your start page. Then you can keep an eye on your site and use the links you set up there for fast Internet travel every time you surf the web.

Preferred browser:

Internet Explorer Version 5.x
Click on "TOOLS"
Click on "INTERNET OPTIONS"
Change homepage to http://"yourname".photofolio.com
Preferences"

Internet Explorer 4.5, 4.7
This version works on PC, but not on Macs. MACs MUST upgrade to newer version.
Click EDIT
Click PREFERENCES
Click HOME PAGE on the radio button.
Change Home page to http://"yourname".photofolio.com

Internet Explorer 4.72
Works fine on PCs, Mac version has problems. Upgrade to 5.0 recommended.
Click on VIEW.
Click INTERNET OPTIONS
HOME page address change to http://"yourname".photofolio.com
Click apply,
Click OK

NETSCAPE 6.0
Click FILE
Click PREFERENCES
Click HOME on Navigator start up radio button.
Change HOME page to http://"yourname".photofolio.com

Netscape 4.7 Works on PCs, Mac version has problems. Upgrade to 6 is recommended. The view of image sites is slow due to loading first.

Netscape 3.x
Click "OPTIONS"
Click "GENERAL PREFERENCES"
In the APPEARENCE TAB
STARTUP. Start browser with:
Change this to http://"yourname".photofolio.com
Click OK

If your browser won't hold your start page setting, it may be that your Internet service provider's connection software is set to override your selections. They do this to force traffic to their site and most people don't bother to change it. A review of the manual or a call to their Tech Support will tell you how to reset the override so it starts where you want it to start. The topic would be "setting the start page"

CONTACT US:
The "contact us" form on your site is for your visitors to contact YOU, or your Rep or Agent. It directs email to the address you provided in the "Site/Edit" tab of the administration mode. It is not for tech support.

TECH SUPPORT - HELP pages.
Technical support, which answers common questions on most pages is instantly available by clicking the HELP tab in the top right corner while in administration mode. This is page context sensitive, so it changes with each page.

EMAIL TECH SUPPORT:
Email Tech support is available using the "Webmaster" link at the bottom of most pages. You will get a reply email, usually with in 24 hours or less. Tech support is for site questions. We do not provide support for browsers except as they relate to the site functions. Contact your browser maker for browser support.

LAST RESORT: (We really didn't want to include this but he insisted)

Don Dormeyer, President & CEO
VISUAL IMAGE GROUP INC.
1162 East Valencia Dr.
Fullerton, CA. 92831

We do not ask you to sign any contracts for use of photofolio.com nor commit to any extended obligation. Yourname.photofolio.com is provided for your use on a month to month basis only. Likewise, we make no commitment to you regarding the usability of the site for your specific purpose, nor any continued availability. Visual Image Group Inc.www.photofolio.com may refuse service to anyone at any time, for any reason. We intend to maintain a professional quality website service and may remove any material we find objectionable at any time.

Photofolio is a generic term for photo portfolio. It is common lingo that photographers have used to describe their "photo portfolios" for decades. We have traced it's common use to the earliest days of photography before 1900.

www.photofolio.com is a "generic" website to display photographer's portfolios on-line in today's on-line market. We do not sell any products, we only host websites.

We use a site building Wobot from portfoliohost.com to assist you in customizing your website. Then we host it for you with full administration functions at "yourname".phototfolio.com

Please note: www.photofolio.com should not be confused with any products, software, books, displays, classes, or anything else that may use the same or similar name as part, or all, of their title. Numerous products from software to albums, classes, books etc. exist from all around the world using the generic term, photofolio. It is a lot like the word bouquet in a flowershop. The photo industry and related industries are filled with various uses of the word photofolios.

1.AOL
Browser 6.0 and lower do not allow the uploading of images, and it looks like future browsers won't either. The workaround is to connect with AOL but then open another browser window to do the actual work. Then you can upload images in spite of the AOL limitations. Note: uploading images through AOL is much slower than other connections rated at the same speed, so be patient. It's like a road with too many cars where the only way to prevent crashes is to slow everyone down. You need another road. It's not just your modem. It's your ISP. We recommend you upgrade to another ISP to take advantage of the REAL internet.

2. INTERNET EXPLORER 4.5 and MACs
This combination does not support the functions needed to display properly or to use the image upload. The only solution is to upgrade your browser with the latest free version from Microsoft. Version 5.x has been tested and is compatiable with the advanced features of this site.

3. Oversize images. Images over 1 MB are rejected to avoid unreasonable long upload times. The system resized your images and makes a thumbnail for each one. Image at 500 x 500 pixels, Res 72, in true .JPG format work best and upload fastest. .Tif format is not compatiable.

4. Slide show - The slide show uses java script to auto advance. Older browsers may not support this. If the slide show will not auto advance, update your browser to the newest version.

5. Cookies. Your cookies MUST be enabled for interactive administration. Enabled, is the default setting on most browsers so it shouldn't be any problem unless you have changed your browser security settings.

The promotion that you do for your website will determine who visits it. That is something you should give some thought.

If you are interested in professional image buyers, editors and art directors then your promotion would be different from a photographer who deals with the general public. Choosing the best website promotion involves determining your target audience.

The metatags which you add to your site during the set up will be enormously helpful when search engines are used to find your site.

To attract the general public you should also register your site with the search engines. Most have a link to do this and it is free.

For a national or international clientele register with on-line industry directories. For the photography industry http://photographersindex.com is a good place to start, and it is free. Many other industries have their own directories.

If you attract a local clientele, then local community directories work well.

Your professional associations may have their own on-line directories which allow you to link to your sites locally or nationally.

Be sure to include your web address on your business cards, letterhead, invoices, and promotions.

Keep your website updated with your most recent work. We have made it easy and very inexpensive to have your website. Changing your images is free. There is no reason to not update with a few new images every month. That will keep your site looking fresh.

There are lots of companys who offer to submit your url to search engines for a fee. You can do this yourself to target what you want. We do not endorse any services but will list some here who have contacted us. Judge them for yourself. If you find one that is particularly good, or bad, please let us know.

http://www.trafficmagnet.net/

http://www.trafficstarter.com/index.cfm?affiliate_id=2381

Tabs only show in ADMINISTRATION MODE.

SITE / VIEW - Shows you the boilerplate text of your site.

SITE / EDIT - for changing titles, taglines, description, Reps, copyright notice, Caption options, and email for site visitors.

SITE / STYLE - sets the background and the style of the site.
The administration functions are handled in a TABBED Style for ease of use. Clicking on Exit Admininistration / site administration link at the bottom of each page will"toggle" between "Administration mode" and Visitor Mode"

SITE / METATAGS - empowers you to set metatags to assist search engines in finding your site. The metatags can be set anytime and it is often helpful to save setting them till last. Don't be afraid of metatags, we make them easy.

Metatags include Title, Keywords, Description. Click the help tab for suggestions.

SITE / HITS - shows a record of your page and image hits. NOTE: The counter shows hits of "active" images and pages, so if you delete an image, the counter deducts the hits on that image from the total hits and shows the new total of hits on images that are currently active.

PAGES & IMAGES / HOME PAGE - lets you select which page will be your home page. This should be set after you have uploaded your images and set your info and links pages. Then you can decide which page you want visitors to see first.

PAGES & IMAGES / IMAGES - This is used to upload your images, Arrange their order, and define the page layout for the thumbnails. Uploading your images is the most exciting part of building your online site. The specfic directions further below will make it easy.

PAGES & IMAGES / INFO - controls the text on your information page. Create new topics and paragraphs of text. Rearrange them, edit them anytime. Topic Recomendations; Biography, information on specialities, awards, Association memberships, whatever you want to say to your viewers on the information page. An image can also be added to you information page. just select one using the image chooser. This page will display an image that is otherwise set to not show in the rest of the portfolio, so a self portrait can be used comfortably on the info page.

PAGES & IMAGES / LINKS - This lets you add and edit links to other websites, and re-arrange their order. You don't need any special knowledge, just the web address. Click add and then fill in the form. We handle the hypertext for you, Instantly.

MY ACCOUNT - The sub tabs allow you to add / edit your contact information, User Password, Payment Information and number of images permitted in your portfolio.

We will be sorry to loose you, but quiting the portfoliohost service is as easy as starting, and is handled professionally.

Click the MY ACCOUNT tab, and the PAYMENT INFORMATION subtab.

In TYPE OF PHOTOFOLIO Select the "QUIT" package.

Your site will be deleted along with your credit card information after processing any outstanding balance. There is no obligation beyond service already provided.

Here is a trick to improve your standing with search engines. Do a search using the keywords that others might use when searching for sites like yours. Go to the top sites found and using the VIEW / SOURCE function of your browser, look at their hypertext code. Compare their metatags with yours. Improve your tags where necessary, using the Site/Metatags function in admin mode.

You can add a drop shadow, glow or frame around your images in photoshop or other image software. Then upload or replace upload the images to your site. To use this function with a site matching background simply go to your site and copy the background. (Right mouse click on PCs.) then compose the image with the background. Makes a great looking presentation.

Your site can be hosted behind your private domain name (URL) on our server. If you currently have a domain name, or feel that you need one, and would like to use our site administration system for your site, we can host it for a small additional monthly fee.
A major advantage is that you own the URL and can move it anytime seamlessly.

INSTRUCTIONS: How to redirect your private URL to your Photofolio.com site.

To redirect your URL (Domain Name) to your photofolio.com site you must contact the registrar of your domain name (This is usually done on-line) and change the DNS pointers for your domain to our server. (below)

If you are registering a NEW domain name feel free to use our server, which will simplify the process:

Photofolio’s name servers are:

NS.RACKSPACE.COM
207.235.16.2

NS2.RACKSPACE.COM
207.71.44.121

Then send the domain name that points to our server to us, with a request that it be linked to your site on photofolio.com. You may do this via email to support@photofolio.com

We will handle the rest of the redirection, which is somewhat complicated and best left to engineers. You retain full ownership and responsibility for your domain name and you can change it any time.

While linked to your photofolio.com site you will be able to use ALL the features provided by photofolio.com including the easy on-line administration. Features not provided by your photofolio.com site will NOT be available on the redirected Domain names. Example: email hosting is not supported through the photofolio.com site, so it will remain with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is also not supported because our on-line admin function handles it more efficiently for you.

The redirection changes takes up to 48 hours to propagate through the Internet after it is accomplished.

Contact tech support at support@photofolio.com to complete the proceedure.

Contact the support team support@photofolio.com to learn how you can make extra income helping friends and associates create their own image websites using yourname.photofolio.com.

OR any domain name you have available.

The Photofolio.com Partner Program is also available to professional asociation and clubs and make a great useful funraiser. Contact support@photofolio.com

Submitting your site to search engines and directories could keep you occupied full time. Fortunately your photofolio.com site is designed to help you.
To be found in the industry we recommend industry specific directories like http://photographersindex.com

To be found by the general public registering your site with the search engines will speed up the time reguired for them to find you.

Here is some information on what webpage characteristics some popular search engines use to rank your site, based on reliable sources:

Alta Vista, Google.com, and many others first read Metatags, then Domain Name, title, 1st 200 characters of text from the top of each page.

Infoseek.com
Metatags, 1st 200 character of text.

HotBot.com
Metatags, 1st few lines of text.

WebCrawler
Metatags, 1st 275 Characters of text

Yahoo.com
Requires manual submission of site domain name. (URL)

As you can see the most valuable characteristic is the metatags. The photofolio.com metatags or title, keywords, and content fill the search requirements of most popular search engines for you. But you still need to inform the search engines that you exist, or it will take them longer to find you.


For more information try the following links:

Good overall information:
http://bruceclay.com

http://www.submit-it.com/subfaqans.htm?my_ans=siq17

http://www.submit-it.com/subopt.htm

http://www.searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/index.html

http://www.uswebsites.com/submit/

You can use your photofolio.com slide show as a screen saver or just to run your portfolio in a continious loop for off-line display. We tested this with a PC using Internet Explorer 5.0 with a dialup internet connection.

Here is how to do it. Connect to your on-line site at "yourname".photofolio.com and start the slide show. Let it cycle through the entire set of images once. Then disconnect from the Internet and let it keep running. Very useful if you need to display your portfolio somewhere without a continious Internet connection.

On Internet Explorer the F11 key will provide a nearly full screen display.

The new Gallery function allows you to link together several photofolio.com sites.
You can set up a seperate site for each speciality, or collection of images. This is good for seperate fine art collections, a studio rental photofolio site. Related business. Anything you want, as long as it uses a photofolio.com site.

First create additional independent photofolio.com sites in the usual manner. Then use the admin mode on each site to select "Pages and Images" Tab, then the "Gallery" subtab. Select "add a Gallery" and then fill in the boxes that create links and the text of the gallery page.
You MUST also add a representational image from the linked site. If you don't include an image you will get an error message. You can rearrange the order of galleries anytime using the edit functions.

Follow the on-line help pop ups as needed to create a Gallery page for each site and add a representative image.

Creat a Gallery on each site to seamless link to your other gallery sites.

It is a good idea to also link to the current site and label it "Current site" or "active site" to make the number of gallery sites clear to the viewer.

Payment: The largest gallery site is billed at the full rate, secondary gallery photofolio.com sites for the same client are discounted %50.

To claim the 50% discount you MUST email support@photofolio.com and inform us which of your sites are linked using the Gallery function. The administrator will then check the sites and if they qualify will discount the billing.