Redid my website - seeking honest feedback.

[heather_fazelinia]

<p>Hi everyone,<br>

I recently redid my website and wanted some honest feedback about it. The blog aspect is not done; I am currently in the process of creating content. I collaborated with my fiancee to make the logo and background on the main menu page and I am feeling it is a bit tiny bopper. Anyway feedback would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>www.heatherfazelinia.com<br>

Thanks all,<br>

Heather</p>

[RobertChura]

<p>Well. I am not a wedding photographer but if I was looking for one I probably wouldn't choose yours only because I do not know where you are and you do not provide a phone number. I saw that I could email you and that probably is the new trend but I would rather talk to a prospective photographer.</p>

<p>I think the flash on the initial page is a little annoying and it shows nice images but once again nowhere is your name.</p>

<p>In your Bio, it seems I learned a lot about you personally but not a lot about your ability to photograph.<br>

If possible I would make the music default to off.<br>

I do like your images and it shows you have talent!</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>A lot of people don't like music auto-start. They may be browsing at work or anywhere that people don't want to be disturbed. Also, if the music is not licensed, you shouldn't be using it.</p>

<p>I agree with Robert about the location but I'm not sure about phone numbers. Nobody ever calls me without other contact, although occasionally that is via text messaging.</p>

<p>You shouldn't have pages without your information on them, at least your name. Your image pages have no information on them, you're missing on both name retention. This is especially important on the splash page. </p>

<p>Drawing a line through a section name has the opposite effect that you want - it makes it appear that it's not going to be there. I don't want to know that much about you (About page) and agree that at least a small amount of talk about photography would be good. Some pricing might be helpful so that you don't have to respond to people who want very low cost wedding photography. </p>

<p>There are people here who can comment on the images although you didn't ask about that - I did notice a couple where the bouquet got clipped at the top, which you may not want to show. I will mention that some images seem to be slightly off on white balance (really important with wedding outfits) and some seem a bit flat and need some more post work. Otherwise, the images should be good sales tools.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

 

[Spearhead]

<p>Also, a few comments to help SEO. You need better Description and Title meta-tags. These are really important to Google pickup. A lot of sites use the Title for keywords, since Google (and Bing and Yahoo, I believe) now ignore the keywords.<br></P>

<p>You also should look at - or have your web developer look at - code for Facebook Open Graph. When people (including you) post your site on FB, it will look professional. <br></p><p>

Also, you should have links for your FB, Twitter and Instagram accounts. You have these accounts but not linking to them isn't helping. They should be on the About and Contact pages at a minimum.</p>

[William Michael]

<p>I haven’t looked at your new website; I cannot easily do that at the moment.<br>

What I want to contribute is that you consider ‘branding’. <br>

This is usually the step before creating the individual marketing and promotions streams. (website, facebook, business cards etc . . .) <br>

It is important that all your streams reflect, endorse and support your brand.<br>

Also it is beneficial to have your brand as a reflection of your (photographic) style. <br>

<br>

WW </p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>Hi Heather, I looked at your site and noticed an inconsistency when viewed on a desktop, a laptop and a couple of tablets; </p>

<p>The default "Portfolio" page behaves differently from the "Wedding" page in that the former can only be navigated through Previous-Next arrows while the latter is swipeable on a touchscreen; the latter is preferred.</p>

<p>The "Portfolio" page also does not auto-resize correctly if the tablet orientation is changed from landscape to portrait. It appears to be optimized for landscape viewing only. </p>

<p>Otherwise, nice photos, and I concur with the previous comments. </p>

[Dieter Schaefer]

<blockquote>

<p>A lot of people don't like music auto-start.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I am only going to comment on that part - it's a big no-no for me. It startles me every time - I find it intrusive and imposing. And only 100% of the time, my first reaction is to close the browser window or tab; there's no second chance to recover from that negative first impression. </p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>Although I generally find auto-start music annoying, I'm also not in the target demographic of the site.</p>

<p>Maybe potential customers - anyone getting married and planning for it - will find the music pleasing and put them in the wedding mood; who knows. It might be useful to ask a few recently married friends or family for their opinion. </p>

 

[William Michael]

<p>I suggest that if you choose to casually canvas opinions of recently engaged or married couples apropos start up music on a wedding photographer's web site that you ask specifically if they would NOT proceed to look at the images and read some details if there were NO music on start up.</p>

<p>My personal opinion: start music on a website drives me nuts, but I have that mostly tempered/controlled because all computers' audio are switched to mute.</p>

<p>One main reason that it drives me nuts is that I keep odd hours and often am using search engines when others in my house are sleeping, or studying; or I am in my office area when others are working and I am NOT paying them to be distracted by a blast of music.</p>

<p>WW</p>

<p> </p>

[mark_harrington1]

The debate goes on and on about music on sites, the biggest risk is that the couple may not like the style of music you

select and it will turn them off, also there are some concerns that brides may be looking while at work. With regards to

both, music selection can greatly enhance and compliment your style and help make a connection with the couple. After

all, very few weddings are probably using acid rock, gangster rap etc for their romantic images. I can't image anyone

using 2 Live Crew's music for their wedding and if they were so inclined I would definitely not be their style of

photographer... There are some "Standards" that most brides identify with and to some degrees expect, even if it's not

their personal taste. Think about how often classical music is used even though the couple may never listen to it in daily

life...

 

As far as music at work, so many websites use sound, it's likely turned off or no speakers are connected to the computer.

[heather_fazelinia]

<p>First of all, I would like to say thank you to every one of you who took the time to critique my website. I assure you I am taking notes! I also thank you for the complements to my pictures; my heart is filled with glee!<br>

<strong>I. What I plan to change:</strong><br>

1. I will definitely add my location. I cannot believe I overlooked this lol.<br>

2. I will add more about my ability to photograph, specifically how I plan for the wedding days and how I go about executing (EUREKA)! I do not have a lot of experience nor do I have any publications to brag about. I have been a photographer for 11 months. What do you think?<br>

3. I will by default have the music off but leave it as optional (royalty free song). I agree that this is annoying, I too am a person who often is startled by auto music pages but I thought I was exceptional, although I do like the song that I chose.<br>

4. Pricing – I may not give an all exclusive list but a starting price so people at least know what tier.<br>

5. I will fix the wedding and detail to a swiping rather than clicking arrow format to be better suited for all platforms.</p>

<p><strong>II. What I will consider:</strong></p>

<ol>

<li>Adding a phone number. I suppose I could leave a number but having a full time job on top of this it would likely just go to voicemail. Just out of curiosity how would that make you feel if you had to leave a voicemail about your inquiry? I am much better with emails.</li>

</ol>

<p>III. <strong>What I need to learn about before I can implement changes:</strong></p>

<ol>

<li>Robert, you also indicated the flash page is annoying, is this because of the lack of name, because of the music, or is there another reason why it is annoying? </li>

<li>Jeff, you indicated that I should have more info on every page, at least my name. Could you be more specific about the type of info I need and/or show me an example? As far as the name should I just restamp my name/logo on each page? Should I caption each picture?</li>

<li>I may have gone a bit overboard with the personal info. From what I understand transparency and hobbies can be leveraged for a good client fit. Jeff, any advice as to how much I should reveal about myself?</li>

<li>Which images seems flat/off color balance. I actually went through the photos and noticed one that was obviously off white balance that I did not catch prior.</li>

<li>SEO – I am still learning about this confusing topic but according to Neil Patel, google made changes to the algorithm and it is more about content and less about meta tags. Please correct me if I am wrong!</li>

<li>Getting rid of the cross out line on the menu text. I am not 100% sure how to do this yet, I will have to google it.</li>

<li>I will have to google the following (Facebook Open Graph. When people (including you) post your site on FB, it will look <a href="/wedding-photography-forum/00d4qm">professional </a>. )</li>

<li>As Far as the social networking links, I will double check the links but I thought they were in working order. I will however add them to my about page as well.</li>

<li>I read a few books on branding and am still quite confused on it. I am trying to create an identity as a business with a transparent personal life so that “brides feel like they know me” but I am finding this to be the most difficult part. I am not really sure what my values are or my target client. Sure they are brides, but what kind? I don’t know.</li>

<li> I will have to learn about how to make my site compatible to all platforms. I may have to pay someone. In reference to “The "Portfolio" page also does not auto-resize correctly if the tablet orientation is changed from landscape to portrait. It appears to be optimized for landscape viewing only.”</li>

</ol>

<p>I have spent more time on the business aspect of things than I have been shooting…they weren’t lying! I am having a blast though. I am currently learning how to blog, which actually just learning how to write and a bit of marketing. *takes a deep breath*<br>

Again, wonderful, wonderful feedback!<br>

Sincerely,<br>

Heather</p>

[Spearhead]

<blockquote>

<p>Jeff, you indicated that I should have more info on every page, at least my name. Could you be more specific about the type of info I need and/or show me an example? As far as the name should I just restamp my name/logo on each page? Should I caption each picture?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Your name and logo should be on every page. The one that really stands out is the splash page. I have no idea whose site I'm on unless I check the URL, but not every browser shows the URL. It's just good practice to make sure at least your name is on each page.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>SEO – I am still learning about this confusing topic but according to Neil Patel, google made changes to the algorithm and it is more about content and less about meta tags. Please correct me if I am wrong!</p>

</blockquote>

<p>It is about content, but the Title and Description are used in display of your site. Also, content is tough with a photo site but if your title tag on each page includes your information, that will help.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>As Far as the social networking links, I will double check the links but I thought they were in working order. I will however add them to my about page as well.</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Sorry, they are working but they should be on both About and Contact. </p>

[nsfbr]

<p>My honest feedback done sort of stream of consciousness:</p>

 

<ul>

<li>I think your photography is pretty good. Better than quite a few beginning wedding shooters I've seen, and indicate you have a decent hand at post processing.</li>

<li>I really don't get the website at all. A couple of pages that let me look at images. The weddings page is the same as the default landing pages. </li>

<li>I would completely lose or redo the About page. From the first part where I learn you were bored and photography was your second choice to pottery to the completely unneeded and quite pretentious list of random "facts." I'll say it again, for a photographer who started in 2013 you are not bad at all. Do not sell yourself short. You want a polished, professional image, not a 38 (38!) item list of fun facts. </li>

<li>The contact page is a loser. You really expect people to give you their information but you will not give them yours? Just give your email address if you don't want phone calls, although I'd have a business phone # given as well. </li>

<li>As others have mentioned, you need to tell people where you are. Although I know that you are an RN, and love beer and coffee, I don't know if you are in my time zone, my state or my city. I'd gladly trade the first three for the latter three.</li>

<li>A positive thing that I would advocate generally for others as well, I do like that you have a single photo of yourself. That lets me know a great deal and does establish that you are a person I could relate to. </li>

<li>All the other about stuff could be edited down to current info. I don't care nearly as much about the history as the present - tell me what I can expect from you, how you work, what you will do to make sure things work. Are you focusing in the photojournalistic approach, retro/b/w, classic posed, not posed, engagements? I'm trying to find a person to hire for an important event. Potentially one of the most important events in my life. I'm not going to go down a rabbit hole in hopes that I'll eventually find out what I need to know from you. You need to give it to me clearly, succinctly, and professionally.</li>

</ul>

<p>Good luck, please don't take my criticisms personally. You're an RN, you can do anything and take anything I can throw your way. This much I know.</p>

[Spearhead]

<blockquote>

<p>A positive thing that I would advocate generally for others as well, I do like that you have a single photo of yourself. </p>

</blockquote>

<p> <br>

I'm not a supporter of this. First, I've never seen any correlation between appearance and photography skills or business skills. Second, many people use either older photos or heavily processed photos of themselves once they hit the mid-40s. I do portraits for business use and get this kind of request all the time. Third, speaking for myself, who's going to hire Uncle Fester except for my goth friends?</p>

[heather_fazelinia]

<p>Joel, thanks you really made me laugh. And good feedback, I agree and never really thought about such.</p>

[William Michael]

<blockquote>

<p>“I read a few books on branding and am still quite confused on it. I am trying to create an identity as a business with a transparent personal life so that “brides feel like they know me” but I am finding this to be the most difficult part. I am not really sure what my values are or my target client. Sure they are brides, but what kind? I don’t know.”</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Sometimes books can make things more complicated than need be – your books might fall into that category. That does not mean I suggest to stop reading books.</p>

<p>I suggest that you start with a basic approach.</p>

<p>1. Define your Goal – be specific and concrete.</p>

<p>2. Define your Business in terms so it will achieve that Goal.<br>

(Mostly all small business owners never do this – they never “Define their Business”.<br>

Added to that, many Photographers who take on “Clients”, do not understand that they then are a Small Business Owner, and that the “Business” is the Entity which is responsible to provide the Owner with the outcomes to achieve the Business Owner’s Goal. </p>

<p>3. List four things that the Business will be known for, that will achieve that Goal. (Branding the Business)</p>

<p>WW </p>

[William Michael]

<p>I have now looked at your website.</p>

<p>The single most important (business) comment I make is redo the “About” section.</p>

<p>It was a fantastic read, I loved it. It suggested to me that you have all the ingredients to make a good small business owner and also make some money from Wedding and Portrait Photography. I am glad I read it.</p>

<p>But redo it. Simplify it. Bring it into the NOW.</p>

<p>Joel sums it most adequately in his dot points. </p>

<p>WW</p>

[studio460]

<p>I think your site looks pretty good. It's fast and responsive, which is key to keeping your bounce rate low. It's clean and uncluttered (though, as others have mentioned, you do need stronger identity/branding elements). But aside from a few editorial/layout changes, I think you're off to a great start! Good sites take time to build, and in time, your site should improve as you continue to learn and gather more ideas.</p>

<p>As far as SEO tactics are concerned, best practices still include good, relevant content. And from my own experience, high-quality referral links still reign king. But also keep in mind, the primary goal of sites similar to yours aren't necessarily to generate leads on their own--these types of sites typically host portfolio work, primarily supplying sales <em>support</em>, providing a place for prospects to visit whom you've already solicited via conventional means (i.e., person-to-person selling). Note that Google's algorithm is super-secret and constantly changing. Try searching Amazon for "SEO," and you'll find a lot of results. Try to pick the most recently published books for the most up-to-date info (stay away from self-published e-books).</p>

<p>Again, I'm pretty impressed with your site's responsiveness--do you mind sharing the platform you're running (e.g., WordPress, RapidWeaver, etc.)? I'm building a hosted WordPress site and it's currently wicked-slow. Someday, I hope to convert it to static-HTML site (as opposed to a dynamically-generated site like WordPress) using FreewayPro OS X. For now, I'm using WordPress more as a prototype platform until the site is more complete.</p>

[heather_fazelinia]

<p>Hi Ralph,<br>

Thank you for the compliments. I actually use a wordpress template but it is hosted on a server that my fiancee set up for me (he is my tech support). He said he uses a good server that is "faster" than most. It might be that you need to change hosts, or the fact that you need to perhaps update your template. Sometimes that helps. Also make sure your images are optimized but I think some templates and/or plugins do this automatically with wordpress. I wonder if the update helped because I remember my site taking forever to load.<br>

<br />Also, I have been updating my website the past few weeks since I started this post. I wanted to say that I did change the about page, although I am not finished I will add more of my story on a blog post so I don't bore people. I also want to add a FAQ page, and a pricing/investments page. <br>

I decided against putting my logo on every single page, I really think it looks tacky and does not compliment my template. <br>

I did go ahead and add my phone number, but I am terrible at answering my phone lol.<br>

I also changed the main menu background, I hear picture backgrounds are trendy now days.<br>

I attempted to fix some SEO meta tag problems but I am learning that process. <br>

It is indeed a work in progress. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>Don't worry about using WordPress, it's very fast if you know what you are doing. I worked on this website, some of the effects slow it down, but it's not slow in any way. Also, don't buy books on SEO, it's a constantly changing target. The best information is online because it's refreshed as soon as Google/Yahoo/Bing make changes.</p>

[studio460]

<p>Heather said:</p>

<p><em>. . . I actually use a wordpress template but it is hosted on a server that my fiancee set up for me (he is my tech support). He said he uses a good server that is "faster" than most. It might be that you need to change hosts . . .</em><br /> <br /> Well it sounds like you're very fortunate to have such a valuable "asset" (your fiancé) in-house! Yes, I suspect it's likely my hosting provider just over-selling its rackspace (I currently only have a shared-server account). I'm using a code-optimized template, silo-based architecture, and virtually no third-party plug-ins or widgets. Are you on a dedicated server or do you run a private server in your residence?</p>

[heather_fazelinia]

<p>Hi Ralph, we use a dedicated gaming server, we pay another party. My fiancee had informed me that the game host servers are cheaper and faster. He also mentioned that because it has to be good enough to host and support games it's usually higher quality over all, and that not many people know about it. I guess they will now. :)<br>

-Heather</p>

[studio460]

<p>Sounds good, Heather--thanks for the tip! I was attracted to my current provider by their comprehensive cPanel support, plus their 24/7, live tech support. But they were recently bought by the giant hosting firm in Utah, and instead of my site being hosted at a Texas-based datacenter, it was migrated to Provo, Utah just a month or so after I signed up (of course, without telling me).</p>

<p>I plan to move to a dedicated server with another provider when the site is nearer completion for the increased performance and scalability that promises. As you probably know, finding a good host is key to consistent performance, and finding that host can be difficult since so many "hosting reviews" are either cleverly disguised sponsored ads or affiliate marketing sites with ties to a particular hosting company--so, you're <em>very</em> fortunate to have that one major hurdle behind you!</p>

<p>Again, while implementing a fully realized SEO strategy is perhaps less critical for your application, most experienced site-builders agree on current "best practices" (try a Google search for "SEO best practices"). Again, be aware that many SEO informational sites eventually require a "buy-in" (e.g., paid consultancy), or are simply affiliate marketing programs masquerading as independent advice.</p>

<p>Try performing a Google search for "SEO," and you'll find that 99% of them will offer some advice, but then a few seconds later, bombard you with landing pages to "convert" you via various click-through tactics, or simply re-direct you to their particular marketing program, since hawking SEO advice has now become the "get rich in real estate" gimmick of the Internet age. Certainly there's a lot of valuable advice out there, but separating the wheat from the chaff can be a bit of a chore.</p>

<p>Anyhow, good luck in your business, and keep up the good work!</p>

[midgley]

<p>I think it is Flash.<br>

I do not run Flash on the computer I look at this with, so I got a plain white page with nothing else.<br>

It is possible to provide a few lines of text if Flash is not running, and it is better to provide the website as HTML5, although people looking at it at work may not be able to use their corporate web browser, if that is MS IE. That may not be intirely bad.</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>I don't think it's flash. It's running a WP jquery plug-in for creating galleries.</p>