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Keptfolio - Setup & Usage Guide

Everything you need to get your portfolio online, in plain English. No tech-speak.

On this page
  1. Before you start
  2. Easy start - your first 15 minutes
  3. The full workflow - Set Up, Organize, Publish, Design, Update
  4. Every menu item and control, explained
  5. Tips for a portfolio that looks its best
  6. Real-world scenarios
  7. Frequently asked questions
  8. Troubleshooting
  9. Need help?

1. Before you start

What Keptfolio does

Keptfolio turns the galleries you already keep in Lightroom Classic into a hosted portfolio website. You group photos into collections, click Publish, and your site goes live at a web address of your own, like yourname.keptfolio.com. Change a photo, reorder a gallery, or fix a caption in Lightroom, publish again, and the live site follows in seconds.

There is no separate website builder to learn. The way you organize in Lightroom is the way your site is built. Hosting is included, so there is nothing to set up or run yourself.

One naming note: inside Lightroom, Keptfolio shows up as a publish service called Portfolio Website. You will see that name in the Publish Services panel and in a few menu items. It is the same product, just its name inside Lightroom.

What you need

  • Adobe Lightroom Classic (the desktop version) 6 or later, on macOS or Windows. The cloud-based "Lightroom" (formerly Lightroom CC) is not supported.
  • A Keptfolio subscription - $49 a year, hosting included. Your license key arrives by email after you sign up.
  • A web browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Arc) for the design step. You already have one.
  • An internet connection when you publish. Your photos live in Lightroom on your own computer. Publishing sends web-sized copies to your hosted site.

Install the plugin

  1. Download and unzip the Keptfolio plugin from your welcome email (or from the Keptfolio page on this site).
  2. Open the Plug-in Manager in Lightroom Classic: File > Plug-in Manager.
  3. Click Add, then choose the unzipped Portfolio Website plugin folder.
  4. Click Done. "Portfolio Website" now appears in the Publish Services panel, on the left side of the Library module.

Your license key

There is no separate "activate" step to hunt for. The first time you set up your site, a short wizard asks you to paste the license key from your welcome email. That connects your subscription and you are on your way. The next section walks through it.

2. Easy start - your first 15 minutes

Six steps. By the end you will have a real, designed portfolio online at your own web address.

Step 1 - Open the setup wizard

In the Library module, go to Library > Plug-in Extras > Set Up Portfolio Website.... (You can also click the Set Up button on the Portfolio Website publish service in the Publish Services panel.) The wizard opens.

Step 2 - Paste your license key

Copy the key from your welcome email and paste it in. A line below the key notes that by connecting you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, with a small View... button if you want to read them first. Continue.

Step 3 - Claim your web address

Type the name you want. Your site will live at that-name.keptfolio.com. Your name usually works well. Pick carefully - this becomes your permanent address, so it is worth a moment's thought. Confirm to claim it.

Already claimed your address before?
If you set up once already, the wizard skips the address and details steps and just reconnects your key. You will not be asked to choose a new address by accident.

Step 4 - Add your details

Enter your site title (usually your name - it becomes the headline), a short about, a contact email, and your Instagram if you want one shown. Finish the wizard.

Step 5 - Make a gallery and add photos

In the Publish Services panel, under Portfolio Website, create a published collection (right-click the service and choose to create a collection). Name it something like 01 Weddings. Drag photos into it from your catalog. Each gallery becomes a page on your site.

Step 6 - Publish

Select your gallery and click the Publish button. Keptfolio uploads your photos and your site goes live. When it finishes, a one-time Choose My Style dialog opens your browser so you can pick a look, choose cover photos, and arrange your galleries.

And that is it - you just put a designed portfolio online without building a single web page.

3. The full workflow - Set Up, Organize, Publish, Design, Update

Keptfolio is a simple loop. You set up once, then you live in the last four steps.

Set Up  →  Organize  →  Publish  →  Design  →  Update

3.1 Set Up - once

The setup wizard connects your subscription, claims your web address, and captures your title, about, and contact details. You do this once. After that, the Set Up option becomes a Reconnect... button you only touch if you ever need to repair your connection or move to a new computer.

3.2 Organize - your galleries are your pages

This is where you spend your time, and it is all in Lightroom. Each published collection under Portfolio Website becomes one page on your site.

  • Name galleries with a number in front to control their order in your site menu. 01 Weddings, 02 Portraits, 03 Travel show up as "Weddings", "Portraits", "Travel" in that order. The number is just for sorting and never appears on your site.
  • Drag photos into the order you want. The order you set inside a gallery is the order visitors see. (Set your gallery's sort to "Custom Order" if it is not already, then drag.)
  • Titles and captions carry over. Add them in Lightroom's Metadata panel. A caption shows in the full-screen viewer; a title becomes the photo's alt text for search engines and screen readers.

Have a whole collection set already built the way you like it? Bring it all in at once with Library > Plug-in Extras > Import Collection Set into Portfolio... instead of recreating each gallery by hand.

3.3 Publish - your site goes live

Select a gallery and click Publish. Keptfolio prepares two web-sized copies of each photo (a crisp thumbnail for the grid and a larger one for the full-screen viewer) and uploads them. Your original files never leave Lightroom. When it is done, you get a View My Website button that opens your live site.

Publishing is smart about your time: only photos that actually changed get uploaded again. Reorder a gallery or fix a caption and the next publish is quick. To push every gallery at once, use Library > Plug-in Extras > Publish All Galleries Now.

3.4 Design - in your browser

Your site's look lives in your browser, not in Lightroom. After your first publish, the Choose My Style dialog opens the design editor automatically. You can return to it anytime with the Customize in Browser... button in the publish service settings.

In the editor you can:

  • Pick one of seven ready-made styles, each with a Light and a Dark mode. Switching is one click and never re-uploads your photos - only the design changes.
  • Choose a cover photo for each gallery.
  • Drag to reorder your galleries right there in the browser, if you would rather arrange them here than by renaming in Lightroom.
  • Fine-tune the layout with two simple sliders (how many covers per row, and how large the photos sit).

One thing worth knowing: your design is safe. Keptfolio keeps your look and your Lightroom content in separate lanes. Publishing again from Lightroom updates your photos and never overwrites the style you picked in the browser.

3.5 Update - keep it fresh

Updating is just editing in Lightroom and clicking Publish again. Add photos, swap an edit, reorder, change a caption, or remove a shot - publish, and the live site follows.

If you only changed the order or captions (no photo edits), there is a shortcut: Library > Plug-in Extras > Update Website Now pushes those small changes without a full re-publish. It is a handy safety net when you just want the site to match Lightroom.

4. Every menu item and control, explained

Here is every control Keptfolio adds, grouped by where you find it.

In the Publish Services panel

The Portfolio Website service sits in the Publish Services panel on the left of the Library module. This is home base.

  • Published collections are your galleries. Create one, name it (a number prefix sets its order), and drag photos in.
  • Publish uploads a selected gallery and puts your changes live.
  • Site Details (in the service's settings) holds your title, about, contact, and social links - see below.
  • Customize in Browser... opens the design editor to change your style, covers, and layout.
  • Reconnect... repairs your connection or moves your site to a new computer. It does not change your address or your galleries.

Library > Plug-in Extras menu items

Set Up Portfolio Website...

Starts the first-run wizard: paste your key, claim your web address, add your details. You only run this once. After setup it becomes the Reconnect... button in the service settings.

Import Collection Set into Portfolio...

Turns an existing collection set into galleries in one go. Use it when you already have your work organized into collections and would rather not rebuild each gallery by hand. Every collection in the set becomes a gallery, ready to publish.

Publish All Galleries Now

Publishes every gallery at once, instead of selecting and publishing each one. Use it after a big round of edits, or the first time you want your whole site live in a single step.

Update Website Now

Pushes reorder-only and caption-only changes without a full re-publish. Use it when you rearranged galleries or edited captions but did not touch the photos themselves. It is the quick way to make the live site match Lightroom.

Site Details (in the service settings)

This is the text side of your site - the parts that are about you rather than your photos.

  • Site title - usually your name. It becomes your site's headline.
  • About - a short paragraph about you or your work.
  • Contact email - how visitors reach you.
  • Instagram - shown as a link if you fill it in.
  • Social links - Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube, and WhatsApp. Fill one in and its icon appears in your footer. Leave it blank and it stays hidden - no empty icons. A WhatsApp number becomes a one-tap chat link.

Designing your site in the browser

The design editor opens from the Choose My Style dialog after your first publish, or anytime from Customize in Browser.... Everything here is a live preview, and nothing you do re-uploads your photos.

Choose a style

Seven art-directed styles, each with a light and a dark mode. A gold "Live" mark shows which one is currently on your site; a ring shows the one you are previewing. Save to make a preview your live look.

  • Frame - a clean exhibition-catalog look with a centered title and numbered plates.
  • Crisp - bright and minimal, with square tiles and plenty of white space.
  • Press - a bold magazine feel with a large nameplate and a contents page.
  • Folio - quiet and literary, with elegant italics and a text-based contents list.
  • Studio - warm, framed cards that lift gently as you hover.
  • Reel - cinematic and full-screen, with a slow-moving cover image.
  • Atlas - an expedition-journal feel with a split cover and travel-log touches.

Cover photos

Pick the photo that represents each gallery on your home page. If you do not choose one, the first photo in the gallery is used.

Reorder galleries

Drag your galleries into the order you want. This is the same ordering you can set with number prefixes in Lightroom - use whichever feels easier. If you arrange them here, this order wins.

Layout sliders

Two simple controls: covers per row (how many gallery covers sit side by side on your home page) and photo size (how large photos appear inside a gallery). Both update live as you drag, so you can dial in the look you want by eye.

5. Tips for a portfolio that looks its best

  • Edit tight. Twelve strong photos in a gallery beat forty average ones. A portfolio is your highlight reel, not your archive.
  • Use number prefixes from the start. Name galleries 01 Weddings, 02 Portraits and so on. It sets your menu order for you, and you can renumber anytime.
  • Lead each gallery with your strongest frame. The first photo sets the tone, and it is a natural pick for that gallery's cover.
  • Set your galleries to Custom Order and drag. The sequence you arrange in Lightroom is exactly what visitors scroll through.
  • Write captions where they add something. A caption shows in the full-screen viewer. A place, a story, or a client name earns its space; "IMG_4821" does not.
  • Try a couple of styles before you settle. Switching is one click and never re-uploads a thing. See your real photos in Frame, then Reel, then pick.
  • Split big bodies of work into more galleries. Each gallery holds up to 500 photos, but several focused galleries read better than one giant one.
  • Fill in only the social links you actually use. Empty ones stay hidden, so your footer never shows a dead icon.

6. Real-world scenarios

Three ways photographers actually use Keptfolio. Find the one closest to you and follow its shape.

Wedding photographer - a client-ready site organized by service

You want a site that shows couples what you offer, split cleanly by type of work. In Lightroom, create published collections named 01 Weddings, 02 Engagements, 03 Portraits, and drag your best 20 to 30 frames into each. Publish all of them with Publish All Galleries Now. When the design editor opens, pick Frame or Press for a formal feel, choose a standout cover for each gallery, and add your contact email and Instagram in Site Details. Your booking link now points at yourstudio.keptfolio.com, and next season you just drag new work into the same galleries and publish again.

Travel hobbyist - a personal showcase from a big catalog

You have years of trips in one catalog and want a simple, beautiful home for the highlights. Make a gallery per place - 01 Iceland, 02 Kyoto, 03 Patagonia - and pull in only the frames you are proud of. Set each gallery to Custom Order and arrange the story you want to tell. Publish, then choose Atlas in the design editor for its journal feel, and pick a hero cover for each trip. Add a short about paragraph. You now have a shareable site you can hand to anyone, and adding your next trip is one new gallery away.

Portrait pro - moving off a hand-built website

You already keep your work in a tidy collection set and are tired of rebuilding a website by hand every time it changes. Run Import Collection Set into Portfolio... and your whole set becomes galleries in one step. Publish them, then open the design editor, pick Studio or Reel, choose covers, and drag the galleries into the order you want visitors to see. From now on your site and your catalog are the same thing: edit in Lightroom, publish, done. No more keeping two copies of your portfolio in sync.

7. Frequently asked questions

Setup and subscription

Where do I find the setup after installing?

Two places, both do the same thing. Library > Plug-in Extras > Set Up Portfolio Website..., or the Set Up button on the Portfolio Website service in the Publish Services panel.

Which Lightroom and operating systems are supported?

Adobe Lightroom Classic (the desktop version) 6 or later, on both macOS and Windows. The cloud-based "Lightroom" (formerly Lightroom CC) is not supported.

Where do I paste my license key?

In the first step of the setup wizard. Copy the key from your welcome email and paste it in. That connects your subscription - there is no separate activate step.

Can I set it up on more than one computer?

Yes. Your subscription can be connected on up to three computers. On a new machine, install the plugin and run the setup wizard with the same key.

I lost my license key - how do I find it?

Search your email for "Keptfolio" or "LemonSqueezy". The key is in your order confirmation. If you still cannot find it, contact us with the email you bought with.

Galleries and publishing

How do I control the order galleries appear in my menu?

Put a number in front of each gallery name - 01 Weddings, 02 Portraits. They appear in that order, and the number never shows on your site. You can also drag them into order in the design editor.

How do I set the order of photos inside a gallery?

Set the gallery's sort to Custom Order in Lightroom, then drag the photos into place. That is the order visitors see. After changing it you can push it with a quick Update Website Now if you did not edit any photos.

How many photos can I publish?

Unlimited galleries. Each gallery holds up to 500 photos, so split larger bodies of work into more galleries. Individual images can be up to 30 MB.

If I edit a photo in Lightroom, does it re-upload?

Yes, on your next Publish. Only the photos that actually changed are uploaded again, so re-publishing is quick.

How do I remove a photo or a whole gallery from my site?

Drag a photo out of its published collection, then Publish - it drops from the site. To remove a gallery, delete the published collection in Lightroom.

I already have collections built. Do I have to redo them?

No. Use Library > Plug-in Extras > Import Collection Set into Portfolio... to turn an existing collection set into galleries in one step, then publish.

Design and your web address

Where do I change the design?

In your browser, not in Lightroom. The design editor opens automatically after your first publish (the Choose My Style dialog), and anytime after that from the Customize in Browser... button in the service settings.

Can I change the style later without re-uploading my photos?

Yes. There are seven styles, each with a light and dark mode. Switching is one click in the browser and only changes the design - your photos stay exactly where they are.

Will publishing from Lightroom overwrite my style?

No. Your look (chosen in the browser) and your content (managed in Lightroom) are kept separate. Re-publishing updates your photos and leaves your style untouched.

Can I use my own domain name?

Your site is hosted at yourname.keptfolio.com. Custom domains (yourname.com) are on the roadmap - tell us if you need one and it moves up the list.

Can I change my web address after I claim it?

Your address is meant to be permanent, so choose it with care during setup. If you truly need a change, get in touch and we will help.

Privacy and your photos

Does Keptfolio change my originals or my catalog?

No. Your original files and your catalog stay in Lightroom, untouched. Keptfolio reads your galleries and publishes web-sized copies of your photos.

Is my location data published with my photos?

No. Location data (GPS) is stripped from every published image, so your shooting spots stay private.

Do my published photos need to be hosted somewhere?

Yes - that is what a portfolio is for. Web-sized copies are hosted so visitors can see your site. Your full-resolution originals never leave Lightroom. Your site sets no cookies and runs no visitor tracking.

Billing and support

What happens if my subscription lapses?

Nothing sudden. You get a 14-day grace period, then your site goes offline - not deleted. Your images are kept for another 30 days, so renewing brings everything back automatically.

Am I locked in?

No. Your master photos always live in your Lightroom catalog, so you can walk away anytime with everything you started with. You can unpublish your site whenever you like.

Can I get a refund?

If Keptfolio does not work on your setup, contact us - we will either fix the issue or refund you. Full terms are on the Keptfolio Terms of Service page.

8. Troubleshooting

Setup says it cannot reach the service

This is almost always your internet connection. Confirm you are online and try again. If a company firewall or VPN is in the way, switch it off for a moment and re-run Set Up Portfolio Website....

My key will not activate

Copy the key straight from your welcome email to avoid a stray space at the start or end. Make sure you are using your Keptfolio key, not a key from a different Lightroom Tools plugin. If it still will not take, send us the email you bought with and we will sort it out.

I published, but my site looks unchanged

Your page is briefly cached for speed. The View My Website button opens a fresh copy right away. If you typed the address by hand, just refresh the page a moment later and your update appears.

My galleries are in the wrong order

Check your gallery names. Number prefixes (01, 02, 03) set the order, and galleries without a number sort after the numbered ones. If you dragged galleries into order in the design editor, that arrangement wins - open the editor to adjust it there.

A photo shows in the wrong spot inside a gallery

Set that gallery's sort to Custom Order in Lightroom, drag the photo where you want it, then run Update Website Now (or Publish). If the gallery is on a different sort, the site may not follow your drag.

The design editor looks empty or a gallery is missing

Publish the gallery first. The editor shows what is live on your site, so a gallery you have not published yet will not appear there. After publishing, the editor refreshes on its own when you switch back to it.

Still stuck?

The contact form on the home page goes straight to me. Solo developer, personal responses, usually same-day.

9. Need help?

Something not working, or a question this page did not answer? Tell us what is going on - we read every message and usually reply within a day. You can also read the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy anytime.

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