FAQ
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- Will I be able to update my own site without needing outside support?
- What parts of Workingfolio can be personalized?
- How many pictures does the site hold?
- Will it cost more to add galleries and photos?
- Do I have to include a blog and social media links?
- Do I have to run a slideshow on the home page?
- What kind of information can I include about my work?
- What’s a Content Management System (CMS) and what’s WordPress?
- Will the Workingfolio template look good on everyone’s computer?
- Can I break or screw up the site when I’m updating it?
- How will we communicate while the site is being built?
- Who takes care of registering a site domain and hosting?
- What will my domain name be?
- Are there ongoing costs of maintaining my Workingfolio website?
- How much will the Extras cost?
- Will people be able to steal my images from this site?
- How is Workingfolio different from online portfolio services?
- Who built Workingfolio?
Will I be able to update my own site without needing outside support?
That’s one of the main ideas behind a Workingfolio site. Once we’ve built it, it’s yours. We teach you how to maintain and expand the site on your own.
We’ll give you a one-hour training session on how to add, change or delete content. You may want to go further and become more web savvy in order to broaden the scope of your site. That would require further training and will allow you to make changes to the back end of your site.
What parts of Workingfolio can be personalized?
If you have your own artwork or logo for the page header, we will adapt it to fit the space. Or we will create a simple text and colour treatment for your name. You can choose the page colour, page background, the colours and typestyle in the menu bar, the body text fonts and sizes, and the link colours. You can also choose a horizontal, vertical or square shape for all the thumbnails in your galleries.
How many pictures does the site hold?
The Workingfolio Basic and Premium packages have the capacity for up to seven main galleries, with up to seven subgalleries in each. You can add as many images as you like to all of these galleries. We will develop all the main galleries and subgalleries you want each and place up to 14 images to start.
Will it cost more to add galleries and photos?
We’ll show you how to create additional galleries and sub-galleries and place the images. Or if you prefer we set them up, just ask and we’ll provide an estimated cost.
Do I have to include a blog and social media links?
No. Blogging and social media are great ways to inform your readers and potential clients about what you do. They have the potential to expand your marketing and increase your profile. But, if they don’t appeal to you, they don’t need to be part of your website.
Do I have to run a slideshow on the home page?
You can replace the slideshow with a single image. The slideshow can also be set to move faster or slower, and to use any of eight different transition effects.
What kind of information can I include about my work?
The cutline that appears in the large pop-up of your image can contain the title of the piece and a short description, along with information such as size, medium, genre and price. If you want to write more about your artwork, you can choose to use Single Page Posts. To see how that works, click on the “i” icon in the lower right corner of any gallery thumbnail. This page allows you to write as much as you like. It can also be enabled to accept comments from readers. If you choose this option, you will get Single Page Posts for all your artwork.
What’s a Content Management System (CMS) and what’s WordPress?
A CMS is software that allows you to easily add, change or delete content to a website. The one we used to develop Workingfolio is called WordPress. It’s one of the most popular and fastest growing applications in the world.
Will the Workingfolio template look good on everyone’s computer?
There are a number of different browsers that people use to look at websites: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome and Safari. If a site hasn’t been properly built and tested it might not look good – or even work – on some browsers. Workingfolio has been tested for cross-browser compatibility.
Can I break or screw up the site when I’m updating it?
Not likely. The basics of adding, changing or deleting content are clear and simple. If you start messing around with code, however, and aren’t sure of what you’re doing, you may have some problems.
How will we communicate while the site is being built?
A mixture of email, phone and in person meetings.
Who takes care of registering a site domain and hosting?
We’ll help you create a domain name and register it, as well as set up an account with a hosting service. If you want to save a few dollars, we’ll send you instructions on how to register your site domain and suggestions for reliable hosts. On the other hand, if you want us to take care of all of this, see the Workingfolio Extras on the How it Works page for information.
What will my domain name be?
Whatever name you choose and register. It will not contain the word “workingfolio”.
Are there ongoing costs of maintaining my Workingfolio website?
Websites are a little bit like relationships – or your kitchen. They need ongoing maintenance, care, attention and input. But most of this you can learn to do yourself. That’s the idea behind Workingfolio: it’s your own website that you manage yourself after its been set up.
There are some fixed costs. Hosting costs about $100 a year. Registering a domain name costs about $10 a year. And once or twice a year, the WordPress software needs to be updated. WordPress provides the updates at no cost, but installing it requires some technical know-how. Working Design can take care of this if you’d like; it typically costs between $50 and $100 for labour.
How much will the Extras cost?
It depends how much time they take. We charge by the hour.
Will people be able to steal my images from this site?
This is a concern for many artists, as almost any image can be downloaded from the web. Many older sites embedded photos in Flash movies, which made the images more difficult (though not impossible) to download. But Flash technology makes a site hard to search and can be slow to load. Flash also can’t be viewed on a significant number of mobile devices.
Workingfolio offers an option to apply a simple watermark across all your photos.
How is Workingfolio different from online portfolio services?
There are many companies that offer full-service website packages to artists.
Here’s how they usually work: You choose from a small range of pre-designed templates, with space provided to display your logo or name. You then use their website interface to upload content to your site — text to the pages, and images to the portfolio.
The portfolio service owns your website design and controls what features it offers. You can’t move your site to another host, archive it, make any design alterations, or add any functions. Because you are just “renting” space on their site, you’ll pay an ongoing monthly fee for the site and for hosting. If you stop paying this fee, your site will be removed and you will have no access to it. And, depending on the package you buy, you can be charged an extra monthly fee for many basic features such as an email address attached to your domain, user forms, posting MP3 files, adding e-commerce / shopping cart functions, and so on. The monthly cost of maintaining your site will increase as you expand its functions.
- A Workingfolio site belongs to you. You can move it to another host, or take it down and archive it, then put it back up.
- We can add many functions through WorkingFolio Extras. Once the function is built, it won’t cost you any extra to keep using it forever.
- If you’re familiar with the WordPress CMS or know someone who is, you can add many features yourself.
- There are no ongoing maintenance costs, beyond your site hosting fee (about $100 a year), and a once- or twice-yearly updating of the WordPress software.
- With a Workingfolio site, you get personal attention. We can help you with your marketing message, and assess and shape your written content, and help you get the most out of your web presence.
Who built Workingfolio?
Workingfolio is designed and built by Working Design. We’re a Vancouver, BC-based communications and design company. For the last 25 years we’ve been working with a wide range of clients – big and small – to promote the arts, causes and good businesses. Browse our website to find out all about us.
