Overhauled website

[Karl Johnston]

I overhauled my old website and replaced it with an HTML version

http://karljohnston.squarespace.com/

I like the way it turned out. Mind you, I would like some critique on how other people see it. I'm used to critique now, and know how to accept it gracefully...though if you're going to say it sucks...then word it nicely or I'll send a burst of solar radiation through your living room.

It's got Google analytic added to it, too.

Layout, design, lack of clarification ...feel free to advise.

Oh one more thing...I've disabled the galleries (they're there) till I can get some watermarks added and re-uploaded.

[Hikin Mike]

I think your header/logo is way too big. I also think there's too much space above and below your slide show.

My usual...If you want to be found in Google thing:

Add a few sentences about what you do on your home page. Add a better <title> tag. Something that tells you where you are, what you do....all in about 70-100 characters.

A good read:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=472885

[Karl Johnston]

thank you! i'll read that link and resize the header/banner

I tried moving around the slideshow but it affects the rest of the site when I do..so I'm not sure if I can isolate just that page and move it around but I'll look into figuring that out.

edit: Nope, I can't move the slideshow.
But I did change the banner to something smaller.
And I'm adding tags to the blog.
I thought about putting the blog on a seperate page, but I figure if I leave it on my website I'll gain more time spent on the site and people will become more interested in what I do rather than be re-directed somewhere else.

I've also had 7 RSS subscriptions in the past 3 days to that part of the site...76 unique visitors in the past week.

[jgrussell]

I like anything HTML better than stuff that's all flash. But do make sure your link colors don't fade into the background. When I hover over items in the menu they essentially disappear; there's not enough contrast between the black and the very dark grey.

[Karl Johnston]

Ooo that's true...I'll change that now

This is why I like critique; It picks up on things I miss

[Karl Johnston]

Wooo! Got my own domain now :D
http://www.synergystudiosphotography.com

[Faolan]

Hi Karl, this is a break down of some of the major faults.

Framed prints as a first image from Flickr, as a professional photographer I would expect you to do a better job, even covering your chair with a white sheet would be better.

Logo, showing compression artefacts and also very difficult to read. You should be using a non-lossy format such as PNG or GIF. It's also dominating your page to the point it's distracting.

Home page should say who you are at the moment you've done what nearly every other photographer does: Believe that images sells. They don't and it doesn't help with SEO either... I would also move your social links from the home page to either the footer or your contact page.

Blog navigation is difficult to use as the font re-sizes away from the cursor. Remember Fitt's Law.

Font colour is also lacks contrast, making the site difficult to read.

You are offering services but no proof of ability. That's usually a warning flag to people to avoid a photographer.

Contact form, nice idea for the @ symbol however most people will ignore it and/or clear it out. Font size is way too small for a person to read on a large screen.

Code: This is a mess, seriously. You're putting elements inside of elements unnecessarily. You've also got too much dead space. Every page needs to be over-hauled and re-structured. Here's an example of what I mean:

<li class="module " id="navigationTop-moduleContentWrapper4091182">

<div id="navigationTop-moduleContent4091182">

<a id="navigationTop-moduleLink4091182" class=" " href="/blog/" ><span>Blog</span></a>




</div>

</li>

<li> elements should either go into layers or just list links or text, whilst it's not wrong to have a <div> inside a <li> element it's bad practice. Also the nomeclature of the elements is damn nigh impossible to remember and bears no resemblence to the section in question making it difficult to apply styles and/or bug fix.

The final point is that you have no SEO on your pages... Though that's not a real issue as most 'Bots probably would choke on the code. There are other issues but that's some of the worst offenders... Which leads me to...

I would head back to the drawing board and rethink the site out if you ever hope to sell prints, the site screams amateurish and wouldn't give me any incentive to contact you.

[Karl Johnston]

Thanks for the crit Fao! I'll look into those suggestions. I'll adjust the size, fonts and colors, logo and see what I can do about the compression issue.

Speaking of SEO, how do you go about the adding of tags to select pages?

The prints sell themselves hot enough as it is..though the more sales the better, of course, and if I can do anything to increase that value then I will..I'm not so sure what bots are, but the site google analytics reports I have 10-19 tracking the website through July 20-28th. I suppose I want more of those, too.

I could make the font color a bit brighter, but if I make it too bright then the contrast will be too high for people to read properly (black on white text/white on black text) too

I built the site in squarespace, so I'm not too much of a programmer but I'll see what I can do about cleaning up the organization and adding a bit more to the homepage (agree it is pretty bare).
Though that's not a real issue as most 'Bots probably would choke on the code. There are other issues but that's some of the worst offenders...
Oh, and if you want (or have the time) please tell me more! I want it to be/look good and I'll do anything to improve it within my ability.

[Hikin Mike]

Thanks for the crit Fao! I'll look into those suggestions. I'll adjust the size, fonts and colors, logo and see what I can do about the compression issue.

Speaking of SEO, how do you go about the adding of tags to select pages?

The prints sell themselves hot enough as it is..though the more sales the better, of course, and if I can do anything to increase that value then I will..I'm not so sure what bots are, but the site google analytics reports I have 10-19 tracking the website through July 20-28th. I suppose I want more of those, too.

I built the site in squarespace, so I'm not too much of a programmer but I'll see what I can do about cleaning up the organization and adding a bit more to the homepage (agree it is pretty bare).

Oh, and if you want (or have the time) please tell me more! I want it to be/look good and I'll do anything to improve it within my ability.

I use Notepad++ for my site, so changes are easy. :D

I see you haven't implemented my SEO suggestions.....;)

[Karl Johnston]

I don't know how :lol: ! Oh wait, the title thing? I thought I did that.
edit: Nope, added it now.

That link is going to take a few evenings to read and absorb, though!

[Hikin Mike]

Just read the first page. ;)

[Karl Johnston]

Got it, I think I'm relatively on target with it..keeping the flashy stuff to a minimal and not adding any weird graphics or buttons.

Now to figure out the code stuff and I'll be all right

I made some edits to the content, hopefully works and looks a lot better.

I think i'm getting a hang of the SEO thing; if you search "synergy studios photography" in google I am the first listing
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&ei=fCJISt3lJIWANsmxrJcB&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=synergy+studios+photography&spell=1

[Faolan]

That's not a SEO listing, a SEO listing is when you search for "Fine Art Prints" or "Aurora Prints".

As to code, take a class as there is too much 'wrong' with the code that you really need to start at the beginning and build upwards. There should be plenty night schools that teach HTML/CSS design.

If you can't attend a night school or whatever then get a web design student to help you out. Make sure they understand CSS layouts though as most design schools are still stuck in the 90s.

[Hikin Mike]

I hope you're on the first page for your own website! Like Rob said, you have to think like a CUSTOMER. A customer isn't going to search for your name. You'll probably type "Fort Smith NWT portrait photography" or something like that. ;)

[Karl Johnston]

Ooo I get it now!

I would take a course, but alas...no courses being offered...and no budget for courses...so I guess I`ll have to make do with learning along as I go and pissing off professional web designers ! :D (you guys have got to be wringing your hands at me by now)

[Faolan]

It's not the professionals you're annoying but your customers.

Think of your site as representitive of your marketing and company image, then come up with what people think of you from that.

Start here if you want to learn HTML:

http://www.webmonkey.com/tutorial/tag/web_basics

Once you're familiar with that then progress onto CSS.

[Karl Johnston]

=( ugh...looks like a long road ahead of sifting through gibberish symbols and codes, thanks for all the help, though.

[Faolan]

Find a down and out web design student and offer a beer or other some of bribery ;)

[Hikin Mike]

=( ugh...looks like a long road ahead of sifting through gibberish symbols and codes, thanks for all the help, though.

LOL!!!

I'm no pro-web designer. I started using 'FrontPage 2000' but a few years ago I decided to scrap everything associated with Microsoft. I searched the internet for HTML/CSS tutorials fond this (http://www.w3schools.com/css/). Wanting a good SEO 'template' a found this (http://matthewjamestaylor.com/blog/-web-design). Started using 'Notepad++ (http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm)' to design the site and 'FileZilla (http://filezilla-project.org/)' to FTP it.

That was a few years ago and I'm still learning...:D