---
title: "Creating an event press site"
canonical_url: https://support.digitalphotogallery.com/articles/article/d2e53060-8a3a-11e6-8b26-be279144b405
short_url: https://dpg.support/acqb
category: "Websites > Guides"
locale: en
updated_at: 2021-06-03T01:08:20Z
source: Digital Photo Gallery Support
---

# Creating an event press site

![](https://cache.media.digitalphotogallery.com/hyqelgcvfopo/images/f5b69258-0f4d-11e7-9ad5-269460a4cb02/739_support.jpg?generated=20170322222646)

In this guide we'll create a new standalone website for image delivery from an event such as a festival, concert or fashion show. It can display work by a single photographer or team and is ideal for distributing content to press and media. 

The "Switchable" page layout allows visitors to switch between the tiled masonry view and large image stream, to easily browse through the available content. It works across all devices, allowing them to access and download files on the go. 

When the site is secured behind a login, each visitor will create a username and password to access the content. This allows you to track all downloads and see comprehensive statistics.

You can see a live demo of this site [here](https://eventsite.demo.dpg.gallery/). For your convenience, the demo site is not behind a secure login. 

![](https://cache.media.digitalphotogallery.com/hyqelgcvfopo/images/ed191868-0f4e-11e7-aa5c-269460a4cb02/740_support.jpg?generated=20170322222917)

The site automatically creates image versions (such as those sized for Web and Instagram) for users to download. 

Photo credits are automatically generated from image metadata.}

autoplay

Visit the [websites screen](https://admin.digitalphotogallery.com/account/websites), click on the **New site** tab and scroll to the *Modern Narrative* template.

Choose the page collection **Event Press Gallery [Switchable]** from the dropdown. Select an initial theme and layout for the site (this can be changed later), then click **Create**.

Enter a name for your website - in this example we chose the name of the designer - and click **OK**.

### Wait for the site to be created

![](https://cache.media.digitalphotogallery.com/hyqelgcvfopo/images/6d2a631c-d454-11e6-b995-967fcb7c1249/428_support.jpg?generated=20170106210951)

The new site may take a few minutes to build. Please be patient and stay on the screen while it does.}

### Add site information
{video:f9afa608-0e8d-11e7-9363-02daa0202684
Once the site has been created, you can replace the default text with your own information.

### Add a logo

You can optionally add a logo to the header of the site, which is a great way to echo the branding of an event. If you skip this step the header will be displayed as text and can also be styled in the design section. 

[▶ Video](https://cache.dpg.media/hyqelgcvfopo/videos/b8bc7332-0e93-11e7-9357-269460a4cb02/c840bcdc-0e93-11e7-9357-269460a4cb02.mp4)

From website overview screen, click **Edit Design**. Here you can change the base theme and layout, as well as other design elements on the page. 

To add a logo, click on **Design**, select **Header** and choose a logo file to upload. You can change the size of the logo on the page by using the **Scale** option. 

> 💡 **Tip:** If possible, use an SVG or PNG file for your logo. The recommended minimum width for the logo image is 2048px, which will be scaled for all devices automatically.

### Add header image

[▶ Video](https://cache.dpg.media/hyqelgcvfopo/videos/e1b5234a-0e95-11e7-9837-269460a4cb02/f17d7872-0e95-11e7-9837-269460a4cb02.mp4)

Another easy way to personalise the gallery is to add a header image. From the **Design** tab select **Topbar** and choose a header image to upload.

> 💡 **Tip:** Use a high resolution image with a standard 3:2 aspect ratio. DPG will optimise the image on upload and make sure that it looks great across all devices.

### Add test images
[▶ Video](https://cache.dpg.media/hyqelgcvfopo/videos/ec96ca3e-0f30-11e7-90da-269460a4cb02/0312a95e-0f31-11e7-90da-269460a4cb02.mp4)
Making your site creates corresponding sets in the image admin. Add some content to the **Gallery** set to see how it looks on the site.

If you don't have any images in your account go to the [upload screen](https://support.digitalphotogallery.com/articles/article/304db388-ab34-11e2-aeb3-b8f6b11825bb) to add some.

### Preview your site
[▶ Video](https://cache.dpg.media/hyqelgcvfopo/videos/7d7898c8-0e9d-11e7-a476-269460a4cb02/92a3680e-0e9d-11e7-a476-269460a4cb02.mp4)
Click the **Visit** button to see your site live on the testing host address.

### Add website icons

[▶ Video](https://cache.dpg.media/hyqelgcvfopo/videos/a43b0eda-0f3a-11e7-9a4e-269460a4cb02/b7b00740-0f3a-11e7-9a4e-269460a4cb02.mp4)
You can add common [website icons](https://support.digitalphotogallery.com/articles/article/a675335e-ac1c-11e2-a89f-f23c91703874) in the side panel of the website overview screen.

> 💡 **Tip:** For best results your icon should be in PNG format and a minimum of 512px across, apart from the Pinned Site icon which must be an SVG file.

### Securing the site

Though you may share the address of the site with a select number of users, it's a good idea to place any sites with downloads enabled behind a secure login. This will allow you to restrict access only to visitors who create a username and password. 

Not only does this keep your images safe, it also lets you track user downloads and view a number of useful statistics. All files will also be uniquely encoded so that they can be traced back to the user that downloaded them.

[▶ Video](https://cache.dpg.media/hyqelgcvfopo/videos/1160196c-0f3e-11e7-a815-269460a4cb02/26b85112-0f3e-11e7-a815-269460a4cb02.mp4)
_(Requires edit mode Standard.)_

Go to the **Security** tab and click **Options**. Switch the **Enable log in** toggle to the on position and click the **Update** button. 

Go to the **Restricted URLs** tab and create a new restricted url. Type **/** in the URL box to restrict the entire site from the homepage, then click the **OK** button. 

Once you've secured the site, you'll need to make a login for yourself too, as this is separate from your DPG login.

> 💡 **Tip:** By default users are able to sign up, verify their email address and immediately access the site with their login. You can turn on **Require activation by admin** if you want the ability to approve each signup before the user can access the site.

![](https://cache.media.digitalphotogallery.com/hyqelgcvfopo/images/a0ceeb78-1015-11e7-87b0-269460a4cb02/743_support.jpg?generated=20170323221531)

After you've enabled login, you may want to add a background image to the login screen. Go to **Design** > **User Screens** > **Background** and upload a high res image or choose a background colour. }

### Configure pages
{video:0a493876-0f4c-11e7-a9e2-02daa0202684

By default, the press site is created with two pages: a **Masonry Gallery** and a **Keywords** page. 

**Masonry Gallery** page - this is where all your content goes. Add your images to the Gallery set to see them on the Gallery page. 

**Keywords** page - this is configured to display images with the keyword **day:<% Day %>**. This is a [dynamic keyword](https://support.digitalphotogallery.com/articles/article/15821148-6a12-11e6-bf8c-be279144b405). Any images with this keyword will automatically be shown on the keyword page, organised by the day they were captured. This is great for multi-day events, but if your event is just a single day you can remove this page or change it to a different keyword.

#### Read more about:

*  [Using keywords](https://support.digitalphotogallery.com/articles/article/6b8fd1a4-080d-11e6-8390-16474ff850f4)
* [Adding new pages to a site](https://support.digitalphotogallery.com/articles/article/196bbd9e-ac1b-11e2-b218-f23c91703874)
* [Controlling navigation items](https://support.digitalphotogallery.com/articles/article/a4ad2c9c-d6cb-11e6-a00c-6e61028599f7)

### Adding a public host

Before you launch your site you should always add a [public host](https://support.digitalphotogallery.com/articles/article/acf006a6-f69b-11e5-a5da-16474ff850f4). It will be indexed by search engines and content served from a public host loads faster in browsers. A public host could be your own domain name or our free dpg.gallery address.

> 💡 **Tip:** For one-off event sites we recommend that you use a dpg.gallery address as it's quick, easy and secure.