When creating a gallery on Photohawk, you can choose between Draft and Published mode. Understanding the difference helps you control when your customers can access and purchase photos.
Draft Mode
Draft mode allows you to work on your gallery privately without customers being able to view or search for photos.
While your gallery is in Draft, you can:
Upload and organise photos
Customise your gallery settings and theme
Set pricing and print options
Customise the visitor text shown to anyone who tries to access the gallery before it is ready
This is a great place to personalise the experience with a message such as:
"Thanks for checking in! Photos will be uploaded soon - please check back later or subscribe to be notified as soon as they’re ready."
Or
"Thanks for checking in! We’re still uploading photos - feel free to check back soon or subscribe to be notified the moment they’re ready."
Draft mode gives you full control and ensures your gallery is polished and complete before customers engage with it.
Published Mode
Published mode is when your gallery becomes live and fully accessible to the public. Please note; whilst the gallery is published you are still able to upload and organise photos, customise your gallery settings and theme and set pricing and print options. These changes take immediate effect and can be seen on the preview page.
Once published, customers can:
Search for themselves using facial recognition, bib numbers or browsing
Add photos to their cart
Purchase digital downloads or print products
Redeem coupons or event codes
Receive their orders instantly
Because Published mode allows customers to interact with the gallery, we strongly recommend not publishing until all photos have been uploaded.
Publishing early can lead to:
Customers searching before all images are available
Participants feeling disappointed when they can’t find themselves
People using their coupon on fewer photos than intended before more are uploaded
Personal Preference
While many Photohawk members prefer to wait until all photos are uploaded before publishing, others choose to publish immediately so their team can begin internal checks or workflow processes.
Both approaches are valid - you can publish whenever it suits your workflow best.
More Help
For additional information, you may find these articles useful: