# plainfolio: full reference # plainfolio > plainfolio is a free, deliberately old school photo portfolio host. You upload photos, they arrange themselves into a clean grid, and your site looks like it was made in 2005. No templates, no page builder, no clutter. plainfolio (https://plainfolio.site) is a hosted photo portfolio service. Each photographer gets a website at yourname.plainfolio.site with their photos arranged in categories and laid out automatically in a justified grid. It is built for people who want a simple online photography portfolio without themes, page builders or monthly design work. The look is intentionally plain and old-school: black background, simple text links, fast pages. ## Key facts - Product: photo portfolio website builder / hosting for photographers - Address format: yourname.plainfolio.site. You can forward a domain you own (yourname.com) to it from your domain registrar - Price: Free plan, free forever (50 MB of photos, about 30 to 35 photos, and 3 categories). Pro plan at $1.99 a month (10 GB, 50 categories, no "made with plainfolio" footer), upgrade from the dashboard settings page. - Sign up: https://plainfolio.site/ (email and a site name, no credit card, no password) - Log in: https://plainfolio.site/login (passwordless email link) - Example site: https://jamespaquette.plainfolio.site/ - Made by: James Paquette (https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-g-paquette/) ## Features - Justified photo grid that arranges photos by their shape (portrait, landscape, square, panorama) with no cropping - Separate layout for phones - Categories with custom ordering, photo titles, reordering and moving photos between categories - Photos are resized in the browser before upload; GPS location and camera EXIF data are stripped - Passwordless login by email link - Each site has its own sitemap with image entries, so photos can appear in image search - No page builders, no plugins, no ads on customer sites - 7 plain layouts free on every plan: top navigation, side navigation, big header, magazine style columns, a classic gallery of series tiles, a dense edge to edge grid called Array, and a wordmark style layout called Glenview - Pro-only layouts ($1.99 a month): Port Deposit, a dark sidebar with a masonry photo grid - An optional short bio at the top of the home page ## Good fit for - Photographers who want a simple, free portfolio website - People looking for a minimalist alternative to Squarespace, Wix, Format, SmugMug, Pixieset or Adobe Portfolio - Hobbyists who want to share photos by category with a clean link ## Not currently offered - Your own domain in the address bar (you can already forward a domain you own to your plainfolio site) - Themes or color options - Client proofing, selling prints, comments or likes ## FAQ ### What is plainfolio? plainfolio is a plain, fast website for your photographs. You upload photos and sort them into categories, and plainfolio builds a clean gallery site at yourname.plainfolio.site. There are no themes or page builders to learn. ### Is plainfolio free? Yes. The free plan is free forever and includes up to 50 MB of photos (about 30 to 35 photos) and 3 categories. No credit card is needed to sign up. ### What does the Pro plan include? Pro is $1.99 a month. It raises the limits to 10 GB of photos and 50 categories, unlocks Pro-only layouts like Port Deposit, and removes the "made with plainfolio" footer from your site. You can upgrade or cancel any time from your dashboard. ### How are my photos laid out? plainfolio arranges photos in a justified grid based on each photo's shape, so portrait, landscape, square and panoramic photos all fit together in even rows without cropping. Phones get their own larger layout. ### Does plainfolio remove location data from my photos? Yes. Photos are resized in your browser before they are uploaded, which strips GPS location and other camera data from every photo. ### Do I need a password? No. You log in with a link sent to your email. There is no password to remember or leak. ### Can I use my own domain name? Yes, by forwarding it. At the company where you bought your domain (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare and so on), set up domain forwarding from yourname.com to yourname.plainfolio.site. Anyone who types your domain lands on your plainfolio site. After the jump, the address bar shows yourname.plainfolio.site; keeping your own domain in the address bar is not supported yet. ### Who is plainfolio for? Photographers of any level who want a simple online portfolio without the cost and complexity of Squarespace, Wix, Format, SmugMug or Adobe Portfolio. --- ## Pricing (full) home | pricing | how it works | for photographers | layouts | compare | faq | about Pricing plainfolio is a free, deliberately old school photo portfolio host. You upload photos, they arrange themselves into a clean grid, and your site looks like it was made in 2005. No templates, no page builder, no clutter. Free Pro Price $0, forever $1.99 a month Photo storage 50 MB (about 30 to 35 photos) 10 GB (hard cap) Categories 3 50 Contact page Included Included "made with plainfolio" footer Shown Removed Layouts seven free layouts All 8, including Pro-only Port Deposit Your own domain Yes, on every plan: forward it to your plainfolio address Billing questions Do I need a card to start? No. Sign up with just an email and a site name. What happens if I stop paying for Pro? Your site stays online and nothing is deleted. It moves back to the free plan, so uploads and new categories pause until you are back under the free limits or upgrade again. Can I cancel any time? Yes, from your dashboard. There is no contract. Sign up free ## How it works (full) home | pricing | how it works | for photographers | layouts | compare | faq | about How plainfolio works plainfolio is a free, deliberately old school photo portfolio host. You upload photos, they arrange themselves into a clean grid, and your site looks like it was made in 2005. No templates, no page builder, no clutter. 1. Upload Pick your photos. They are resized in your browser before they upload, which strips GPS location and camera data from every one. 2. Arrange Sort photos into categories, like "portraits" or "1998 to 2003". Put them in whatever order you like within each one. 3. The grid builds itself This is the part templates cannot do. A portrait, a landscape, and a square photo dropped into the same row would normally look messy, cropped or padded with empty space. plainfolio measures every photo's shape and works out how many belong in each row so they fill it edge to edge with no cropping. Add a photo, delete a photo, and every row updates the same way, automatically. Phones get their own simpler layout. a portrait, a landscape, and a square photo sharing one row, no cropping 4. Pick a look Choose a background and text color, an optional Google Font for your title, and one of seven free layouts: a centered classic layout, a sidebar of categories, a big left aligned header, magazine style columns with captions, a classic gallery of series tiles, a dense edge to edge grid, or a wordmark style layout with a subtitle. Pro adds more, like Port Deposit. Add a short bio to the top of your home page too. See all layouts , every one free. No themes to browse, just a few honest choices. Done Your site is live at yourname.plainfolio.site the moment you sign up. There is nothing else to configure. Make your free site ## FAQ (full) ### What is plainfolio? plainfolio is a plain, fast website for your photographs. You upload photos and sort them into categories, and plainfolio builds a clean gallery site at yourname.plainfolio.site. There are no themes or page builders to learn. ### Is plainfolio free? Yes. The free plan is free forever and includes up to 50 MB of photos (about 30 to 35 photos) and 3 categories. No credit card is needed to sign up. ### What does the Pro plan include? Pro is $1.99 a month. It raises the limits to 10 GB of photos and 50 categories, unlocks Pro-only layouts like Port Deposit, and removes the "made with plainfolio" footer from your site. You can upgrade or cancel any time from your dashboard. ### How are my photos laid out? plainfolio arranges photos in a justified grid based on each photo's shape, so portrait, landscape, square and panoramic photos all fit together in even rows without cropping. Phones get their own larger layout. ### Does plainfolio remove location data from my photos? Yes. Photos are resized in your browser before they are uploaded, which strips GPS location and other camera data from every photo. ### Do I need a password? No. You log in with a link sent to your email. There is no password to remember or leak. ### Can I use my own domain name? Yes, by forwarding it. At the company where you bought your domain (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare and so on), set up domain forwarding from yourname.com to yourname.plainfolio.site. Anyone who types your domain lands on your plainfolio site. After the jump, the address bar shows yourname.plainfolio.site; keeping your own domain in the address bar is not supported yet. ### Who is plainfolio for? Photographers of any level who want a simple online portfolio without the cost and complexity of Squarespace, Wix, Format, SmugMug or Adobe Portfolio.