The Open Photographic Society (OPS) was conceived early in 2007, and the first website was established in June 2007. The first image galleries were added in June and July 2007, and the first version (V1) website URL was submitted to the search engines in August 2007.

The Society's first Print Exhibition opened in the UK in October 2008. It raised a total of £1,500 for a local hospice.

The second-generation (V2) website was released in May 2009, and by January 2011 had grown to about ten times the size of the original site. The first immersive panoramic image gallery was added in March 2010.

This third-generation (V3) website was released in November 2012, and incorporated many more aspects of professional and amateur photography. The Society's distinction programme was also introduced at this time.

The Society's Award and Distinction programme was introduced in 2013 and the first Distinction application was received later the same year. The first award of Fellowship (FOPS) was made in 2014.

The fourth generation (V4) website went live in July 2016. In appearance it was very similar to the previous (V3) version but behind the scenes the whole site was entirely new. Although much of the content from the V3 site was updated and reused, lots of new material was also added. The spherical panoramas gallery was completely replaced and new panoramas were added