Just Finished My Website! Needs Help With Tweaks...

[DoomMan]

Alright here is the link to the webpage:

Http://www.DaneVanLizzen.com

I just need to know any inconveniences you may notice, or options that i should also include on the site. I was thinking of doing flash,but sticking to html for right now while i learn flash. Critiques are welcome!

Here is the logo I created:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3576/3514110864_079b18bb8d_o.png

[korrektor]

great site. but... (of course) :)
but the photos are too close together. they blend and I can't tell which one is next (well I can, but I have to think, which I'm too lazy to do :)
Also your galleries are not named. What am I looking at? portraits, candids, I'm not sure. try to separate them somehow

fashion
conceptual
black and white
personal selections
something like that.

I hope this is helpful.

[Hikin Mike]

I no particular order...

You need to be found on Google right?
You need a better 'metatag title' than danevanlizzen.com. Something like "YourTown, CA - Dane Van Lizzen Photography"....or something like that. You need a 'description' metatag too.

You need some header links on the top of the page like "korrektor" suggested. I'm really not keen on the scrolling either. I wouldn't use your e-mail. Use a contact form....less spam!

Since you made a "logo", why not make a 'favicon'? Google it. :D

[DoomMan]

awesome suggestions guys, keep them comming!

[Faolan]

First big issue I have is page loading, it took 10 seconds. Not sure if it's my link or not though so you may be able to discard this.

The other big issue I have is you using a frame on your landing page. Frames are Evil, they break navigation, they're a security risk and there is other issues associated wtih them.

The landing page gives no clue as to what to do with it. So as a visitor I must assume you've got no content on the site.

About me the text is beneath the shot in Opera (not checked other browsers). It's also too big for the frame forcing me to scroll side to side to read it. Again a usability issue for the visitor. You're making them work hard to find information on your site. Too hard.

As noted above you need to break down your galleries into sections. Also some of the shots standards are not equal throughout the site, some look under-exposed but that maybe they way you've post processed the shots.

Speaking of images they are too big, 200-500kb for some of them? Learn to optimise images for the web, not everyone has broadband...

Contact/Pricing, re-word the section.Sentences like paid work receives priority under-sells you implying you do free work. Never advertise this. Also set up a contact form unless you like Spam and/or don't want visitors from public access points being able to email you.

When choosing a font Sans Serif works best for legibility of text. However this as a much a design decision as a web accessibilty issue.

[grimm5577]

the concept of the design works, but the implementation does not.
Please read up on why not to use tables when designing a site. You will then find that you also don't need 9 images to make up a banner.

the main content area needs to be larger so you don't have to scroll a static image that is just barely too large. not many people enjoy scrolling left to right either since their mouse wheel doesn't work that way. (if they have one)

also being a photographer, that wants to get more jobs as a photographer, it's probably not the best idea to have pay per click ads of other photographers on your site.

[DoomMan]

Currently putting in the tweaks! I removed my google ads, adding a flash viewer for the photos, and changing the layout.

[Jonta]

1: First thing I see is a scrollbar. OK. I scroll down. But only about 23 pixels. Wth?
2: Welcome page. You don't need it.
3: The header is clickable, yes. But only a part of it, and it leads to a page I don't want to be at.
4: Get favicon
5: You have galleries. But what are these galleries? What do I find where?
6: Slow imageload
7: I thought you'd implemented a flashviewer?
8: When on a gallery, the back-button in my browser doesn't work.
9: Always the same URL
10: Spellingerrors
11: Make e-mailadresses clickable, and yes, keep your e-mailadress there. Everyone has the option of using GMail, and you do. There's no need to worry about spam. I want to know your e-mailadress.
12: Non-informative title

[aliflack]

First off, you have a great collection of images with a distinct style - but I don't think you're showing them off to best effect.

Lose the landing page - it doesn't add anything, and why frustrate me with an unnecessary mouse click?

Splitting the photographs into galleries is good, but I don't understand how you've split them - shots from the same series (girl playing cards) for example are split between two different galleries...

Rethink the left-right scrolling and consider implementing thumbnails so the user gets to chose which images they see big and in what order.