I hope SM realizes that a lot of us that maybe aren't as vocal are following this thread and others very closely. I would imagine there are quite a few folks on the fence about switching services.

Originally Posted by smurfy Similar thoughts here. It's such a pain to move everything over, which is why I've stuck around. That, and all the support heroes are great. I love a lot about Smugmug, but the pro wedding forum I'm in, with 6000 plus members, seem to agree that sales are way better at your chief competitor due to being so much more user friendly for clients. And the fact that they have integrated blogs as part of their more current, far- easier- to -customize sites is hard to ignore. Plus they allow stock sales. Smug seems to make it harder to do all these basic things most of us want than you know who. Time is ticking. Communication with those of us who feel frustrated might save some of us from jumping ship, but for some unknown reason, Smugmug is really, really awful at communication.

Who do you consider smug mugs chief competitor?

Zenfolio - only limitation is the pro labs aligned with Smugmug (Bay and WHCC) are far superior to Mpix/Millers in my opinion.
Presentation, commerce, video all superior.

Originally Posted by bryanbrazil I hope SM realizes that a lot of us that maybe aren't as vocal are following this thread and others very closely. I would imagine there are quite a few folks on the fence about switching services.

This. And the absence of SM comments in this thread is concerning.

I just created a trial account with Zenfolio. Looks promising.

Originally Posted by eoren1 Zenfolio - only limitation is the pro labs aligned with Smugmug (Bay and WHCC) ate far superior to Mpix/Millers in my opinion. Presentation, commerce, video all superior.

Wow I looked at their features.

http://www.zenfolio.com/zf/all-features.aspx
I myself may have to seriously look at moving

I noticed that there is a free service called Upload Junction that could be used to move photos from Smugmug to Zenfolio. Has anyone tried it? I'm curious if it somehow preserves/creates galleries and if the transferred images suffer any loss in quality.

[QUOTE=smurfy;1807645... way better at your chief competitor due to being so much more user friendly for clients. [/QUOTE]

Hey Smurfy - which site?

It copies the full res images and then build a folder hierarchy that corresponds to your category /gallery names. Things like captions/title that are in the image are used as titles. It works with a trial sub if you want to just try it.

Originally Posted by Bob_A I noticed that there is a free service called Upload Junction that could be used to move photos from Smugmug to Zenfolio. Has anyone tried it? I'm curious if it somehow preserves/creates galleries and if the transferred images suffer any loss in quality.

The top level subscription uses MpixPro which offers color corrections by a human and other pro stuff, but that subscription is more costly than SmugMug pro.

Originally Posted by eoren1 Zenfolio - only limitation is the pro labs aligned with Smugmug (Bay and WHCC) are far superior to Mpix/Millers in my opinion. Presentation, commerce, video all superior.

Originally Posted by eoren1 I recently checke and, for some reason, I can't downgrade from my Power to a Basic account.

Sure you can. Email the Support Heroes if you can't do it via your control panel.

Originally Posted by bryanbrazil I hope SM realizes that a lot of us that maybe aren't as vocal are following this thread and others very closely. I would imagine there are quite a few folks on the fence about switching services.

+1 but the thought of having to start from scratch is not what I want to do. I already have a custom domain name and my website is customised. I really do not know how to move my current web design across so I just work with what SM provides. I am just an enthusist.

Rgds

Im starting the transition now. I have been waiting way to long on Smugmug to implement all of these upgrades that we have been promised. I will be requesting a refund of my yearly fees and if not I will dispute this with cc company. I have copies of the comments promising improvements and upgrades for well over a year (probably 2). The front page of the website even shows a theme that is unavailable to customers. What a joke! They don't even have the nerve to post a comment in this thread.

Originally Posted by mike_k This. And the absence of SM comments in this thread is concerning.

I'm sorry you feel that way. Let me see if I can give you a little insight. I apologize in advance that I can't reveal everything - I *really* wish I could, but what we're working on is so huge, and such a moving target, I really can't make any promises just yet.

What I will say is that we've built our business over nearly 10 years by listening, very closely, to our customers. To you. We ignore our "competitors", many of which have come and gone over the last decade, in favor of doing what's right for you. We ignore "hot" industry trends on a regular basis because our customers aren't telling us they want them. You are our compass.

We released a preview many months ago of a new gallery style that we were very excited about, and then carefully listened to your feedback.

We heard it loud and clear. Some of it was painful, but we listened very closely. You loved it, but wanted more. Especially when it came to customization, you wanted *a lot* more.

The entire company galvanized around that feedback and we went back to the drawing board. We've now built something truly groundbreaking the likes of which the world has never seen before. Photo sharing will evolve. And it's all thanks to you and your feedback.

But this sort of huge engineering project takes an awful lot of time & energy to get right. We're rebuilding many of SmugMug's systems from the ground up. We're still many months away from being done. Tiny little bits and pieces have been leaking out around the edges - the gallery preview, the new search interface, Pricelists, and the new Account Settings. They're all tiny little echoes of a much bigger product shift.

Every single engineer & designer at SmugMug is furiously working away to implement what you asked us to build. I ask for your patience as we build, perfect, and polish it. It will radically improve every account level, from Basic to Pro, and your ability to preserve, share & sell your priceless photos. There will be a public preview phase where we will, once again, listen very closely. I hope that comes soon, but again, we can't make any promises. Some Dgrinners have already gotten personal previews, and we've sharpened our pencils and carefully written down every word. It's already helped make the product even better.

I think our track record of diligently serving only our customers speaks for itself, unlike any other Internet company you can think of, but I completely understand if you just can't wait. We'll miss you, and hope to earn your business again once you see what we're pouring our hearts & souls into. I'm confident you'll love it every bit as much as I do.

Thanks for being a part of the journey, and especially, of the SmugMug family. We love you.

Thanks Onethumb. One well written post rekindled my admiration for Smugmug. Looking forward to the results.

Thanks for the update onethumb!

I look forward to using the new smug. In the meantime, I'm still happy with my (existing) smugmug site.

--- Denise

To be honest onethumb we have heard that before. When there is a thread about people thinking about leaving someone from smug mug posts we have a lot of changes coming be patient. I have not yet decided if i am leaving or not. But it is hard when others have the features i want not smug mug.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Same story....different day. Where do I mail my camera strap back to? Seems like a fitting way to get the message across.

How about the current customization - will your new changes be compatible with the existing CSS/JavaScript customization?

Originally Posted by onethumb I'm sorry you feel that way. Let me see if I can give you a little insight. I apologize in advance that I can't reveal everything - I *really* wish I could, but what we're working on is so huge, and such a moving target, I really can't make any promises just yet. What I will say is that we've built our business over nearly 10 years by listening, very closely, to our customers. To you. We ignore our "competitors", many of which have come and gone over the last decade, in favor of doing what's right for you. We ignore "hot" industry trends on a regular basis because our customers aren't telling us they want them. You are our compass. We released a preview many months ago of a new gallery style that we were very excited about, and then carefully listened to your feedback. We heard it loud and clear. Some of it was painful, but we listened very closely. You loved it, but wanted more. Especially when it came to customization, you wanted *a lot* more. The entire company galvanized around that feedback and we went back to the drawing board. We've now built something truly groundbreaking the likes of which the world has never seen before. Photo sharing will evolve. And it's all thanks to you and your feedback. But this sort of huge engineering project takes an awful lot of time & energy to get right. We're rebuilding many of SmugMug's systems from the ground up. We're still many months away from being done. Tiny little bits and pieces have been leaking out around the edges - the gallery preview, the new search interface, Pricelists, and the new Account Settings. They're all tiny little echoes of a much bigger product shift. Every single engineer & designer at SmugMug is furiously working away to implement what you asked us to build. I ask for your patience as we build, perfect, and polish it. It will radically improve every account level, from Basic to Pro, and your ability to preserve, share & sell your priceless photos. There will be a public preview phase where we will, once again, listen very closely. I hope that comes soon, but again, we can't make any promises. Some Dgrinners have already gotten personal previews, and we've sharpened our pencils and carefully written down every word. It's already helped make the product even better. I think our track record of diligently serving only our customers speaks for itself, unlike any other Internet company you can think of, but I completely understand if you just can't wait. We'll miss you, and hope to earn your business again once you see what we're pouring our hearts & souls into. I'm confident you'll love it every bit as much as I do. Thanks for being a part of the journey, and especially, of the SmugMug family. We love you.

Originally Posted by mishenka How about the current customization - will your new changes be compatible with the existing CSS/JavaScript customization?

Check the FAQs and Links here near the top of this thread
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=198816

You can use the coupon code Zinny for 15% off your Zenfolio subscription. Im in my trial now!