New website possibility - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/03/2006 11:32:50 PM · #1

I have been in need of a major website overhaul. I was just wondering if anyone would be willing to take a look at this new one that I am working on and tell me what they think. It is with ifp3, and I have a trial of the service right now. I have access to all of the features and such, though I have not added all of my galleries and pages yet. I am just wondering if you could have look and give me opinions on if this service is worth pursuing. Things to keep in mind...

1. I am not very tech savy when it comes to making websites.
2. I don't have enough time to learn a lot about this stuff at this point in time.
3. This service will cost me $240 per year, or $30 per month.
4. This is my current website.
5. This is the possible new website.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to look!

bfox2

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

08/03/2006 11:41:22 PM · #2

As soon as I saw it was flash I was all ready to tell you how much I hated it...as far as flash goes thats one of the best galleries I've seen. Its nice and simple, pretty quick, gives a number of different thumbnail sizes (I like the hover image). If you'll make enough money to justify the added cost I vote green light.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

08/03/2006 11:43:49 PM · #3

The speed of the galleries is one of my concerns...I am hoping that if I get enough people here to check it out I will get a wider variety of internet connections and will find out if I have a problem or not. Thanks for looking bfox!

Prof_Fate

08/03/2006 11:44:32 PM · #4

your current site could use some updating - and none of the links weem to actually be links.

On the new site - it's flash? I am not a flash fan as there are still a lot of computer users that can't get/see flash sites and they don't get webcrawled which may limit your coming up in search engines.

I definitely don't like the full screen pop up - i have never seen a site do that and most certainly don't like it. then it has another window that pops up over top of the nicest part of the site.

IMO, keep trying.

amandalore

Canon EOS-40D

08/03/2006 11:44:44 PM · #5

ooo, I really like the little preview window that comes up when you hover over the photo... nice slogan too

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

08/03/2006 11:48:14 PM · #6

I realize that the current site is in desperate need of updating...thus the post and the questions. LOL ;) I only included a link to current so that you could all see the comparisons between the two...

edit...I think I can adjust the full page popup, just haven't played with all of the settings yet...

Message edited by author 2006-08-03 23:48:55.

amandalore

Canon EOS-40D

08/03/2006 11:50:00 PM · #7

Originally posted by carisakD70:

well, your home page on the old one looks good. Papyrus is my favorite font, unfortunately, everyone elses too, a lot of people feel it is overused and doesn't look elegant because of that... but that's all I could tell you because there aren't any links or anything

redsunphotography

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II

08/03/2006 11:53:32 PM · #8

I don't really like the second one because I hate flash sites with a passion. I know it's all the rage, but I usually visit websites once and if there is no functionality, I never go back again.

The first one, nothing seems to work. I would suggest rather than doing individual image "buttons" to make one large image that has all of the images in it, and use an imagemap to make them link instead. The more individual items you have, the more likely it is people might end up with formatting issues.

I've made 2 websites in my time. Both of them were very basic. I recently changed my main website from its old, slightly more complicated design, to a very very base bones site. Partly due to the fact that I have taken down my "business" until I am done school, and will be using it as a sort of online portfolio of sorts. I also didn't like the old site.

If you suck at HTML, I recommend Macromedia Dreamweaver. It's a huge help. I suck at HTML, no, rather, I don't know any HTML at all.

If you need help with Image Maps in Dreamweaver, let me know, I'd be happy to help.

P.S. I do like the overall design of the flash site, I just hate flash.

-Hideo

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

08/03/2006 11:56:25 PM · #9

LOL this is why I am so hopeless at web design! You guys tell me you don't have links, but when I pull up the site they work fine, and I know that for my family and obviously some of my clients, they work as well. One client did web design a little bit, and she also said they didn't work but that she was able to figure out where they went or some such thing...

If I decide to go back and build another site from scratch what do I need to do differently so that the links work for everyone? I seriously might just have to hire this out or something...

Thanks for trying to look at the old site amandalore :)

Dirt_Diver

Nikon D3s

08/04/2006 12:18:23 AM · #10

You know I have to say that I really love a flash site. I have seen where people say that they really don't care for flash sites but I really don't understand why. The load faster and they are very attractive. There is more flash in life then people really know. News stations use flash you show you things all the time. Commercials use flash to show pops up on the screen all the time. Good example would be a car dealership. To get the prices to flash up on the screen they use a transparent background with a flash text because it is fast.

I really like the site but I have a few suggestions for ya. When entering the site you see your home page that pops up, when you click on the enter button it opens a new html page. You need to create a second movie clip that allows you to open the second scene with in the first movie clip. This will allow you to keep you pages as one. Or create a MC "preload" in the first frame followed by a second MC "site" in the second frame that enters the site.

I don't know if you paid for this design but it looks really good and I like the hover over image MC. I would like to see the .fla to see how it is all put together, Also another thing. Once your gallery pops up, you can drag the window around the screen. This should be locked and not allowed to move.

You should also create more content on your after entered page. Then add a back button that will allow the users to navigate around the site better.

Spread out your links so you can see them at all times.
flash is very tricky to handle but you did a wonderful advanced job.

kyebosh

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 80-200 f/2.8L

08/04/2006 12:28:31 AM · #11

I like your current website better. I absolutely hate websites that open more pages in different windows. Also I don't think the new site looks all that good. I've seen some spectacular websites but i'm not sure how much those would cost over that.

erschmitt

Nikon D200

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED

08/04/2006 12:28:51 AM · #12

As soon as your site hijacked my browser window and made it full screen I was out of there. I *hate* sites that do that, It's my browser on my computer - I get to pick how my windows go, not you.

amandalore

Canon EOS-40D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

08/04/2006 12:37:53 AM · #13

Originally posted by carisakD70:

Thanks for trying to look at the old site amandalore :)

lol, you're welcome... but yeah, if I were you, I'd stay with the old site, keep it simple, I personally have no preferrence (spelling?), but it seems that a lot of people hate flash whereas noone will complain about the old one...

good luck with whatever you go with, I'm sure it will be fine

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

08/04/2006 12:46:16 AM · #14

As soon as your site hijacked my browser window and made it full screen I was out of there. I *hate* sites that do that, It's my browser on my computer - I get to pick how my windows go, not you.

Wow Eric...tell me how you really feel :) LOL

Just to be clear...since my flash seems to have offended a few ;)

All I added was the images and the text...the rest is all premade, this is why I like the second site...it was VERY easy for me to do...but if it will hinder clients it doesn't really help me.

Here's a thought though...current website seems to be fairly non functional however, I got four inquiries from that site this week alone. So which would hinder more customers? Old less than perfect site, or new flashy site.

Do you think that joe blow off the street is going to be as offended by flash as some of you are?

Prof_Fate

08/04/2006 01:02:25 AM · #15

I get no links on either site (using Windows XP and Firefox).

You have to assume that visitors have the bare minumum of computing power. Yeah, we all have broadband but it's still a minority.

I know a couple of friends that surf at work (work has broadband) but they can't get flash and aren't able/allowed to install it - security reasons.

I was at a coffee shop last fall that had computers for browsing and I wanted to show the folks I was with a neat site a photographer had - guess what, it was in flash and that computer would not display flash. So no one got to see the info the photographer spent all that money to prepare.

You need to test you site on several different computers - yours, at work, at the library, at a friends house, different browsers, etc. Firefox and IE will display things differently, so unless you want to write your site for every browser out there you need to keep it simple - IF you want to be sure everyone gets your message.

Good design does not mean you need flash or active server pages or any of that expensive stuff. Just like taking pictures - it's not the camera (so they say anyway)

KevinRiggs

Canon EOS-1Ds

08/04/2006 01:28:52 AM · #16

Looked through both sites. I got links in the old site and Flash in the new.

You have to decide for yourself where your target market is, what facilitates them buying your services and then either figure out how to do that or put together the money to have that created.

Your first site works for me in IE and FireFox but it has waaaay to many links and the amount of text is just out of the question if you're selling photography services. To sell photography, display photographs. Text is almost incidental. Show 'em what you can do and give 'em a link to contact you or a phone number to call and that's very likely all you need (depending on your target market). Navigation is a key. What is your customer going to be concerned with when she comes to your site? She obviously knows something about you if she found a link or was directed to your site by someone else so what is it that you think she's going to do? You can get as technical as analyzing click-through patterns to find out what paths people take in your current site and even see when they stop clicking (I'll bet you that unless they're determined its around 5-8 clicks into your site).

The new site is Okay but its way more "techie" than "artsy". If you're going after the "high-tech" brides then learn how to do cool geeky shit like making a podcast of someone's wedding and they'll eat it up (a local studio decided to pursue this market and in a small/medium sized down like Chattanooga they tripled their sales prices in a year; geeks love to spend that money). If you're looking for a more "down home" bride then I'm betting that while you may not encounter the same level of vitriol from brides looking at your site you will encounter some intimidated visitors who aren't sure about windows moving on their own and new windows popping up (is it a virus or was it supposed to do that?).

Using a tool to create a site can be great because the tool allows you to take shortcuts without having to learn the skills that get so damned boring that you end up wanting to take shortcuts. Unfortunately these same tools often leave you with a distinctively high-tech odor about you because most of the "cool-factor" software is developed by geeks and we tend to see stuff the way we like it.

I don't know what tool to use to create a site, I use a text editor and just write all my scripts and HTML/DHTML and all my resource files by hand so I depend on others to test my site and tell me how they perceive the functionality and based on their responses I have a fair idea of where I'm landing in terms of my target market.

If you are serious about using your website as a marketing tool then you might consider that its a tool that you can put money into designing one time and reap benefits everyday without having to pay anything else to distribute it to potential clients (well, you may have monthly hosting fees but $9.99 or even $19.99 wouldn't touch what most studios pay in marketing fees a month so its negligible in my opinion). If you look at the investment that way you can probably see the benefit of having a site designed so that it achieves the experience for your potential brides and even furthers your branding so that when people think of you or even when they visit your website you reinforce the elements of yourself and your work that you want to try and sell your business on.

Good luck with the whole site design issue; its a bear and asking a photog to help you design it may make about as much sense as asking a programmer to design it. If you plan on depending much on it as a marketing tool then you probably need to look to a design shop that builds websites but only after spending time with you to find out about your marketing so that they can go craft something and then they can explain in detail how their design answers the questions of who will use your site, how they will use it and how long (or how many clicks) it should take the average user to get useful info out of the site they design. Oh yeah, don't forget to put more pics into it, too.

Kev

redsunphotography

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II

08/04/2006 02:48:38 AM · #17

I love Flash animations. I hate every other use for Flash.

Flash websites always tend to be too stylistic and have very little meat. It's like eating at a fine restauraunt. They charge you ridiculous amounts, and sure, the food looks good and tastes good, but you have to go eat afterwards.

-Hideo