Going along with my photographer tips for Facebook and twitter I decided to talk about some website tips. By trade photographers are not web designers so every tip can help, right? These are my opinion so if you think I’m wrong then so be it but this is how I see it as a customer and a photographer.
My Tips:
- Flash is great for portfolios but not for an entire website. A lot of people use browsers without flash or use iPhones which can’t play flash. Until that changes websites should be designed for all people. Fortunately JQuery slide shows could be degraded to pure html when needed. I use the flash-based SlideShowPro specifically for my portfolio but use JQuery for my intro slide show. Use as little flash as possible!
- STOP THE MUSIC! This is very simple. If I am in a quiet room surfing the web I do not want to hear music playing as I browse websites. A great example. I’m at work and my brother asked me to help him find a wedding photographer. Yes I am not supposed to browse the web but it’s my brother and I want to help. My computer at work has speakers so when I watch webinars I can hear. I did not want to hear the music blast through the speakers when trying to view a wedding photographers portfolio. If I wanted music I would have went to Ryan Adams website or Sigur Ros. I mean come on people… show off your photos, not some other persons music. Seriously, it’s got to stop. If you really want music then so be it, but don’t make it auto play!
- The website should be clean, simple and photographic. Don’t clutter it with non-photography related stuff. Blogs can be used to show off photos, give tips (like this one) or share other great information but try to keep it somewhat related to photography.
- Use WordPress. It will make your life easier.
- I use the Canvas Theme for WordPress because of how customizable and SEO it is, but there are many great premium themes out there specifically for photographers.
- Link to your Twitter, Flickr & Facebook pages.
- Accept comments on your blog posts
- Interact with your viewers!
- Always change content. The best way to brainstorm ideas for blog posts is to read other photography blogs!
- If you really want to turn someone off then make sure their are pop-up ads, banners, etc. No one wants to hover over an image or link just to find a pop-up advertisement. Keep it clean! If you want to advertise then write about the company and place an ad in the blog post.
What tips do you have for photographers looking to design or redesign their websites?
Contributors Tips:
“I know it goes in line with the twitter/ flickr /facebook page but some easily identifiable way to contact the photographer would be good too. Not everyone is comfortable using social media so an email address or contact form is always nice to see.” – Ben Lee
“Don’t use BackType to integrate with Twitter or your comments will be filled with nothing but Retweets” – Matt
Now That You Understand, visit Offbeat Bride’s “An open letter to wedding photographers regarding their websites”
For more great ideas, visit Don GIannatti’s website for his series called “10 Web Site Strategies for Emerging Photographers”
Part 1, Part 2
Jeffro shares “A Few Website Pet Peeves I Have” on WP Tavern. One of which is Social Junk
Tips from Graph Paper Press
- Make your filenames readable by search engines
- Complete in your Alt tags
- Fix images that looks squished
- Cache your website!
- Use a CDN
- Gather Leads
- Mailing list call to action
- Resize images before uploading
- Wordress: Use featured images
- No Flash
read more about these tips from Graph Paper Press
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