Photography websites live or die on images and clarity — not on server hobbies. If your gallery is already HTML (or an export of pages and photos), hosting can be straightforward: zip, HTTPS preview, domain when the set is final. This guide covers who that path is for, how to publish, and when to pick another product.

Who this is for

Photographers and studios with a finished site folder: galleries, about, contact. You may shoot for a living without wanting to SSH for a living.

Who should look elsewhere

People who need a full client-proofing CMS with accounts, or a website builder with no files, or mailboxes from the web host. SiteHost is file hosting — no cPanel, no forever-free plan, no email hosting, no built-in CDN (optional Cloudflare later).

Publish path

  1. Export web-sized images (not camera originals).
  2. Confirm galleries work from a local extract.
  3. Zip with index.html at the top.
  4. Upload to SiteHost; open HTTPS preview on a phone.
  5. Point DNS after you approve the set.

Trial ~1 day. Starter $9 (1 site, 2 GB) works when images are compressed. Pro $30 (3 sites, 10 GB, staging) helps heavier libraries and redesign tests. Scale $65, Business $130 for teams.

Worked example: restaurant-adjacent shoot site with PDF menu hours

Chris photographs food and also hosts a simple collaborator page for a restaurant pop-up: HTML hours, a PDF menu, and a photo strip. Chris uploads the zip on SiteHost, checks that the PDF opens on mobile HTTPS preview, and shares with the chef. They fix a wrong closing time with a second zip. Domain waits until the PDF is final. Chris skips every tutorial about app routers — real files only.

Related reading: how to host an HTML CSS JavaScript website, how to get a website online, host website files online.

Failure: history-mode SPA routes with no files on disk

Gallery tools sometimes spit out JavaScript apps that pretend /gallery/weddings is a route without a real file. On file hosting, refresh can 404. Clients bookmark pretty URLs from emails; those URLs must map to real files or you must accept hash routing. For photography marketing sites, prefer exports that produce actual HTML pages per gallery — or a single page with anchors — unless you knowingly configure rewrites. Ask your theme or generator: “What files exist for each URL?” Complicated routers are a common way photographers inherit complicated hosting they never wanted.

Image weight is the real storage conversation

Starter’s 2 GB vanishes if you upload wedding RAWs. Create a web export discipline: long edge 2000px or less, compressed, consistent. Pro’s 10 GB is headroom, not permission to skip exports. A CDN is optional later; correct image size helps immediately.

Client proofing vs marketing site

Passworded proofing galleries may need specialized tools. Your public marketing site can still be simple HTML on SiteHost. Split those jobs without guilt.

Domain and trust

Couples and restaurants judge trust partly by HTTPS and a clean domain. Preview for draft review; custom domain for contracts and Instagram link-in-bio.

Maintenance

New shoot highlights → new zip. Rollback if a bad edit ships. Keep mail (for bookings) on a mail provider; do not fold it into web DNS experiments.

Host photography sites as file shows: curated, compressed, previewed, then named with your domain.

Questions people actually ask

Will my galleries be fast enough without a CDN?

Often yes with compressed images. Add optional Cloudflare later if needed.

Can I use Lightroom exports?

Yes if they produce web files you can zip. Avoid uploading catalogs.

Do you host email for booking inquiries?

No. Use a mail host; put the address on the site.

Should I use Pro for staging a redesign?

Yes if you redesign while ads or seasons are active.