In an effort to create a very nice, (NOT EXPENSIVE), website to showcase my photo-work to my customers, I have been looking at some websites other FMers have listed on their profiles.
I have seen sites that look like they cost a fortune and I've seen sites that look kind of, well...... not so great.
Some seem to have to much flash animation and obnoxious sound and others have thumbnails too small to see.
I'm curious what websites do you think are the best?
If I've posted this in the wrong forum, I apologize.
I think if you look to do a site, good navigation is number one.
On our site we have a number one domain which is www.digitalshutterspeed.com you go in there and certain things we are mostly interested in it will take you to its sub site. We at the moment have one for motorsport and models, and we also have an image shop where people can by our photos online. The reason why we have subdomains is because I like model photography, and I like girly things, and things that are quiet simple, so I asked my partner to give me a specail site for the models, so they dont have to get all confused with all the other stuff we shot. He has a specail site for his motorsport clients, a little area for the guys, which I never go into, because cars bore me.
So I think Navigation is key to a good site, you need bars down the side so people can look around you site without having to go back and forth all the time.
The gallerys can have flash in it if you like, CS2 has automated gallerys which are real easy to use, I think that should be the maximum a website should have flash in it, because as cool as it is I find it to be to slow to download, although Im on and 500k plus connection, when I go on to my mums net which is 56k max, those site drives me nut, which when designing for the web you need to think about everyone.
I say keep the design simple, easy to read, easy to navagate, let the photo do all the design for you.
this is some of the photographers sites that I know that you may also what to have a look around.
If you want to have you site as just a folio type things,
site like these will do.
but if you want to sale you images some this is more to what you will need
www.fusephotography.com
that one is alittle more expensive because of the online order faclitys.
But if you dont know how to design websites yourself it may be a little tricky,
but that is basically what I look for in a site
if it has bad navagation I dont hang around long on the site
or if its to slow, or if the images are to small to veiw or to big to fit into the screen, you dont want to have to be scrolling when looking at photos.
Sorry Susan but I got bored with all the new windows opening and clicking on images that took me to some other place and half the links didn't do anything.
I wanted to sign the 'guestbook' is that like what you do in a hotel?
Some of the photography was real nice though!
Where in Australia you from?
Cheers,
Jasin.
yes the guestbook was there and well the people who run guestbook, stop running the guestbook, not sure if that makes any sense, but we are in the progress in getting a new one but we cant make it go black, I told my partner to take it down but he didnt want to, along with the other links that arent linking because he will have them up in a few weeks or so. I dont mantain the digitalshutterspeed site, I only look after the model one he maintains the others.
But the reason why the pop ups, well one because there all separate site, but if your talking about the gallerys in the models site, I understand, I hate it to. But we just started using the cs2 automated galley, as a trail, to see how it goes, and for some reason it wont open in the same page we. tried everything to get it to do that but it wont.
The sports link well isnt meant to be a link because we shoot sport but for another photographer, so we cant put those images on our site, so I just left it in there to sort of say we shoot sport.
If it is really that annoying I will see what we can do.
Susie,
in your website, in the weddings section, where it says "view our online gallery and discover.." there is a broken link. The link is to your hard drive.
Thought you wanted to know.
Cheers
When it comes to looking at photos (or anything bulk), navigation is key.
If the user has to keep clicking back (or close) to view the choices again, it can get quite tedious.
The Olivia Graham site's design is superb. Clean, and not too distracting.
The only issue I have with it is that when you're viewing an image you have very little control over which image you view next (other than the 'next' and 'previous' buttons).
Having to click the 'main' link to get back to the thumbnails kills it for me.
I think the feel and usage of any site is more of a preference issue than anything else.
I think you are one of the more talented photographers in these forums, Chris, and you put people twice your age to shame. Just one example is the lighting and motion exercise you show in another thread in these forums. But on your website, please arrange it so that you don't pop open a new browser window for each photograph. Not singling you out, because this is a common and annoying thing many websites do, including a few cited earlier in the thread.
jasin wrote:
Oh I am an ex Trigg point Pig and thanks for the explanation!
Cheers,
Jasin.
Oh yeah I take most of my sescapes at trigg, beautiful place, I live in Osborne Park so it isnt far. I think I have heard of you before somewhere, did you ever by a camera from Plaza Camera before? you have some amazing work on you website, and you get to shoot some great people.
Glauco wrote:
Susie,
in your website, in the weddings section, where it says "view our online gallery and discover.." there is a broken link. The link is to your hard drive.
Thought you wanted to know.
Cheers
Glauco
oh yeah I forgot about that, I took them down because there my sisters wedding photos which I had up there but, well I took them on a medium format camera a few years ago and well I lets just say I have learnt so much more sense then so I took them down cause I thought they are quiet embarrasing, and well we havent shot a wedding yet. But when I do I will post them up. I tell my partner to remove the link.
It's not fancy, but I think it works. Navigation is simple: the link to take you back from anywhere is always at the top, there are "next" and "previous" buttons on both thumbnail pages and photo pages. I find the site's speed more than satisfactory.
Since Pbase uses custom style sheets, everything except the size of the thumbnails is customizable. You can even add a feature where people can order photos online. Some people even have Paypal available!
I won't comment on the quality of the photos, I'll leave that to you. Hope this helps.
