Class:Digital Portfolio 2026/Week 1

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This Week

  • Introductions
  • Discuss Class
  • Discuss Wiki
  • History of the Internet
  • How the internet works for us

Notes

What the heck is a Wiki

Long story short: It's a fancy collaborative website that allows each user to edit the contents of any page, like wikipedia. Therefore all of you can add or edit to these notes if you wish.

For more information, you can read about them here - wiki

History of the Internet

The Internet started in the 1960s as a way for government researchers to share information. The internet that we know today started in the early 1990s with the introduction of the World Wide Web.

Registering Your Domain Names

The process of looking good online begins with registering your domain name(s).

I have created a Domain Registrars reference page for you here.

  • You should really consider registering your domain name at a legitimate domain registrar and hosing at a separate company. It will provide you with much more flexibility and protection should something go wrong.
  • Sending web traffic to one host, or multiple hosts and redirecting your email traffic is all done from your Domain Registrar.
  • If you have an existing domain registered with another company, you can easily TRANSFER it to your Domain Registrar - and you should.
  • Photographers: Why You Need a Pro Domain Name - just ignore the photoswarm.com parts.

Hosting Your Sites

Some of you will end up using a hosted web site solution and not need to setup a dedicated web host, others will end up needing to upload your website to a dedicated host.

Do you need a dedicated host?
Will you be building your website yourself (HTML/CSS) and uploading it? - Yes
Will you be using indexhibit or Wordpress to build your website? - Yes
Will be using a hosted solution like PhotoShelter, Squarespace or Cargo to build your website? - No
Even if it is not your main website, will you need to export galleries and post them online for friends/clients to see? - Possibly

It's important to go with a Hosting Provider that you trust, one that you can contact when you need some help.

I have created a Hosting Providers reference page for you here.

  • My preference for all of you is to go with Dreamhost over Godaddy for JUST the hosting part.

Hosting Your Email

Depending on the website solution and hosting solution you pick, you might need Email Hosting, or better Email Hosting.

I have created a Email Hosting Services reference page for you here.

Introduction To Digital Portfolio Techniques

This week in class I walked you through a series of slide presentations highlighting the foundation techniques for this semester.

Highlights Include

We also talked a little bit about Responsive Web Design

Photography Site Building (CMS) Solutions

There was a time where a Photographer would build (or hire somebody to build) their website from scratch. Adding and removing content from these websites would require somebody to edit the HTML and upload the changes to a web server. Successful websites are no longer built like this... Content Management Systems (CMS) have redefined how the internet works. These tools are either hosted, or need to be installed on your webserver to run.

This week I introduced the class to the concept of Content Managed Solutions. We will be spending a lot of time looking at these options.

I have created a Site Building (CMS) Solutions reference page for you here.

Video Notes

Every week I will post videos from class. They are large files, usually they are broken down into smaller topics and therefore smaller in size than these.



Assignment

Your assignment this week is to begin to assemble a hosting plan/situation. I am asking you to gather your information together (if you have it), and make new arrangements if you do not.

With my help, each of you need to resolve the following questions:

  1. Do I own an internet domain? How many? What is it (or are they)?
  2. Do I want to get a new internet domain? What is it (or are they)?
  3. Where is my website currently hosted?
  4. What is the username to login?
  5. What is the password to login?
  6. Have I ever logged in?
  7. Could I upload some files or a new site if I wanted to?
  8. Do I want to get a new hosting provider?
  9. Do I like my email address?
  10. Do I want to change my email address, or email provider?

This Week

  • Introductions
  • Discuss class & expectations
  • Discuss the Wiki
  • A short history of the internet — and how it actually works for us
  • Getting your house in order: domains, hosting, and email
  • Introduction to building a photography portfolio online

Notes

What the heck is a Wiki

Short version: it's a collaborative website where any user can edit the contents of any page — like Wikipedia. That means all of you can add to or improve these notes if you want.

More on the idea here: Wiki.

How the Internet Works

The internet began in the 1960s as a way for government and university researchers to share information across distant computers, and the World Wide Web — the sites and links you browse — arrived in the early 1990s as one layer running on top of it. But the part worth really understanding is the mechanics: how your computer finds the right machine, and how data actually gets there. Nearly everything we do this semester depends on it — your domain, your host, and your email are all just names and addresses on this network.

Two short videos from Code.org's series, narrated by the people who actually built this (including Vint Cerf, co-inventor of TCP/IP):

  • How names become addresses: The Internet: IP Addresses & DNS (~5 min). The Domain Name System is the internet's phonebook — it turns a human name like yourname.com into the numeric IP address of the actual machine. This is why the nameserver layer matters: it's what connects the domain you register to the host where your site lives.
  • How data gets there: The Internet: Packets, Routing & Reliability (~6 min). Your data is broken into small packets that travel independently across the network, take different routes, and reassemble at the other end — which is what makes the internet fast and resilient.

These are part of a longer nine-video series (encryption, HTTP, cybersecurity, and more) if you want to go deeper.

Registering Your Domain Names

Looking good online starts with registering your domain name(s).

I keep a Domain Registrars reference page for you here.

  • Register your domain at a dedicated registrar, and host your site somewhere separate. This gives you far more flexibility and protection if something ever goes wrong with one provider. Your registrar is the control panel where you point web traffic to a host and route your email — keep that control in its own place.
  • If you have a domain registered somewhere you don't love, you can transfer it to a registrar you trust.
  • Heads up — the landscape changed: Google Domains shut down and sold all its registrations to Squarespace (the transfer completed in 2024). If you registered a domain through Google in the past, it now lives at Squarespace. Solid current registrars to consider: Cloudflare Registrar (at-cost pricing), Porkbun, and Namecheap.
  • A pro domain name matters: ideally your own name or studio name, kept simple and easy to say out loud.

Hosting Your Sites

Most of you will use a hosted, all-in-one platform (Squarespace, Adobe Portfolio, Pixieset, and the like) where the company runs the servers for you — there's nothing separate to "host." A few of you, for specific reasons, will want your own web host.

Do you actually need a dedicated web host? Ask yourself:

  • Will you build your own site in HTML/CSS (or a framework) and upload it yourself? → Yes, you'll need a host.
  • Will you self-install WordPress? → Yes.
  • Will you use a hosted platform like Squarespace, Adobe Portfolio, or Pixieset? → No — hosting is included.
  • Even if your main site is hosted, will you occasionally need to put files or a gallery online yourself? → Maybe.

If you do need a host, pick a provider you trust and can actually reach when something breaks.

I keep a Hosting Providers reference page for you here.

Hosting Your Email

Depending on the platform and host you choose, you may need separate email hosting — and you almost always want a professional address at your own domain (you@yourname.com), not a generic free address.

Common routes: Google Workspace (Gmail at your domain), Fastmail, Proton, or email that comes bundled with your host or registrar.

I keep an Email Hosting Services reference page for you here.

Introduction to Digital Portfolio Techniques

This week I walked you through the foundation ideas we'll build on all semester. A few principles to carry with you:

  • Your work is the design. The best photography sites get out of the way — generous whitespace, restrained type, and images that carry the page. A portfolio is a sequence and an argument, not a pile.
  • You shouldn't have to be a coder to look professional. Modern tools let you build a genuinely strong site without writing HTML. Your job is curation, sequencing, and point of view — let the platform handle the plumbing.
  • Mobile is not the afterthought — it's the default. Most people will first see your work on a phone. "Responsive" (a site that adapts to any screen) used to be a selling point; in 2026 it's simply how the web works. Always check your site on a phone before you call it done.
  • Own your home base. Social platforms are where discovery happens; your own site is where you control the experience and own the relationship. Use both — but make sure you own at least one.

Photography Site Building (CMS) Solutions

A Content Management System (CMS) lets you add and update your site without editing raw code every time. Some are fully hosted (the company runs everything); others you install on your own host and maintain yourself. We'll spend real time comparing these.

I keep a fully updated Site Building (CMS) Solutions reference page for you here — start there.

Video Notes

Every week I post videos from class. They're large files, usually broken into smaller topics.

Assignment

Your assignment this week is to get your hosting and domain situation in order. Gather what you already have, and make new arrangements where you don't.

With my help, each of you should be able to answer:

  1. Do I own an internet domain? How many? What is it (or are they)?
  2. Do I want a new domain? What would it be?
  3. Where is my website currently hosted?
  4. What is the username to log in?
  5. What is the password to log in?
  6. Have I ever actually logged in?
  7. Could I upload files or a new site if I wanted to?
  8. Do I want a different hosting provider?
  9. Do I like my email address?
  10. Do I want to change my email address or email provider?
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