How to put your collection online … and make it searchable!

It took a LONG time for me to do, but I ended up putting my entire Canseco collection online.  I have been very impressed with how it came out!  You can check it out at www.CansecoCollector.com

The setup is incredibly smooth, and I think it would benefit a lot of folks who are interested in putting the time in to do it.  Here is a quick tutorial on getting your own collection on in your very own searchable database!  The system utilizes lightboxes and is fully responsive, which means it is mobile friendly.

The only major qualm I have with the system is the relatively weak (albeit functional) search functionality.  In order to search, you will need to do so by using exact phrases.

  1. Find a hosting company and setup WordPress – If you have an inkling of technical know-how, this isn’t difficult at all.  Just make sure that you read up on making WordPress secure, as it is notorious for getting hacked.  The last thing you want to do is spend countless hours only to have your site compromised.
  2. Install the Photo Gallery Plugin by Web Dorado – This is the best photo gallery for WordPress I have seen around!  You can download it for free (though there is a paid version as well!)
  3. Take time to learn the system – It took some tweaking for me, but I was able to get it to look and perform the way I wanted it with time.
  4. Create / Scan / Upload / Title – From here, all you need to do is create a gallery, scan your cards, upload them and title them!
  5. Don’t forget Tags – The Web Dorado Photo Gallery has a very useful tagging system, so you can create tags like game used cards, Autographs, rookies, etc.
  6. Post the Gallery – When you are done loading your pictures into the gallery (you can set them in albums by year, but I opted to do them all in one gallery) go to the “Generate short code” section, grab the short code and paste it in a new page.

That is all there is to it!  If this is a few levels above your head in terms of technical know-how, but want this done for your collection, contact me at tanmanbaseballfan@gmail.com and I’ll give you a quote for doing so!