What do you's think of my new front page?

[jjmucker]

ok, be easy on me. :D
ive just edited a new front page for my website and would like to know what you's think about it.
ive still got much to do to it, especially the "commercial" and "landscape" links as right now they take you to my zenfolio site. this will be changing soon so everything resides on perfectexpressions.co.uk.

my old one was just a static webpage. this one ive added a little flash slideshow which hopefully doesnt take too long to load.

im a little concerned about the actual "links" text. im thinking it looks too cheap and nasty but as im using sitespinner and dont really know much about code, im a little stuck here to make the page "pop"
also, what do you think of the header logo?

i know its not a buissink website but im fairly happy with it :D

comments welcome and thanks.

John

[notapro]

I like your logo, and I think it's got a nice simple elegance, so I wish that you had used it on the front page. Your site's very user-friendly. Super easy to navigate. Maybe it could use a little work to "pop" as you said, but being able to find what one is looking for is 100x more important.

[notapro]

BTW, the flash took no time to load for me. I have DSL, though, so not sure how it would do on dial-up.

[jjmucker]

thanks.
yeah i wanted to make it user friendy from the word go. theres nothing worse than complicated websites. i do agree it needs a certain pop but im not sure where and how unfortunetly.

about the logo, you think i should change the logo on the front page to look like the logo on the rest of the pages, or vice versa?

yeah the filesize for the flash isnt that large so it should be fine on most pc's hopefully.
by analyzing users who frequent my site over the past few months, all of them have flash enabled systems so im sure everyone can view the slideshow ok

[Bobster]

9 seconds to load the front page.. you need to work on optimising your flash..

and as you are in the UK you need a non-flash alternative to your site for those with diabilities.. as stated by the 1998 disabilites act..

[jjmucker]

9 seconds? what speed is your connection running at?
i could perhaps drop the file sizes slightly and reduce the overall size of the slideshow. that should help it eh

[tim]

It looks like a ten year old design to me, it has no impact and little style, which I think is important for a wedding photography website. The word "I" should be capitalised. Go find a template.

[Bobster]

9 seconds? what speed is your connection running at?
4meg cable..

use a PHP slideshow.. will negate the need to use flash..

[tim]

PHP generates html, html can't do a slideshow. DHTML can, CSS can. Makes no difference if it's php or static html.

[notapro]

about the logo, you think i should change the logo on the front page to look like the logo on the rest of the pages, or vice versa?



I don't really feel like the logo on the front page looks like a logo at all, and I would definitely change it to either match the other pages, or if you want a new logo, make them all the same anyway. The one on the front page seemed to be just plain text to me. I like the other.

[jjmucker]

It looks like a ten year old design to me, it has no impact and little style, which I think is important for a wedding photography website. The word "I" should be capitalised. Go find a template.


dont hold back then mate

[tim]

dont hold back then mate

That was me holding back. The look is dated, I think you can do better for a little money.

[Anke]

Sorry mate but if I was looking for a wedding photog, this would have me hitting the back button. I'm with Tim, get yourself a template, a website this amatuer would have your visitors thinking your photos are the same. I'm sure they're not but that's the impression I get.

[tim]

Sorry mate but if I was looking for a wedding photog, this would have me hitting the back button.

Exactly. Your web site design didn't make me want to look at your images.

[tlc]

i'm not really enthused with the 'logo' as in its not really a logo, and not really liking the 'dot' or period at the end - the font just looks really plain and typical.

i highly advise against having links to other sites, even if they are your own, chances are, once they click away, they arent going to come back.

[song4themoon]

The slide loaded quickly for me, but I really dont like the look of the site. It looks like a homebuilt website and doesnt bring over any professional feel.

I know how it is, trust me, I just went through it and WHEW did my site get kicked on..lol.. but it was all true. I had my designer work on it until it came out the way I really liked it.

I would recommend: Spend the money into a designer.. your website is your first impression on clients... it is worth it!!

[jjmucker]

thanks everyone. yeah i do agree with all of you here (including you Tim).
i did actually pick your statement up wrong mate, i think :rolleyes:

eventually i will have a better site up and running. if i spend the time on it i know i can get it looking good. ive been getting enquiries and bookings through my site so far and have actually been complimented on how easy my site is to navigate, which IMO comes in a close second to having a "professional" looking site.

I will change my logo and alot of other things but i generally like the overall look of my site. the front page will get edited though.
eventually my zenfolio site will be gone and i will design another few pages for my landscape work etc.

cheers everyone