Arguably, the most important is one's website and the range of functionality each of us requires. (There's lots more like blogging and micro-blogging and social network "activation" but that's for another post.) Things like SEO are critical. As is customer support.
There are many choices but none that worked for me as well as PhotoShelter. And while each of us has our own unique criteria for what we are looking for, some of which are purely subjective (like the selection of creative templates), one simple thing puts PhotoShelter at the top of my list: their commitment to sharing their knowledge. (From their own experience and from their communities.) This is huge and harder to accomplish than most people think.
Of course, I appreciate all the work and commitment that has gone into their physical product (it's power, functionality and ease of use.) But as a photographer with lots to learn, I can't tell you how much I look forward to their webinars and how I devour their white papers.
In my opinion, this is what distinguishes good companies from great ones. Putting out a quality product is a first step. How a company works after the sale to ensure the success of their customers is an even bigger step. And when a company chooses to celebrate the accomplishments of their "community"; well for me, that is perhaps the biggest step.
And for that I wanted to say thank you to Allen, Grover and their team. You have made a difference for me and it is appreciated more than you know.
