Delivering galleries from your own website used to mean clunky plugins and FTP. It does not anymore. With a self-hosted client platform you can give clients a full-bleed gallery on your domain, with watermarks, selection limits, downloads, and print ordering, without paying a gallery subscription. Here is the whole workflow.
Why deliver from your own site at all
- Branding: the gallery opens on your domain, with your logo, not a third party’s.
- Storage: files live on your hosting plan, not a metered tier that charges more as you grow.
- Ownership: the gallery and the client record behind it are in your database.
Step 1: Create the gallery
In your CRM (this walkthrough uses Mankai), create a gallery and attach it to the client’s session so everything stays linked. Give it a clear name with the client and date.
Step 2: Choose delivery or proofing
For a straight handoff, use standard delivery. For client selections, use soft-proof mode: upload watermarked previews, set a selection limit that matches the package, and let the client pick favorites. You then edit only the chosen frames.
Step 3: Protect it
- Set watermark position, opacity, and tiling on previews.
- Add a password or a private token link if the shoot is sensitive.
- Set an expiry date if you want the gallery to retire on its own.
- Turn on download protection for proofing sets.
Step 4: Deliver finals
Upload edited, full-resolution images, remove the watermark for the final set, and enable downloads including a Download all ZIP. Mark it delivered and the client gets a branded email automatically. Keep print ordering on so clients can buy prints at your prices, with crop preview built in.
Step 5: Let the system follow up
Set a simple automation to send a thank-you and review request a week after delivery. You stop relying on memory, and the client feels looked after.
The result
Your client clicks a link, lands on a gorgeous gallery on your domain, picks or downloads their photos, and orders prints, and you never paid a per-gallery subscription to make it happen. That is what owning your delivery looks like.
Want the click-by-click version? Read the proofing workflow doc.