With regards to my original post and issues, things have improved for me. Not perfect, but it's not going to have people turning off and going elsewhere (from my few tests).
@ZenShooter - I too came from Smugmug. But I gotta say, from my experience, Smugmug had some severe operating issues. One of the most amusing (not!) was the fact that it would stop about a third or halfway through a gallery with about 300 images. Then it would go back to the beginning as if it had reached the end. That, will definitely affect clients' intentions to part with the money in their wallets.
But don't get me wrong, I'm in no way arguing with you and your experiences. Everyone has their own experiences and what they value higher than others. For one, I'd agree that Smugmug often looked better. But, for me, it alway finalised in Smugmug - pretty, Zenfolio - actually works. As a good friend of mine said, use what works for you. :-)