I know, I know not another website critique....

[mjryan67]

Oh yes it is my friends, I have rolled out a new website and I would very much appreciate your eyes taking a look at it and giving me some feedback .....

Thank you so much for taking time to give it a look see and letting me know what you think !

Michael

[Chris]

So, do we have to guess at the url?

[mjryan67]

So, do we have to guess at the url?

Mmmm yes I guess that would help ......

www.thestudiowebsite.com

Thanks,

Michael

[Hikin Mike]

I don't like Splash pages, Flash websites and I REALLY hate music on a website, so I leave. Sorry.

If your friend wants to be found in search engines you really need to ditch the Flash. If you must use Flash, then at least add a short bio about where you're located and what you do on your Splash page. Also add that on your <title> tag on your home page.

[mlech]

I believe the less the better... I think all the content is just way to over the place... but that's just my opinion.

[mjryan67]

I believe the less the better... I think all the content is just way to over the place... but that's just my opinion.

Thanks for your thoughts I'm not sure what you mean by the content is all over the place. As in too many images to many different galleries ? What would you suggest needs to be changed ?

Thank you !

Michael

[Aaron Peabody]

I'm going to agree with Hikin Mike, both about splash pages and about making a website which relies solely on Flash. Because of how much I dislike Flash I run a plugin that prevents it from loading. As a result, when I visit a website that is nothing but Flash all I see is a big, empty box that just says "Flash". When I see that I go elsewhere. Add to that the large number of mobile devices that can't display Flash, yet are becoming more and more common as ways to browse the internet.

[James Robert Gratiot]

I don't like Splash pages, Flash websites and I REALLY hate music on a website, so I leave. Sorry.

Totally agree, especially about the music. The second I'm forced to hear one note of some song that I didn't ask to hear, I click away.

[HappySnapper90]

The image on your "splash" page ( don't like the idea of going to a site then having to "entire" it) should not be there. It doesn't put your absolute best foot forward. That image is very over over exposed with white faces. Is your monitor calibrated?

Also switch "the 411" to "about". I was looking for your 'about" page and had to assume that the 411 was it. Don't make your visitors get lost.

Lastly, where are you located? You give a phone number but I don't believe you state where your business is from, which is extremely important for a business that does people photography.

[mjryan67]

Thanks to everyone that has taken the time to respond, I do believe though that I wasn't specific enough in my initial request and what I was hoping to get opinions on so I apologize guys.

I know flash has some limitations and drawbacks and I am not a huge fan of flash but for the purpose of an image display website that is easily editable and can include still and video and motion flash is the easiest way to do this, I know that there are other ways but as much as I dislike flash my customers don't. I have had flash websites for 6 years now and not one complaint in fact I have been told many many times by my brides that my website is so much nicer and easier to navigate than my competitors sites that are HTML based. Now I know you can write amazing HTML sites but the time and expense is considerably more so economics plays into the decision as well.

I know that in regards to SEO flash is not as good of a platform as HTML but a well written flash site with the correct keywords, metatags and text is very capable of being well ranked, all my sites in the past have been well ranked as in the first page of the search results. I have not yet done the meta tags and keywords for this new site yet so I do know that part needs attention.

From a mobile perspective I understand flash sucks and since I do a ton of my web surfing on my I-phone I have had to develop a strategy for mobile devices which is where the splach page comes into play. The splach page will be linking to my blog which is HTML based, my facebook which is huge in the mobile area and my shopping cart so that customer dont have to go into the full website to see their image galleries, so while as splash pages can be annoying they can also serve a purpose. My mobile strategy at the moment consists of Facebook and my blog and I will be developing an I-phone app in the very near future I am also considering a slimmed down HTML site for mobile users but I dont yet know the impact and how much it would get used so I haven't made a decision yet as to move forward wtih the HTML mobile version.

Music is another personal preference item on the site it is easy to shut off so you dont have to listen to the music if you dont want to. The demographic I am trying to reach ith the website is female 19 to 45 years old, they are the main consumer and decision maker for my products. They are the ones getting married and and having kids and families, from the feedback I have recieved from the over 400 brides I have either shot their wedding for or had consults with because they were considering using my services, not one has ever told me not to include the music and i have asked them that question directly, more often than not the brides have told me how much they liked the music and that they went and purchased the songs from my website because they liked them.

Every bride I have interacted with I have asked very specific questions about my website in regards to music and number of images and ease of use and how often did they visit before they selected me and how often did they visit after the wedding was over and done with and I was very personally surprised at the responses. What I was hoping for my fellow photographers to assist me with was more along the lines of the images in the porfolios are there some images that are just not strong enough to be there, is the text that I wrote clear and consise because i suck at writing ..... and things like that. For me persoanlly it is sometimes hard for me to take my photographer hat off and look at images from an end user perspective I easliy get caught up in the technical end of photography, which in reality our customers dont give a rats arse about, all our customers care about it is if they connect with the image emotionally and that the image is of good technical quality.

So if anyone would do me the favor of taking a look at the images and content of my website and sharing their opinion I would be very greatful for your time and thoughts !

Thanks,

Michael

[mjryan67]

The image on your "splash" page ( don't like the idea of going to a site then having to "entire" it) should not be there. It doesn't put your absolute best foot forward. That image is very over over exposed with white faces. Is your monitor calibrated?

Also switch "the 411" to "about". I was looking for your 'about" page and had to assume that the 411 was it. Don't make your visitors get lost.

Lastly, where are you located? You give a phone number but I don't believe you state where your business is from, which is extremely important for a business that does people photography.

Happy,

Thanks for the feedback ! Your right I didn't have my location on there I changed that, thanks for catching that. I also updated the splash page it has a purpose, I am not a big splash page fan either but but it does help get people to different content quickly and easily.

The image is blown out I ran a high key action on it, my monitor is calibrated and it is supposed to be blown out a little. The funny thing about that image is that those kids are mine and my fiancee's and she is a hair stylist at an uber high end salon in the area and she has that image as a 4x6 on her station at work and she has had over 20 people ask for business cards after seeing that image. So while I think it could be toned down some people are liking the image and the look and feel of cause they are calling and booking session after seeing the image.

Thanks for your time in looking !

Michael

[lvidmar]

You've mentioned you're aware of the mobile aspect. Just food for thought though..

This is what a potential customer is going to see when viewing your site on an iPhone/iTouch/iPad/etc...

[mjryan67]

You've mentioned you're aware of the mobile aspect. Just food for thought though..

This is what a potential customer is going to see when viewing your site on an iPhone/iTouch/iPad/etc...

Thanks for the feedback I know that the flash site won't come up on mobile devices and I am working with the developer to make a mobile aware site that will redirect to a non flash site, but until we can get that done mobile users will have the facebook option and the blog which will both work on mobile devices as will the shopping cart and in the next couple of months I will have an I-phone / ipad app that will have a complete portfolio for them to see. I know this is not a perfect solution but it will mAke the site available to mobile users as well.

Thanks for looking I really appreciate it !

Michael

[lvidmar]

Seems backwards to go through the effort of creating 2 sites, rather than doing it right the first time.

[brandon9585]

I am on a 1080p TV and the pictures appear very very soft. I'm guessing that they are much smaller resolution and being upscaled to fill the page for me making them soft? If this is the case, maybe just make them centered on the page at the original resolution rather than upscaling?