Photography Website Question

[creative_one]

I was thinking on having a splash page & then have flash galleries & all other pages are going to be non-flash.
Is that too much flash or what do u think?
Any advice?

 

[Christie Photo]

Well... that sounds a lot like my site. I like mine.

-Pete

 

[iamacyborg]

I'm not a fan of splash pages, also, keep in mind the load time of those galleries, if they take too long to load, people are likely to just leave your site.

 

[musicaleCA]

Any Flash is too much Flash.

To qualify that statement: Flash is a bear to use SEO on, it's a bandwidth hog, and it can get really annoying, really fast.

If you use Flash on your website, you better have a good reason to. It had better look good and not half-way. And your target audience should be able to afford high-speed internet (very high speed), otherwise it's going to be a sub-standard experience. (This is a major consideration for us Canadians, since our ISPs lag far behind other nations in terms of high-speed internet service.)

And don't put music on it. Gah. Music makes me leave, every single time. I hate it when a site unexpectedly interferes with my Kamelot. –.–

 

[Christie Photo]

So far, nothing but RAVE reviews for mine. Hmmmmm....

 

[iamacyborg]

So far, nothing but RAVE reviews for mine. Hmmmmm....

From who?

Your site's great, but waiting for stuff to load, waiting for animations to finish, etc, it all gets annoying for someone that just want to see an online gallery.

 

[Christie Photo]

From who?

From my customers... the one's viewing thier previews there, and the ones calling to book appointments.

Is it really THAT long loading? I realize it's a bit "chunky" at times, but don't folks need a bit of time with each image anyway?

-Pete

 

[iamacyborg]

Well, let's face it, most people aren't in any position to comment on photography/websites/art/etc without resorting to simple things like "I like it" or "I don't like it". It'd probably be useful if you asked the opinion of web design professionals, along with customers that are knowledgeable in the field and capable of expressing their opinion cogently.

It isn't that long to load, but it is noticeable, and I personally would rather not have to wait for content to load, and once it's loaded, not have to wait for animations before I can click and view content.

It shouldn't be a problem if you and your customers are happy with it though.

 

[Christie Photo]

Well, let's face it, most people aren't in any position to comment on photography/websites/art/etc without resorting to simple things like "I like it" or "I don't like it". It'd probably be useful if you asked the opinion of web design professionals, along with customers that are knowledgeable in the field and capable of expressing their opinion cogently.

ummm.... MOST of my work IS for design and marketing people. And I don't solicit their opinion... they offer it.


Thanks for your imput!

-Pete

 

[bdavis]

I got an XML template for my gallery site, it's pretty slick. I customized it to fit my needs.

 

[RodeoFotocom]

I was thinking on having a splash page & then have flash galleries & all other pages are going to be non-flash.
Is that too much flash or what do u think?
Any advice?

I really like webpages with flash, however in dial up, I can see very few of them.

Do you have many potential clients on dial up?

 

[musicaleCA]

From who?

From my customers...

Well, that should be enough, shouldn't it?

 

[astrostu]

Sorry, not a fan of flash here, either. I've posted my analysis about it before, but it was reasonably summarized above.

Pete - I just checked your site, and personally, not a fan. I have 8Mbps internet download speed and it still takes several seconds to load, the animations take several seconds to get through when I just want to click on a link, and you can't increase the size of any of the images.

I think the bottom-line when deciding on flash (used to be) that (a) people who like it, just like it and don't really care, but (b) people who DON'T like it will run away from your site ASAP unless it's absolutely necessary to see it. And please don't get me started on music.

I say "used to be" because now with devices like the iPhone making a significant percentage of internet views, the last time I checked, Flash does not work on them. And even if it did, you really don't want to wait over a phone connection for it to download.

 

[Fuller Photography]

We've integrated SlideShowPro: The complete photo and video slideshow publishing solution into a predominantly html website (link below). SEO is good with some careful keywording. The system's really flexible and easy to use.

I'd avoid splash pages, another click for the client to make and a missed promotional opportunity for you. The home page is your main catchment, don't waste it, grab clients with something punchy and pertinent.

Hope this helps.
K

 

[Photochick]

Christie Photo- I just went to your website and it didn't take long at all to load. I absolutly love your classic style of photography! Very nice, will never go out of style. I also very much like that your images are not Photoshoped to death. Nice classic style.