.photography is one of our most popular new domain name extensions, and to help you stay ahead of the competition, we’ve created a guide to building a brand new site on your domain in an hour or less.

If you’re snapping up new domain names, it can be a while before you get around to developing them into websites, especially for big projects. But our quick tutorial will help you create a live website in under sixty minutes, so it’s ideal for a quick evening or weekend job. Read on to get started.

1. Buy your domain name (and hosting, if needed)

Search for your .photography domain name using our quick look up tool (or check out our 360 Name Finder to check available social media usernames at the same time).

2. Install WordPress

Once you’ve registered your .photography name and added a web hosting package, log into your eXtend control panel and scroll down to ‘WordPress Blog’ to install WordPress. You don’t have to use WordPress; there are plenty of other one-click installs you can use, including Joomla!, Drupal, Zen Photo, Gallery2 and Coppermine Photo Gallery. For the purpose of this tutorial, we’ll be using WordPress as it’s the most widely used content management system.

3. Choose a theme

Once you’ve installed WordPress, log in and choose a theme for your website. There are plenty you can install from within WordPress (Themes > Add New), or you can buy cheap photo gallery themes from a site like ThemeForest.

You can always edit the theme and upload your choice of logo or header image as required.

4. Install plugins

The great thing about WordPress is that there are thousands of free plugins to choose from in the WordPress Plugin Directory, so you can set up gallery functionality for your website in seconds. If you’ve chosen a bespoke photo gallery theme, you may have to install suggested plugins, or you might not require a plugin at all; check the documentation to find out.

If you’re using a more generic theme or your own code, it’s best to come up with a list of priorities before settling on a gallery plugin. For example, do you want video? Prominent commenting? Slideshows? Lightbox effects? It also helps to browse the ratings of the plugins available to save yourself some time.

There are also plenty of social media plugins available in the WordPress Plugin Directory so you can display your photos from Instagram, Flickr, or any of your preferred networks instead of uploading them directly to your website.

You’ll also want to install an SEO plugin such as Yoast's, and a contact form like Contact Form 7, along with anything else you like or might need.

5. Write key pages

The main bulk of your written content and photo uploads will come later, but for now the minimum is fine. Key essential pages can be limited to the simple ‘Contact’ and ‘About’. A ‘Services’ page – if applicable – will draw attention, and a welcoming introduction somewhere on your index page is essential. If you’re looking to sell stock imagery and/or automate picture downloads, check out Easy Digital Downloads, which has tons of great free functionality.

6. Customise your footer

Alter your theme’s footer to include your name, website name, and legal information such as copyright and image rights/licensing information. If your WordPress theme uses widgets, go to Appearance > Widgets and look for a footer box to edit. If it doesn’t, go to the theme editor or use FTP to alter the footer.php file.

7. Add your photos

Okay, so I’m cheating a bit here because it will definitely take you longer than an hour to upload your photos. Sort them in advance to make life easier, and upload them in logical batches or categories, giving yourself a time-frame to finish so it doesn’t become a chore.

And there you have it – your new .photography website in an hour! Any queries or suggestions? Let us know in the comments.