First things first!

The most important thing to do prior to obtaining a site is to have several albums “waiting in the wings” to be uploaded.  What this means is your photographs are sorted and you have them in the largest file size the website will allow and the file type they suggest.  I learned AFTER I had sorted and uploaded albums that they suggest RAW images on their site so they are ready for potential buyers.  I was unaware this was even possible let alone the BEST way to have your photographs prepared!  So I have to go back and find the raw images whose jpeg files I have already renamed.  Thank goodness metatdata stays with the photograph.  The other thing that is advantageous to do prior to obtaining your site is to make sure your photographs have been keyworded and that they are titled.  It saves a LOT of time once you have your galleries uploaded.  I wasn’t certain how this all worked when I started.  (I use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop elements, but my primary editing tool is Lightroom 3.)  But through trial and error have learned a number of things.  First, be sure to have your IPTC set at import.  In Lightroom 3 when the import screen comes up on the right, there is a box called metadata.  Click on the arrow and then on edit presets.  Fill in as much information as you can for the batch of photographs you are importing to Lightroom, be certain at the very least you have the copyright box, author and other contact information you want to share in this preset; then name the preset so that you can access that every time you import new photographs.  Next, add as many keywords as makes sense for the batch you are importing.  The location should be something they all have in common at the very least.  All of this, if done on import saves lots of time as you work with your photographs, sometimes this aspect is the most tedious and time consuming aspect of preparing your photographs.  If you work this into your everyday workflow you will save a lot of time when you get ready to move forward.