Format review

What Format actually does

Format is a hosted website builder aimed squarely at people whose work is visual. It sells more than ninety templates designed around images rather than text, a page editor called Flex Block that allows elements to be overlapped and placed freely, hosting, SSL and a custom domain connection, all as one subscription. The pitch is that a photographer should be able to publish a portfolio that looks considered without hiring a designer or learning a general-purpose builder that was made for restaurants and consultants.

The part that distinguishes it from a plain site builder is the client layer. Format includes branded galleries where a client can review, proof and approve a shoot, file transfer for delivering finals, and contract handling, all under the same domain as the portfolio. There is also a commission-free store for selling prints, digital downloads and services, and hosted video up to a plan-dependent number of minutes. Images can be pushed in from Adobe Lightroom or Capture One so the editing workflow does not end with a manual export. SEO fields for titles, meta descriptions and image alt text are exposed, and Weglot handles translation for multi-language sites.

Key features

The pieces a working photographer would actually use:

• Ninety-plus templates built for photography, illustration, design, fashion and architecture
• Flex Block editor for layouts with overlapping and freely positioned elements
• Branded client galleries with proofing, approvals and download permissions
• File transfer for delivering finished work, sized by plan
• Commission-free store for prints, digital products and service bookings
• Lightroom and Capture One connections plus custom CSS and HTML for anyone who wants it

Who it's for

Format is for the working creative whose website is a portfolio first and a business second: photographers, illustrators, designers, architects and models. It earns its keep when the client galleries are used, because that is the subscription it replaces. A photographer running Format alongside a separate proofing platform is paying twice for the same job and should consolidate one way or the other.

It is the wrong tool for anyone whose site needs to do more than display work. If the plan involves a content programme, an email list, courses or a serious storefront, a general-purpose builder will get further with less resistance. The entry plan in particular is too tight for professional use, capping high-resolution images at seventy with no image storage and no hosted video, so the realistic starting point is the middle tier.

How it compares

Squarespace has more templates, a friendlier editor and much stronger commerce, blogging and marketing tooling, and it is the better choice for someone building a business around the site; Format wins on portfolio-specific design and on having client proofing included rather than bolted on. Pixieset is the mirror image: excellent client galleries and delivery, with a portfolio builder that feels dated by comparison, which is why some photographers run both. Adobe Portfolio is effectively free with a Creative Cloud subscription and perfectly adequate for a simple portfolio, but it has no client galleries, no store and far less design control.

Verdict

Format does one thing well and knows it: presenting visual work at a professional standard with as little setup as possible, while quietly absorbing the client delivery workflow that photographers otherwise buy separately. It sits in the upper middle of the range rather than the top because the editor demands more patience than Squarespace, the entry plan is too restrictive to recommend, and anything beyond showing work and delivering files is handled better elsewhere. Budget for the middle tier from the start and the value case holds.