Advise please. Brand new to SmugMug.....

[Apprentice1]

..after doing some research, I discovered it was a toss up between SmugMug and Zenfolio. The recommendations were mixed - both having pros and cons. Decided to try SmugMug for its famed customer service support and fellow uhm, 'dgrinners' -is that correct? - willingness to aid others, as well as for its reputed degree of customization.

My first question on that is - "How customizable is it really?"
Followed by many others at a later date, but for now they are,
- Can I use web authoring software like Adobe Live, Dreamweaver, etc for feel and appearance?
- If not what can I do and can't do to get the web presence right?
- If yes, can I just code/author and the just drop the code in?

And yes, I will read the stickys and forum for more input, but I wanted to get my feet wet first:wink
Any and all constructive input and advice welcomed.

Thanks in advance.:D

BTW. Signed up for the Pro account as planning to display and sell at some point. So uhm, any advice on that, as well as what is this SmugMug Pro thing about - is that any different from what I am testing?

[jwashburn]

..after doing some research, I discovered it was a toss up between SmugMug and Zenfolio. The recommendations were mixed - both having pros and cons. Decided to try SmugMug for its famed customer service support and fellow uhm, 'dgrinners' -is that correct? - willingness to aid others, as well as for its reputed degree of customization.

My first question on that is - "How customizable is it really?"
Followed by many others at a later date, but for now they are,
- Can I use web authoring software like Adobe Live, Dreamweaver, etc for feel and appearance?
- If not what can I do and can't do to get the web presence right?
- If yes, can I just code/author and the just drop the code in?

And yes, I will read the stickys and forum for more input, but I wanted to get my feet wet first:wink
Any and all constructive input and advice welcomed.

Thanks in advance.:D

BTW. Signed up for the Pro account as planning to display and sell at some point. So uhm, any advice on that, as well as what is this SmugMug Pro thing about - is that any different from what I am testing?

My first question on that is - "How customizable is it really?"
Its fairly customizable. You dont have access to code all the time, but you can insert HTML snippets here and there, as well as you can style anything with css. You have full control of your header and footer

Can I use web authoring software like Adobe Live, Dreamweaver, etc for feel and appearance?

Yes and no. You cant upload and work directly with the tools, but if you are comfortable working with these tools, you can build some of your layout(divs, text, etc) and the copy and paste some of that in.

So uhm, any advice on that, as well as what is this SmugMug Pro thing about - is that any different from what I am testing?

I dont remember what the test account is like, but there is a good explantion on the smug site about what each can do.

I just made a small video series that will take you about 35-40 minutes to watch that can give you good idea of what can be done.

Check it out:
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=143506