New web site ... any sugestions?

[nikonboy]

I finally put together a basic site and was wondering if anybody could

offer some feedback and/or suggestions. Nothing is in stone at the

moment and I am still building it ... THANKS!

<br>

<a href="http://www.silverleafphoto.com">www.silverleafphoto.com</a>

[bill_clark___minnetonka_mi]

Jason,

 

Nice job! Great web site! And it sounds like you continue to tweak it. Since I still use dialup, 56k, it came up real quick. I like the fact that you've put a page on your services and prices. I've got a web site similar to yours with information to help the prospective client sort out some of the issues relative to wedding photography.<P>If you want check my site out and if anything could help you with your business, feel free to copy any of the information from my pages. <P>Here's my URL:<P>

 

<A href="http://www.williamclarkphotography.net">Bonehead Bill's Site!</A><P>Happy Holidays to You!

[john_baker8]

Package #3 seems like a heck of a deal considering that they get 2 additional coffee table albums that you list for $175 each?

[melisa]

Hi, Jason. Easy to navigate and simple. I bypassed the first page, no time to read all the writing, went straight to the gallery and pricing. I'd be more selective of the couple shots, maybe one or two in the corn field and the shot with the bride sitting on the ground with the groom in the tree, you can't see him.

 

The pricing is a concern, since there are no times listed. Package 1 could keep you at the brides house from 6am to 2pm and then what if the reception is at the church, you could be there til 8pm at night. For what you charge by the location, you could still put in an 8+ hour day for very little.

[thomas_sullivan]

pretty nice

 

some of your pics don't fill the border you have set up....looks a little sloppy

 

This is a personal nit, but set up the page to show in the center of the screen, so that different sized screen areas (ie 800x600, 1024x768, etc) always show in the middle of the screen, vice filling the upper left hand corner in varying amounts depending on screen size areas. I think it looks a little nicer and more uniform in look.

[jewan_runhaar]

looks quite nice. I'm missing one thing : color..

You bring in a very bright yellow background in your gallery section, but because there aren't any other colors used, it looks a bit off. Maybe you should try and keep the whole a bit less contrasty (light blue (#DAE4F0) as background-color for the gallery photos, for instance).

Maybe you can add some coloring to the menu or the picture just below it as well.

 

But, other than that, nice work.

[nikonboy]

Thanks for all the feedback ...

 

Thomas what browser are you using? I haven't seen this problem and it could perhaps be a browser problem.

 

As for the centering of images I use to be a web site designer in a past life and that is something that we strived not to do. Your site should stay together as designed on a larger screen size. It was considered unprofessional to allow images to center on a larger screen (say 1600x1200).

 

The gallery section is suppose to have a small yellow border around the images in order to set them off from the background ... sounds like some of you are seeing this as more then just a border. I will have to look into this.

 

Thanks all!

[william_au]

Good start Jason. The navigation is easy and simple which is a big plus. I'll echo some of the comments already made:

 

- if you want people to read the bio stuff on your first page, you may want to devote a page to it...? I felt the urge to skip right to the galleries too.

 

- the site is pretty monochromatic; adding a secondary color or at least more contrast between the menus and other stuff may help with separation and framing; I also agree that the gold accent on the images, without any other yellow/gold on the page, doesn't quite fit

 

- fill the border with your images; also, you may want to size them down a bit, so they fit without too much scrolling on a 800x600 resolution (scrolling is my own personal nit)

[thomas_sullivan]

IE6

 

"...As for the centering of images I use to be a web site designer in a past life and that is something that we strived not to do. Your site should stay together as designed on a larger screen size. It was considered unprofessional to allow images to center on a larger screen (say 1600x1200)...."

 

not the image.........the WHOLE page layout......and all sizes would stay the same. And, actually, that concept was first introduced to me by a web site builder. The guy who wrote the book "Photoshop to Dreamweaver".

[nikonboy]

Thomas ... I am not trying to say that my way is the only right one. I just wanted to explain my reasons for doing it this way. Thanks for the information!

[adam_nance]

I hate having to scroll through images one at a time. I'd rather see a page full of photos or a page full of thumbnails. Different clients are going to be drawn to different images, and they'll click on the type of image they like and pay less attention to the ones that don't interest them. IMHO, feeding all prospective clients the same images in the same order is doing yourself a disservice.

 

I agree with too many words on the homepage and that the pages should be centered.

 

-Adam

[dave_nelson___atlanta__ga]

<p>I really like what you are doing with your site. The lack of animation and splash pages is a relief. I offer the comments below as some things to think about.</p>

 

<p>Centering is a usability nightmare, but fixed width is an even bigger problem. But those are design decisions that must be made.</p>

 

<p>From a usability perspective:</p>

 

<p><b>Overall</b></p>

<ul>

<li>The use of frames is going to limit listings in search engines</li>

<li>The lack of alt attributes will also hurt search engine listings</li>

<li>Using pixels to set font sizes disables font resizing in Internet Explorer</li>

<li>The company logo in the upper left hand corner should always be a link to the home page</li>

<li>The home page should concisely state the purpose of the web site and then the purpose/goal of the company</li>

<li>Ever page should contain a properly formatted copyright notice</li>

<li>The doctype used on the web pages is not complete and is not valid</li>

</ul>

 

<p><b>Horizontal Nav Bar</b></p>

<ul>

<li>The divider before "About" makes it look like something is missing</li>

<li>Gray on gray text is difficult to read, the white on gray is even harder</li>

</ul>

 

<p><b>Gallery</b></p>

<ul>

<li>Placing the next and back buttons above the image will make viewing easier to follow</li>

<li>Giving each photo a caption above it will aid in finding the photo again and showing it to others</li>

<li>Offering a page of thumbnails will also help people share the images</li>

</ul>

 

<p>I personally find the font to small and difficult to read with so much white space between each line.</p>

 

<p><b>Sources:</b></p>

<p><a href="http://useit.com">http://useit.com</a><br>

<a href="http://www.evolt.org/">http://www.evolt.org/</a><br>

<a href="http://www.alistapart.com/">http://www.alistapart.com/</a><br>

<a href="http://www.w3c.org">http://www.w3c.org</a></p>

[gary evans]

Proof read very carefully - this website is all they to form an opinion of you.

 

"During his University years David study photography..." right on the home page.

 

PS, don't know if anyone above mentioned this, just a quick thing I noticed...

[derek_c.]

Nice.<br>

You don't have Mickey Mouse stuffs like Flash or music clips.<br>

That makes your web site inviting to everyone.<br>

That's a smart web designing...<br>

About Center or Left? people don't care.<br>

I am guessing you have yet to work on SEO? (Search Engine Optimization)<br>

[michael mccarley]

Derek "Centered or Left... people don't care"

 

Not exactly. You don't care. Several people do. I happen to be one of them. Many people may not agree but a left justified site with a colored background that does not reach the right side of a high res screen looks bad (in my opinion). A web site needs to have a sense of balance. Everything on the left side of a screen does not feel balanced.

 

Look at your site as though you were a customer. Don't look at the neat things you did, look at it for what it portrays. Does it make you want to look more (not out of morbid curiosity). If not, try again. As your clients what they would change. Not if they like it because most will say the do to not offend. Ask what they would change.

 

One thing I would change on your site, other than centering, is the gallery. Have the images post in a given area with the nav buttons fixed. Don't make clients hunt. Also, the roll over effect makes the button almost vanish. Where'd the button go?

 

Nice look overall.

 

Michael

[steve_west]

took me a minute to figure out what the image was on the index page - thought it was a

plant or something - but i've just got up.

 

the copy sounds like you don't have much confidence to be honest. your history of

photography is irrelevant, as you are only as good as your last job and besides you'll gain

clients through the quality of your work only. have a look at the copy again - 'strive' and

'ensure' used too closely together repeatively.

 

site is nice and simple tho'.. layout might be improved with some tweaking.

[nikonboy]

Thanks for all the feedback ... some great tips and suggestions. I will be updating the site in the next few weeks and will definitely consider all of your thoughts.