C&C my new website?

[Kofman13]

this isnt the normal C&C but i would like some feedback on my new photography website.
the url is unrelated and is temporary, but its the only domain i own at this very moment because i reserved it originally for my music business website:

http://www.pianolessonsny.com

 

[tirediron]

C&C per req:

First, I would lose the music. Your taste in music is not necessarily mine, and if I don't like what's playing, I may well stop right there. Your 'about' tab doesn't give me any information about what sort of services you can provide, or what your specialty is, nor your experience. There's nothing anywhere that gives me an inkling of what your services cost, and most importantly, where in the world are you???? I might like your work and want to hire you, but if I live in Gumboot Junction, and you live in North Pumphandle, I'm going to be really annoyed to find out that you aren't a practical option for me.

I would also lose the Flash, or if you really like, then I would also maintain an alternate pure HTML version of the 'site for those who don't have the ability to view Flash (lots of employers don't allow Flash content on internal networks) or the bandwidth (lots of people still use dial-up).

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

By falling victim of the slick tech of Flash you are restricting a set of possible viewers from viewing your website. A smart business person would not only want their website accessable from a computer. A smart business person would make sure their website was viewable on smart phones as well.

 

[Francis E. Marchiona]

I'd go with lyric less music if any music at all, it doesn't so much bother me but apparently it makes it hard for most people to read.

And, yeah, smartphone access is a huge bonus. Doesn't mean you have to scrap the whole site as it is already though, you could just make your content accessible on smartphones in some other way.

I like it though, it's professional looking/feeling - I'd just ditch the lady moaning in my ear while I'm trying to look at your work. Although there is a stop button...

 

[Bryce]

The music sucks. The singer should learn some lyrics instead of making annoying friggin sounds all the time. When you feel good and then you listen to a song and then you feel worse you know it sucks.

Oh by the way the site was good.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Golden Rule #358: Less is More.

 

[Kofman13]

i actually slapped it together... yeah ill lose the music... i was mostly testing it. hmm maybe ill link to an html version in case people cant load flash.

 

[Kofman13]

C&C per req:

First, I would lose the music. Your taste in music is not necessarily mine, and if I don't like what's playing, I may well stop right there. Your 'about' tab doesn't give me any information about what sort of services you can provide, or what your specialty is, nor your experience. There's nothing anywhere that gives me an inkling of what your services cost, and most importantly, where in the world are you???? I might like your work and want to hire you, but if I live in Gumboot Junction, and you live in North Pumphandle, I'm going to be really annoyed to find out that you aren't a practical option for me.

I would also lose the Flash, or if you really like, then I would also maintain an alternate pure HTML version of the 'site for those who don't have the ability to view Flash (lots of employers don't allow Flash content on internal networks) or the bandwidth (lots of people still use dial-up).

Just my $00.02 worth - your mileage may vary.

~John

yeah i was so eager to get feed back i didnt really do all the final touches yet... including writing a bio and business info lol.... im getting to that tomorrow... i have not started to really spread the site around. and im buying a real domain tomorrow

 

[shmne]

Some C&C, websites used to be a bit of my thing so I love throwing some advice in the ring.

So first and foremost when designing a web page remember that you have to assume the people are lazy. The more effort they have to take to enjoy your website the less time they will spend on it, if any at all.

As many have mention "Music Auto Play Off" should be first and foremost. Give the option for people to turn it on if they want, not to turn it off if they hate it.

I see you used wix as the base? That is a very powerful tool however as many have said you'll be limiting your viewer base slightly, not the end of the world but it also means that if you happen to own an iphone you'll be shooting yourself in the foot if you ever want to show someone your website on the fly. Having a secondary web page for smart phones eliminates this problem by automatically detecting the smart phone and sending them to a part of the site that is specific for them, I've never done it but I'm sure an experienced person could shed light on how to.

When you hover over the buttons they pop out at you, this is a neat effect that wix gives you but you have to think about form and function as a pair. In this case the buttons move making things a bit annoying for someone using a track pad to click on. The size change actually moves the button out of what appears to be the clicking range when you just hover over an edge. Not a huge problem again, but still could turn someone away.

I clicked on your portfolio-
I can barely read any of the fonts, with the middle section "portrait' being the only immediately readable one. Fix the picture, change the font color, something to make it easier to read.

Next when I hover over the button the image blurs, I think instead you should try out the opposite. This invites the user to mystery and allows them to explore your site in a fun way, without making them work hard. At least blur the images the user is not hovering over, when the image you are about to click blurs this tends to tell you the opposite of what is actually going to happen. It says "yeah, your mouse is hovering over me, but the other ones are active."

Once I click on one of the portfolios I think you have it just right. Nothing to complex, and stacked on the right. Nice.

Need actual copy in the about section, I also wouldn't bring up that you use Nikon Equipment. Talk about you as a photographer not you as a photographer talking to another photographer. You are in the customer service business so let them know you are there for them.

The contact form is messing with my head, I have a hard time discerning the words on the left and their correlation to the lines to the left. They should be separated more, or show some kind of break saying that this is not just one long written message. I was about ready to type, "To whom it conerns, ..." as an actual letter instead of how you apparently want them to give the name and info on separate lines.

Overall the design is that of the modern photographer, clean black and white. Doesn't take away from the imagery, the only part that may is the flashy transitions between photos but it isn't that overpowering.

Hope this write up helps you out a bit!

 

[err_ok]

Avoid Wix like the plague.. learning how to knock together a website really doesn't take very long... I do like the music though and it is perhaps one of the nicer Wix sites I have seen

If this is for a business and you aren't prepared to learn html/css etc.. get somebody else to build it, the rewards will be worth it.

 

[Kofman13]

Some C&C, websites used to be a bit of my thing so I love throwing some advice in the ring.

So first and foremost when designing a web page remember that you have to assume the people are lazy. The more effort they have to take to enjoy your website the less time they will spend on it, if any at all.

As many have mention "Music Auto Play Off" should be first and foremost. Give the option for people to turn it on if they want, not to turn it off if they hate it.

I see you used wix as the base? That is a very powerful tool however as many have said you'll be limiting your viewer base slightly, not the end of the world but it also means that if you happen to own an iphone you'll be shooting yourself in the foot if you ever want to show someone your website on the fly. Having a secondary web page for smart phones eliminates this problem by automatically detecting the smart phone and sending them to a part of the site that is specific for them, I've never done it but I'm sure an experienced person could shed light on how to.

When you hover over the buttons they pop out at you, this is a neat effect that wix gives you but you have to think about form and function as a pair. In this case the buttons move making things a bit annoying for someone using a track pad to click on. The size change actually moves the button out of what appears to be the clicking range when you just hover over an edge. Not a huge problem again, but still could turn someone away.

I clicked on your portfolio-
I can barely read any of the fonts, with the middle section "portrait' being the only immediately readable one. Fix the picture, change the font color, something to make it easier to read.

Next when I hover over the button the image blurs, I think instead you should try out the opposite. This invites the user to mystery and allows them to explore your site in a fun way, without making them work hard. At least blur the images the user is not hovering over, when the image you are about to click blurs this tends to tell you the opposite of what is actually going to happen. It says "yeah, your mouse is hovering over me, but the other ones are active."

Once I click on one of the portfolios I think you have it just right. Nothing to complex, and stacked on the right. Nice.

Need actual copy in the about section, I also wouldn't bring up that you use Nikon Equipment. Talk about you as a photographer not you as a photographer talking to another photographer. You are in the customer service business so let them know you are there for them.

The contact form is messing with my head, I have a hard time discerning the words on the left and their correlation to the lines to the left. They should be separated more, or show some kind of break saying that this is not just one long written message. I was about ready to type, "To whom it conerns, ..." as an actual letter instead of how you apparently want them to give the name and info on separate lines.

Overall the design is that of the modern photographer, clean black and white. Doesn't take away from the imagery, the only part that may is the flashy transitions between photos but it isn't that overpowering.

Hope this write up helps you out a bit!

this will help me tons, thanks so much!

 

[Boomn4x4]

I'll second what Bitter Jeweler and shmne said.

But to add a little, get rid of the music. If a website is playing music, I close the window and run, never coming back again. Music also increases page load time and can hang up a browser long enough to make someone think their computer crashed.

Multimedia sites like this are eye popping, but flash media is AWEFUL for search engines. Unless someone has the direct URL for the website, they are never going to find it. The content on a flash website will not get indexed by search engines. If you are going to use flash media, make sure its seconday content... AT LEAST have your main home page as something that is descriptive and has a lot of text information on it to increase your page rankings.

 

[Kofman13]

Avoid Wix like the plague.. learning how to knock together a website really doesn't take very long... I do like the music though and it is perhaps one of the nicer Wix sites I have seen

If this is for a business and you aren't prepared to learn html/css etc.. get somebody else to build it, the rewards will be worth it.

thanks. yeah this is something just for now. eventually i will build a site from the ground up