Website design

SK617

SK617

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703
Name
Scotty
Edit My Images
Yes
I am rubbish at design! (as some of you may have noticed from my leaflet thread)

how does one get a site designed around what you want? (and doesnt cost the earth)
I dont fancy flash, as they dont work on some mobile devices, and tbh I dont like them myself!

Any thoughts?
 
have you thought of paid photo hosting eg, clikpic.

clikpic allows you to customize a web template to suit your needs, for £35 a year it allows you to upload upto 100 images, and you can pay more for extra features and more images uploaded.

hope this helps.
 
I already use paid hosting with Photium, I am relatively happy with it, I just dont think its good enough, if that makes sense.
it started as a sort of show off site for a parade I did, and I want it to be more of a business site, I will be concentrating on Family shoots and events, so will be needing lockable galleries, shopping basket etc
I did use smugmug, but the pricing & the fact that the prints came from the USA put me off.
Sorry to ramble a little!
 
I feel your pain! I am rubbish at web design too. Apart from paying for a photo hosting site like clikpic, smugmug, photium, pbase etc, I think the only option is to find someone to help you design it.

Unfortunately this usually involves parting with money for the web design.:|
 
Its much the same as a non photographer doing their friends wedding photographs, if you want a website designing, get a professional web designer to do it.
 
Craikeybaby said:
Its much the same as a non photographer doing their friends wedding photographs, if you want a website designing, get a professional web designer to do it.
Click to expand...

I agree to a certain extent, and I paid a lot for my portfolio website for that reason, but you can also get a nice website by using templates designed by professional people, like the one I suggested above.
 
I think (and from a web designers point of view) that the beauty about a photography website is simplicity. Alot of websites cannot get away with being simple and bland, but i think a photography websites needs that.

I am currently re-doing mine (so currently have missing pages) but i love trying to find the comprimise of simple and nice, as apposed to other sites i get to design.

But, anyways, what im saying is... it doesnt take alot to make a nice photography website for yourself. That said, there is obviously more to it than just that and you can only do what you know.

Thanks
Andy
 
Hi Chris, just enquiring (and i have no intent to de-value your services) but out of curisotiy (as im a web developer myself) i looked at your web design site, and it seems theres alot of problems?

.no title on pages
.no SEO at all?

and problems on pages such as:
.index page "enter paragraph"
.about page missing picture
.services: "enter paragraph"
.portfolio: list goes way off template
.web hosting "package titles, no packages"
.graphic design : "enter paragraph"
.sitemap : "enter paragraph"
clients pages have missing images and text position problems
portfolio pages have missing images and text position problems

Infact, im starting to think your site maybe not finished? But anyways, just surprised me to see your sending people to your site for web design with your own web site as it is?

Again, just confused and being informative at the same time :)

Andy
 
gibbon said:
Hi Chris, just enquiring (and i have no intent to de-value your services) but out of curisotiy (as im a web developer myself) i looked at your web design site, and it seems theres alot of problems?

.no title on pages
.no SEO at all?

and problems on pages such as:
.index page "enter paragraph"
.about page missing picture
.services: "enter paragraph"
.portfolio: list goes way off template
.web hosting "package titles, no packages"
.graphic design : "enter paragraph"
.sitemap : "enter paragraph"
clients pages have missing images and text position problems
portfolio pages have missing images and text position problems

Infact, im starting to think your site maybe not finished? But anyways, just surprised me to see your sending people to your site for web design with your own web site as it is?

Again, just confused and being informative at the same time :)

Andy
Click to expand...

Andy,

Thats correct that it is unfinished, I had another project that has literally just finished so I can complete my web services site off in the next few days.

What do you mean by there is no SEO at all? I'm very surprised with this.

In the next few days, all the content will be in place plus all the code.

Cheers,
Chris
 
Hi Chris, had a feeling that might have been the case.

As in the SEO, again this might be down to being unfished but, even the simple stuff i see is missing such as such as:
.metas
.image tags & titles
.alt tags
.link tags
.key word density percentages
.page name keywording

All that go towards the final SEO count. :)

Andy
 
Andy,

That is what I thought you would come back with, although there is more I can do with it from an SEO pov.

I just have to be very careful with what goes on it unfortunately.

Cheers,
Chris
 
Craikeybaby said:
Its much the same as a non photographer doing their friends wedding photographs, if you want a website designing, get a professional web designer to do it.
Click to expand...

I agree, its amazing how many people here are quick to moan about non-pros taking pictures or doing it at really low rates, but a lot here seem to do the same with accountants and web design etc...

That said, mine (link in signature) was done myself using iWeb on the Mac. As someone who has only just setup as a part-time business, I dont have the funds to pay someone to do it yet, though I plan to get it done properly after hopefully 6 - 12 months.

Templates are available from people like 1&1, 123 etc... and could be good as a start.
 
I run a web design business specialising in high quality designs that get results and ROI - all my sites are coded with accessibility, web standards and usability in mind and most are cross browser compatible down as far as IE5.

If you want to check out some of my work go to deanzod.co.uk. Serious enquiries only though please - If you expect to pay under a grand for anything other than a hosting account or domain name, this is not the site for you.
 
I hate clickpic. Far too popular. When trawling through wedding competitor websites, I get cheesed off with the same bloody design popping up all the time. Hate it. Same for a number of other popular 'off the shelf' designs from companies that advertise as 'photographers' design sites. They don't design at all, you're just another template in a sea of identical templates.

I think your customers might also.

Just my two p worth.
 
just out of interest, for those that would be prepared to pay for a website to be designed (and maintained?)... how much would you be prepared to pay? I know that's akin to how long is a piece of string?!

I've done a few websites for friends, I do my own, and I do some for my job... but I've had an enquiry or two from friends-of-friends who have a budget and would be prepared to pay. So I've got to get back to them with a proposal/price for my services and I don't really know where to start!

I DO know that they've just had one quote from someone for £2k to setup/design their website, sort out emails, etc. but do no maintainence/updating (though they would help with any initial changes, etc.)

I wouldn't dream of charging close to that, but then I'm doing it as a sideline, not my main source of income...
 
It is a complicated matter when it comes to pricing websites. There are people that only want to spend £50-£100 and there are 'designers' that only charge them sorts of fees. It all depends on the quality of the finished product and the value of the site to the client.

If someone only wants to spend a couple of hundred, they will have plenty of designers to choose from but they will end up with a pretty substandard site. These types of clients don't value a website very highly and can usually be satisfied with what they get from a cheap designer. Unfortunately, the result is usually "i have a website, but it doesn't get me anything" - they may not even make a direct ROI. They may even find out further down the line that their site has never worked in most other browsers, it is breaking accessibility laws, it is insecure/prone to injection or hacking etc...

People that come to me usually don't ask for a price - it's the very last thing on their mind. They will have a rough budget, but they are more interested in quality, results, ROI, expertise etc... Most usually expect the cost to be well above three grand. But that is my target market - I have learned through experience when an enquiry is a complete waste of time and when it is a serious one.

If you are thinking of pricing your own sites, you need to ask yourself a few questions; what is my design time worth? am I highly skilled and do I know exactly what I am doing? Would I be confident competing and winning a design competion against the best designers in the country? Am I a designer? Am I a coder? Am I a programmer? Do I have a lot of SEO knowledge and have I not been misinformed? Do I understand all the legalities attached to design/coding/programming? Am I insured? etc... The list goes on.

I suppose anyone can quote anything they like - if you are a terrible designer and only call youself a designer because you have downloaded a crack copy of dreamweaver you can quote £10,000 to do a site and may get the job - But when the client sees the result you will most likely find you won't be getting paid and will be taken to court.

I could go on all day with this one so I'll quit there.
 
thanks flicker... it is a big open-ended question!

I guess in my favour, I have a few live websites I can point to as my portfolio... and if the client is happy with those, then that's a great start.

interesting what you say about some clients having the price as the last thing on their mind. when this particular client said she had just been quoted £2k, she didn't seem to bat an eyelid, so that's a good sign. and i know that i wouldn't charge that much, as it's not something I do 100% for a living, i'm not a professional designer, etc... but I can put together half-decent, easy to use websites, which look good.

i guess i see myself as someone who can cover all aspects at a basic level, excel in a few areas, but could be stronger in others.
 
strax said:
Unfortunately this usually involves parting with money for the web design.:|
Click to expand...

:bang:

When you find a shop that gives away food, a petrol station that doesn't charge for fuel and a building company who will knock up my next house without it costing me anything, PLEASE get in touch.

Good website design costs as much as any good service. The devaluation and undervaluing of it by the public at large, given the phenominal amount of exposure and business it can generate, really makes me itch.
 
Denyerec said:
Good website design costs as much as any good service. The devaluation and undervaluing of it by the public at large, given the phenominal amount of exposure and business it can generate, really makes me itch.
Click to expand...
:agree:

BUT...the amount of clients I have had that have learned from their mistakes is huge. They come to me even more determined to get it done right after wasting a few hundred quid on trying to get it done onthe cheap.

There is a huge market for cheap designers and a (probably smaller) market for professional designers. I don't think on the whole they tread on each others toes. It's like 2 completely different fields. The "I want a site cos my mates have got them for their businesses" people - and the "We need to move this company forward and increase our profits. Lets look at our site" type of people.
 
You pay for quality, time, uniqueness and technological stuff that you dont necessarily see like good user back ends that allow you to add stuff and sites that are good for SEO.

Just like there are photographers out there shooting for very little there are website designers out there charging very little and the challenge for clients is recognizing the differences which aren't apparent to everyone.
 
backstage pass said:
No offence, but anyone who uses a rollover with white text on a bright yellow background should use the word 'designer' sparingly.
Click to expand...

Sorry but i have to agree. Also, the website doesn't work properly on Apple Safari. The layout is all out.
 
i have to say, i've been researching lots of local web designers in an effort to get some prices together and thoughts on how to pitch my stuff.
now i'm no expert... but some 'designers' websites are shocking! you'd think their own websites would be great examples of what they can do... some look like they were designed in 1996 and haven't been changed since!

i think to be a good web designer, you have to obviously have the IT know-how, but you also have to be creative and artistic.... be able to create something contemporary looking and stylish.

it has given me confidence! :lol:
 
benners said:
i have to say, i've been researching lots of local web designers in an effort to get some prices together and thoughts on how to pitch my stuff.
now i'm no expert... but some 'designers' websites are shocking! you'd think their own websites would be great examples of what they can do... some look like they were designed in 1996 and haven't been changed since!

i think to be a good web designer, you have to obviously have the IT know-how, but you also have to be creative and artistic.... be able to create something contemporary looking and stylish.

it has given me confidence! :lol:
Click to expand...

That is why there's a big difference between web designers and web developers, because they need such different skills, creativity/artiness and coding it is rare to find someone that is great at both. I'm a web developer, I'm rubbish at the design part of things, so any important projects I pay someone else to do the design.
 
And you also have to be careful not to confuse art with design. You may think something looks crap and un-artistic, but if it is designed in a way that gets the desired results - it's good design. For example, after years of research and a lot of trial and error, I have ended up with something very plain looking. It brings me the exact type of clients I am after and has cut my tyre kicking cheapskate enquiries down to almos zero. The idea is to have the user focus on my work and not my site.
 
Indeed, there is certainly an element of HMI design in web design, it really isn't a case of stealing a copy of Dreamweaver off bit torrent and calling your self a webdesigner.
 
This is an issue I am also coming to find hard. I need a blog theme in wordpress designing to match my site. I also really could do with a cpl tweaks on the site (well one, ability to browser resize. Problem is finding someone who could do this at a reasonable rate. Simple job really, but I have need to find time to be able to try and get into it. Just finding someone reliable and cost effective to me.

I know you get what you pay for, but some prices for what in reality is a very simple job, as design all done, is out of what i can afford. Why did I not study web design, another why didn't I study to add to the list :lol:
 
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