It offers a neat selection of templates as well as enticing cover and page throw in options.
However, when you delve into the editing process, things take a turn.
But allow me to be more specific.
Now, this isnt inherently bad, but the actual options within these menus are poor.
In a similar vein, adding embellishments, like shapes and ribbons, was extremely clunky.
I wanted to add a salmon-colored rectangle against one of my photos, but ran into two key issues.
These rigid, overly simple design choices made the editing process frustrating to say the least.
So, what about the fundamental act of adding photos?
I found this, too, to be a mixed experience.
Firstly, the upload process is pretty easy.
However, its not all plain sailing.
Really, the pure volume of glitches like this was far too high.
It is important to note, however, this price isnt especially steep against competitors.
So, if youre keen to use Shutterfly your best bet is to use a template.
But itwilllet you get past some of the annoying photo editing issues.
If you dont want to use an overarching template, however, there is something of a middle ground.
Lets finish, then, by taking a look at the actual product.
Did it live up to my expectations?
Actually, it looked OK overall.
There were, unfortunately, some instances of patchiness in color.
These werent awful errors, but for more than $100 / 100, youd likely expect better.
At the end of it all, would I recommend Shutterfly for photo book creation?
I dont think so.
But if you want a more personalized layout, this site is not the most user friendly.
Should I buy the Shutterfly photo book?
The likes of Mixbook and Printique offer photo books at a very similar price point.
Its also well-priced, making this site a worthy candidate for your photo book needs.
Read our fullMixbook photo book review.
Read our fullMimeo photo book review.
Any photo books I compared Shutterflys to were as similar in design to this as possible.
