The Turning Gate (the folks that make the Lightroom Web Module plug-ins that I use to create my website) has released their CE4 versions of the plug-ins. CE4 takes Lightroom web publishing to a new level. Frankly, I’m pretty amazed at how they managed to incorporate many requests from their customers.
Keep in mind that anyone creating plug-ins for Lightroom is limited by the actual capabilities of Lightroom. Sure, they can extend and add things, but they can’t make Lightroom do things that it’s not capable of. For example, many TTG customer requests could only be accomplished if Lightroom was capable of exporting a database out of the web module.
But what a web designer can do is include code in the exported web pages that interfaces with a database. You just need the database.
So a big change in CE4 is the incorporation of the TTG-BE, the TTG Back End. Part of TTG-BE includes databases. This all started with the TTG CE3 Cart and has been expanded in CE4.
With it they’ve been able to include a search function, breadcrumbs for navigation, and more. And it leaves room for all sorts of potential.

But with greater capabilities come greater complexities and a perhaps even steeper learning curve than with previous versions. The irony is that people request more and more capabilities and then complain when the plug-ins get more and more complex. Want simple? Use the default Lightroom HTML gallery.
Want a do-it-yourself web site that’s on the cutting edge of web standards, has good SEO, works on all devices, and is completely under your control? And can be managed from Lightroom? Then you’ll have to get your hands a little dirty and invest some time learning how to use these tools. Your other option is to hire a web designer. Or go with one of those generic services.

One of my favorite new features is in the Publisher plug-in.

TTG Publisher is not a web module plug-in. It’s installed via Lightroom’s Plug-in Manager and works within  Lightroom’s Publish Services control pane of the Library Module. TTG Publisher uses templates that you create with CE4 Gallery, CE4 Stage, and CE4 Autoindex to create web albums (Gallery and Stage) or Album Sets (Autoindex). Using Publisher, you create Collections within the Publish Services that are uploaded to the web. You can add, delete, or modify images in Lightroom and then simply click the Publish button and have your changes appear on your website. It’s pretty slick.

In the previous versions of TTG Publisher, when you created Albums (galleries) and Album Sets (indexes) you needed to add any text for the page in the Page Copy field of Publisher’s Create/Edit dialog boxes. You can still do that, but what’s new and exciting is that now you can also include any text that you also entered in the Publisher template. What this means is that you can include standardized text in any of your galleries instead of having to write it, or paste it in, every time. This includes text in the new sidebars (Yes! CE4 has sidebars!)

For a more thorough roundup of the new features, visit the What’s New in CE4 entry of the TTG documentation.

And I’ll soon be updating my TTG Tips and Tricks with a more handy tips on using CE4