I combined three into one.

[PhotosGuy]

I've spent the last week (re)learning html, if you can call it that, & think all the links are working. It's a combination of two Comcast sites & the PrintRoom "sell" site.

The Samples & Book gallery pages were assembled using free JAlbum.net's .css ExhibitPlus skin, with some html changes inserted.

There are a few small tweaks I'll put in if/when I figure out how to do it, but take a look & let me know if you have any problems, or if you think the images take too long to load. I figure that your computers are up to date & shouldn't have any problems with a 150KB jpg? ;)

http://www.FrankCizek.com

Suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks,
Frank

[blackshadow]

Sorry Frank not a fan of it as it stands for a few reasons:

It's far too busy for my taste... my eyes are drawn all over the place - I'd suggest a less is more approach using strong images... if people want to see more they can head to the galleries.

The other gripe I have with the site is that it too wide for my browser at full screen (1024x768) - in my opinion you need something that fits within a browser.

To me your site doesn't quite meet the "Visual Communication" mark which detracts from your fine photos.

[PhotosGuy]

Good points, Richard, & thank's for the input! What browser are you using?

I agree with the less-is-more idea usually. In this case, I made the site for ADs with big hi-res monitors. Mine is only 17", but it's at 1280 X 1024.

[blackshadow]

I am using Firefox as my browser have a 19" screen at 1024x768 (it works for me!).

[PhotosGuy]

Thanks, again. I'm hoping to hear from some Mac users.

[Silverpenguin]

I've had a quick look and I tend to agree with the others, there is just too much going on. It almost feels a little like you have placed things on the page just so they are on the page, rather than having a real structure or thinking about how or why they are were you have put them.

I'd go with the less is more approach as well and use some of your stronger images to draw the viewer in and make them want to see more (there are some lovely images in there so it should work a treat).

Its also worth pointing out its a dangerous idea to make a website that caters for high res monitor users. You want everyone to be able to view the site, not just certain people. I'd think about making it slightly smaller (no worries here as I use 19200 x 1200 but many don't!) and then maybe having an option to view images at higher res if the viewer wants.

I hope that doesn't sound overly negative but I do think it could do with some changes and I think once you have them sorted it would be a much more attractive website and hopefully help you sell more of your great shots!

[exile]

Frank, I found the site a little difficult to navigate. There was no clear structure to the site or consistency between pages. There was no obvious way of navigating back to the home page.

[PhotosGuy]

You want everyone to be able to view the site, not just certain people. I'll certainly keep that in mind, especially if I catch some flack from an AD over it. I found the site a little difficult to navigate. There was no clear structure to the site or consistency between pages. Partly due to integrating a Comcast page, a JAlbum gallery, The Printroom site, & my general lack of comfort with html yet. There was no obvious way of navigating back to the home page. I agree, and I'll have to add some Alt tool tips text to the image links where I can.

Thanks again, for the comments.

Is anyone out there using a Mac?

[PhotosGuy]

I added the image rollover text to help with navigation. They all seem to work with both IE & Firefox.
I knew about the ALT tags, but not the Title= ones.

[metalsaber]

You've got yourself a stray "period" at the bottom left of your site.

[PhotosGuy]

a stray "period" Thanks for reminding me. It was a temporary spacer that I forgot to remove later. ;)

[Primm]

Is anyone out there using a Mac?

I am. 20" screen with either Firefox or Safari - what specifically did you want to know?

[Primm]

OK, my initial first impression:

A bit busy, but that's my opinion, and I've been told by people in the past that I'm too fond of the streamlined, plain look, so take that as you see.

Personally I don't like having to scroll up and down a page to see the full page. In your galleries, there's a scroll bar so this appears to be the case, but then when you scroll down the only thing there is a repeat of the menu up the top. I'd remove either the top or bottom menu which would reduce the size so it fits on the screen.

EDITED TO ADD: I just looked further and found that this occurs only on some of your gallery pages (the "F1" photo for example).

Nice photos though!

[PhotosGuy]

I am. 20" screen with either Firefox or Safari - what specifically did you want to know? Just if you had any problems that I couldn't see with WinDoze? Personally I don't like having to scroll up and down a page to see the full page. Me, either. Wish I knew if there were some simple code that would center each picture... I'd remove either the top or bottom menu which would reduce the size so it fits on the screen. That's built into the css skin, & changing it is WAY beyond me. I'll ask the designer if he has a solution to both those comments.

Thanks for the ideas!

[bwolford]

I tend to agree with most of the others Frank.


Too busy.
Hard to navigate - it took me a few clicks to figure out how to find an picture to buy and then how to buy it.
Better integration between printroom and your site would be better. You lose brand identity as it is.Does Printroom support domain mapping where you can create a subdomain like gallery.frankcizek.com instead of moving from your site to printroom and exposing the printroom brand?

[PhotosGuy]

Does Printroom support domain mapping where you can create a subdomain like gallery.frankcizek.com instead of moving from your site to printroom and exposing the printroom brand? I'll look into that. The prints for sale link is mainly there for the search engines, even though I'm not that interested in ranking. Most people who go to the .com url will be directed there for my samples.
For the small amount of prints I sell, I directly link to PR with the other .net domain.