My first attempt at my site is up........

DpM

DpM

Messages
892
Name
Dean
Edit My Images
Yes
....any thoughts or suggestions would be great.

I want to add a gallery page and a slide show on the opening page would be better than how it is now. I'm trying to find out how to make the new pages while still keeping the same format. I'm new to all this web creation/wordpress stuff.
I'm currently working on a price list page.

www.deanmcbryde.co.uk

Thanks for looking
 
My immediate first impression was that it was taking an absolute age to load. I'm only on a 0.5MB connection but...

The next I saw was how long the page was, scrolling down revealed lots of large pictures (many still loading because of the connection).

I'm not going to fault the actual images - far, far better than anything I could manage in that genre. :thumbs:

But, I'd strongly suggest having thumbnails instead of the large images on the home page. One, perhaps two, being larger.
 
Nice photos :)

The about me page is a little "I..." "I...." "I....."

I'm not a big fan of personal bios on a business site, I'd let your images speak for themselves and keep text purely to either describing images/the day or for what services are on offer and rates.

Looking good so far though :thumbs:
 
Ok, a few things from me! On the plus side, some nice images - no, in fact lovely images! But, not much else! I guess it is work in progress but it gives little info. I know your name, know you do weddings, and not much else. Instantly forgettable. Am guessing that you are looking to get work in from this site. You need to make it interesting, after 30 secs I had read the whole site. Some things I would suggest...

- I dislike the way you have a long list of images on the FP. I dont mind a small scroll, but yours is too much. The slide show you mention will be lots better.
- No location details?
- Too much black for me, not enough of anything else.
- Text on About me needs a lot of work. Too many 'I's, and the last para doesnt read well, needs a couple of commas. Is the I use top equipment of interest to the reader? I would rather see some more detail about the packages you offer (tied in with price list i presume), how you work, what you cover, how far you cover, some good reasons why they should use you. My site is far from perfect, but on mine I think having the 3 boxes at the bottom gives some info and draws people in, and there is some (well I think so) relevant info under about me.
- No B&W images?
- What selling points do you have. If you have done something that can build up a good profile, like shooting over 100 weddings, or for example have photographed at a prestigious local venue, mention it. Maybe a picture of you there too, specify how far you travel... Imagine you have 30 seconds to impress a prospect, what would you say... that will be the base for your text.

Hope some of that helps!
 
The first bride looks like a model shoot - no ring ......
 
may of been mentioned before but for me, there's too much scrolling down. But it's nice and clean, and it looks like you can have categories, so it's a good start

EDIT, yes, it was mentioned before, sorry
 
Only checked the main page but far too much empty space, your header takes up a third of the page :(
 
I don't think a page of hotlinked images is a good idea. Host the images on your own website as Flickr will mess up the quality. I had to leave Flickr because of what they were doing to images I uploaded.
 
I will be very honest i think the site needs allot of work.

There is simply not enough info on the site. From a google point alone ( and a site user) content is key. Text on the home page is very important to let users know who you are where you are and what you do if they dont see that (google bots included) will just leave.
 
I had no issues loading the site, however, until I came back to comment I had no idea there were more pictures below. I looked at the front page, then about then closed it....
 
:):)
spxxxx said:
The first bride looks like a model shoot - no ring ......
Click to expand...

I spotted that and I am viewing this on my phone! Makes me wonder how many of your wedding images are from real weddings. Brides see these things, whether they will understand that it is a model or not is another story.
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback :thumbs:

I do need to put a lot more info and content on the site. It's good to know about the front page being to laborious to scroll through all the images it tells me that my thoughts on a galley and slide show would be a much better approach.
The template I used had an option to use the last 50 images as a slide show on that main page but it does not seem to work even if I host the images on my site rather than flickr.
Good point on the flickr hosting too, I may well move them back to my own web hosting.
If anyone can point me in the direction of getting a gallery and slide show working through Wordpress please chime in, thanks.

The shots are indeed model shots and I need to state that on the site. I have some dates up and coming with a wedding tog as a second shooter to get me actual wedding experience. I'm not going to mislead the public in any way. Please remember that this is just a fist pass for advice and I'm not advertising myself yet, only friends that know my experience have been told to view my site. I think my overall price once up will allow for my lack of experience vs the quality of the images I can produce as well as whats included in the package.

The about me is probably the part I find hardest I am great in interviews in person but when it comes to selling myself with written word I find it much much harder. Ill work on it and might even drop the page and include it as in introduction to my site.
I have been told that sites where the images are the the main point and the site is not bogged down with text is the better way to go, maybe not in terms of getting search hits but to a clients mind. After all are the images not the main selling point?

Thanks again for all the input, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Ill now go away and make the changes and be back for more advice later.
Might take me a wile though :bonk:

Also off to SWPP this week to take a look at albums etc. I have looked at a few but want to see more so I know I'm choosing one that will fit my shooting style and budget of the clients I aim to work for.
 
Hate the long list of images on the front page. Very basic looking site.
 
The site is very lacking in information - you need to put some though into the layout of the photos - but also need atleast some info.



Mark1203 said:
The first bride might not have a ring because it's a pre ceremony shot??
Click to expand...

its a model shot. His favorite bride and grooms shots are also model shots - I recognize both one of the models and the trained eye locations. Only cause I did the course a few years ago - so I can't and am certainly not making any comment about using models in portfolios
 
I sussed the model shoots right away. No problem loading but too many to scroll down.

I likey the black background but for heavens sake bin the 'I have a passion for photography' chit!
 
I have been told that sites where the images are the the main point and the site is not bogged down with text is the better way to go, maybe not in terms of getting search hits but to a clients mind. After all are the images not the main selling point?
Click to expand...

Wrong. If clients cant find your site, it doesnt matter how good or bad the content is!
 
Not sure if its been mentioned but it doesnt seem to give your location, you could be anywhere!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top