We have another first in this week’s episode of Divi Nation. For the first time we’re interviewing a business owner who has built their own website using Divi (and later switching to Extra) and asking them to share the lessons they learned along the way.
Growing a Photography Business with Divi & Extra Featuring Dan Carr – The Divi Nation Podcast, Episode 23
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In this episode of Divi Nation, the official Divi podcast, I talk with professional photographer Dan Carr–who’s done work with Nike, Red Bull, Oakley, and other large brands–about the role WordPress, Divi, and Extra have played in the establishment and growth of his business online. We also revisit some of his biggest breakthrough moments and the lessons he feels every entrepreneur using WordPress (and especially Divi) should take to heart.
This interview is a must-listen for anyone interested in creating their business’s website themselves. And designers/developers working with entrepreneurial clients will likely gain some valuable insights too. I hope you enjoy our conversation and please feel free to join it in the comments section below.
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I’d like to thank Dan Carr one more time for coming on the show and sharing his unique perspective with the community. It was really awesome getting to hear his story as our first “DIY business owner” guest.
But enough from me, it’s your turn to jump in!
Is there anything you’d like to ask Dan after hearing his interview? Do you have your own valuable experiences to share from growing your business online? It’s time to join the conversation in the comments section below.
Yeah I wouldn’t advise anyone switch to Extra, they don’t pay it much attention, it’s heavy on hosting resources very buggy a bad move all round I suggest.
Yeah I would advise anyone to switch to Extra, they don’t pay it much attention, it’s heavy on hosting resources very buggy a bad move all round I suggest.
There might be a misconception about Extra due to the way that announcements are always highlighted for “Divi”. Extra gets updates all the time, and since it uses much of the Divi theme, the major features have always been updated simultaneously as far as I can tell. Take split-testing for example: There was much Divi fanfare when the feature was launched, but Extra received the same features on the same day.
Likewise if you look at all the recent free layout packs for “Divi” that have been part of the 100 day countdown. All that stuff can be used with Extra as well. I’ve no complaints whatsoever about development of Extra, but I do think they could do a better job of mentioning it more. I don’t know why Extra 2.0 isn’t being talked about in the same way as Divi 3.0 for example.
Your story really resonates with me, apart from being a fellow Vancouverite, I am a navigational user and early adopter of many things, including building my own websites. The first one I made was with Drupal so I really appreciate the simplicity of WordPress and Divi.
And like you, I have ended up being the linking element between total newbies and the web, usually by just getting them started and walking them through, and demystifying the whole process to boot. Savvy consumers of the web, they become!
Currently working with an artist friend who has maintained her Dreamweaver site since Hector was a pup, but wants to switch to something more user-friendly and easily updatable (and a fresher look, I said). I’ve set up a draft site using wp and divi, and here is what drew me to watch this video today: galleries/portfolios.
I have struggled with the various options in the theme to get the images to look consistent in size on one ‘gallery’ page which would then allow click-through to individually-themed ‘exhibitions’ of the photos of her paintings.
I see you are using a paid gallery plug-in, which may be the answer. But still wondering if there is a bit of CSS I should be using for modifying the look of the existing gallery layouts in DIVI, or bite the financial bullet and go for the plug-in.
I can probably guess the answer, but would love to hear your thoughts on this. And is there a Divi User Group in Vancouver?
Hey Judi,
I’m not aware of a Divi group in Vancouver but I’ve never looked for one so it’s possible. With regards to your gallery question, I use the paid version of Envira gallery. I’ve found that out of the box, the Divi gallery doesn’t offer me enough options. You can use CSS for most things if you are proficient enough, but I’m not. I think using CSS might be a good option to alter images you are using for actual design elements of the site, but for adding larger galleries I think Envira is the way to go.
Thanks, Dan. That’s about what I expected and makes good sense. Too many times we try to get by ‘cheaply’ and end up penny wise and pound foolish. I can learn a little CSS to go with the little HTML I know, that makes sense, but not intending to become a full-stack developer, it’s better to buy something that works and which is supported by the supplier. Appreciate your insights.
You’re welcome!
Divi has always been attracting me, although there is one more to the competition but don’t know why Divi attracts me.
Lot to learn.
Thanks
A little behind on getting caught up on the podcasts… This one I learned A LOT. I have a page full of notes of things to try and things to check out. Thank you. 🙂
You’re very welcome! Glad you found the content useful.
Dan thanks for sharing your story I passed on a link to your website to show someone I know, who loves photography, but doesn’t know code, and that it’s built with the Divi theme. Great layout and design but then as a professional photographer you have an eye to capture through the lens.
Divi did the same thing for me although I am not a photographer but I dabble in design and don’t know code. As soon as Divi came out I knew that was the Theme I wanted so I switched my sites over without any problems because Divi isn’t difficult to learn to use.
My problem today is people see my site and think I am a developer. They raise their eyebrows when I tell them I don’t know code and can’t build their site, but with Divi they can build their own site. So now I’m a website consultant and a copywriter, and help people learn the basics of Divi.
This wasn’t my intention to go into working with websites, you can’t help it if you have such good software as well as a support team to work with.
Thanks Joan! Yeah the same thing has happened to me, I’ve actually taken a couple of consultation jobs helping other photographers set their sites up.
I will check Extra because of the show! Thank you very much!
Glad you liked it, Nuno!
Awesome show! I hope you’ll do more with non-developers! I’ve just downloaded extra and I’m considering the switch for my own site – because I loved what you mentioned about those archived articles. The archive pages on Divi aren’t great for active bloggers…
Quick question for you Dan… What did you use for the popup welcoming divi blog visitors to your home page?
Thanks! The popup is created using Optinmonster. The blog post I just published today has a list of all the plugins that I use.
You mentioned that you had a page that listed WP plugins etc for photographers…. I have taken a look at your sites and cannot seem to find it. Could you put that out there so I could view your list? Thanks.
My most recent blog post lists the ones that I’m using, but the page I was specifically referring to in the show was http://dancarrphotography.com/resources
Good podcast! It’s good to hear the different perspectives. The landing page here (http://shuttermuse.com/free-photography-ebooks) looks good!
Thanks Jim! Glad you found it interesting.
I’ve been using Divi for a while for my wedding photography business after getting tired of ProPhoto templates, and have been able to create a stunning portfolio with blog. Sadly, I recently updated Divi and am no longer able to upload photos using the Divi theme. Ironically, I now have to switch the theme to ProPhoto or Extra (which I use for my personal blog), upload the images and then switch back to Divi to work on the article.
Support has been subpar as they immediately blamed my server, even though the media upload tool works fine on other templates and other sites on the same server. This is definitely a sore point if you are a photographer looking to upload photos quickly.
Anyway, great podcast and thanks for the awesome content.
Upload via FTP
Here to answer any questions!
“Reveal” is spelled wrong in your main header line.
Otherwise, a great looking site!
Thanks for catching the typo, can you point me towards the page where you saw it?
http://shuttermuse.com/free-photography-ebooks/
Thanks!