Website review please

david1701

david1701

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Name
David
Edit My Images
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I've reached a point where I am very very happy with my site.

I'd like to hear your thoughts

My only real issue atm is that I dont blog enough or using the right keywords for seo and that I need to push it hard into google.

verophotography.co.uk

All opinions appreciated, backed up comments very very appreciated

Also a shout out to mr smooth and alastairb (who is a frickin legend) for help with coding and diagnosis.
 
There are numerous spelling mistakes in all the about pages.
 
strax said:
There are numerous spelling mistakes in all the about pages.
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hmmm will have a quiet word with the spell checker I thought chrome was running, 1 I could miss, more sugests an issue

right spellings aside in design and layout what do you think?

I'm working on impact and clarity to sell **** to people
 
Probably just a personal preference but I think photos look better on a black background so I don't think white websites really work for photography. Having said that it does look very clean and simple.

Also I think the wording and grammar of what you've written throughout the content of the website could be improved. I can't work out from what you've writen who you've aimed your website at. I assume as you do weddings and commercial work that you are aiming it at potential clients. if that's correct then don't tell them about your 2.8 lenses and fast primes in your about page because they won't care. Just tone it down a bit and keep it simple and memorable.
 
k


spelling is fixed, but generally about pages are ******, they need a sit down rewrite. I can get that done fairly sharpish

I like white for photographic sites and don't really like black sites for pictures of people as its depressing (though I have seen a few epic grey ones).

I've put more effort into design and layout and images that words and that shows so its what needs fixing
 
A couple of minor niggles:

When I clicked onto the link the first image that was displayed was 'Commercial-2.jpg'.

Whilst it may be an interesting portrait, an image of someone poking their tongue out at me is not a great first impression for a commercial site.

The About drop downs on your categories need to be more obvious. It would be very easy to click on Wedding and never find the About section with the pricing details.

The writing style is a bit chatty for a commercial site, and offering to run the back end of events (one example) looks a touch desperate if you are aiming the site at clients; if it's aimed at other 'togs then it would be different. The same goes for what Rob has said about the kit.

I'd differ slightly on the white background, it can work, but it's more susceptible to how the viewer has set up their monitor than a dark grey/black one would be.

That's a bit harsh, but it's meant to be constructive! :)
 
I like the simple design and layout. It flows well and is easy to navigate.

You're missing a contact me page. I know your email address is at the bottom, but you need a page for it.

I don't like your tagline I'm afraid "I like to light". Not sure why really, but it seems like a tagline for the sake of having one.

You're watermark isn't too offensive either, which is another plus.

All in all I like it.
 
You do really NEED to sort out the grammar and spelling bud - its crap :lol:

I'm in a slow broadband area but even so the images were very slow to load - make sure they are tiny file size just enough to be worth looking at (100kb or less I was told)

I don't get why 'Home' is in italics either :shrug: when the other tabs are not

And 'Costs' is a BIG :nono: for me - having their Wedding photographed is NOT A COST it's an INVESTMENT in their future memories :)

HTH

DD
 
dude harsh is gooood, a nice site comment does me b****r all good, so tweak a filename and reconsider second slideshow image aswell as the rewrite
 
You need to add your metatags, keywords, description, etc in the <head> </head>.
 
the tag line could go I spose - grumble grumble

I had a contact page at one point but binned it

bloody good point DD the word costs is gone as of right now will rewrite the written sections

as to home being in italics, I don't actually know why it is and never really saw it as a biggy but I could fix it if ya like

the social media widget had wandered off but its back now

am currently reordering opening images
 
david1701 said:
dude harsh is gooood, a nice site comment does me b****r all good, so tweak a filename and reconsider second slideshow image aswell as the rewrite
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The file name is fine, I was just using it for reference. Likewise the image as a portrait is good (especially when tied to the communication concept), I just don't think that it sits well in the slideshow on the front page. It's a little bit 'in yer face' so to speak, and to be honest a bit of a surprise if you're not expecting it!
 
I think white backgrounds are fine. I like the site layout a lot.
I like your photography too.

Your grammar needs work. I am something of a grammar nazi though so it might be the case that many people won't notice but IMO if you want to look professional then EVERYTHING needs to look professional.

Overall - Thumbs up from me.
 
bradleysmith said:
I think white backgrounds are fine. I like the site layout a lot.
I like your photography too.

Your grammar needs work. I am something of a grammar nazi though so it might be the case that many people won't notice but IMO if you want to look professional then EVERYTHING needs to look professional.

Overall - Thumbs up from me.
Click to expand...

:lol:

I'm no grammar/spelling expert - but if I think something is wrong in the wording then the whole service is suspect :suspect:

You won't get many/any English teachers if your site looks crap to them (maybe not a bad thing as teachers are notoriously crap clients :lol:); but get it right and you are onto a winner :thumbs:

DD
 
if it helps I sub all this writing **** out to my sister - so am merely going to beat her and make her do it better :D

front page images - are they too big, what res are you running - discuss
 
david1701 said:
Oh also DD will redo all images to a smaller size as theyre 310-320 kb avrg
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Just make sure they don't pixelate and you're fine :)

I loved Bude on my two Uni hols there - very very fond memories of the place :) You just need to make yourself THE #1 tog in everyone's eyes as its such a small place as locally 1/2 your marketable area is water :(

DD
 
try installing YSlow, it's a great firefox add-on and it automatically compresses things and improves site perforamnce.
 
Spelling and whatnot aside, hope your ok with my directness.

I too find its waaaay too slow…

Design wise, if you’ve built this yourself then good work. But although it is clean and tidy, its can also be seen as mundane and unassuming....it needs a little bit of design elegance to shift its clean and tidy into professional and classy.

Search engines will find your site and index you along side all the other photographic sites ..... But you don't have enough words, so the search engines have nothing much to go on, compared to the many other sites ... you need some very good wording to compete with them.
 
DiddyDave said:
Just make sure they don't pixelate and you're fine :)

I loved Bude on my two Uni hols there - very very fond memories of the place :) You just need to make yourself THE #1 tog in everyone's eyes as its such a small place as locally 1/2 your marketable area is water :(

DD
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I've been digging and I think its a matter of marketing not skill. Theres one guy who worries me cos he is good but v traditional so I think there can be a fair bit of seperation there + he has the shop in town while I get no real passing trade

when I've got the site sorted I'm gonna hit adwords fairly hard, but I'm feeling a rewrite coming on first
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
Spelling and whatnot aside, hope your ok with my directness.

I too find its waaaay too slow…

Design wise, if you’ve built this yourself then good work. But although it is clean and tidy, its can also be seen as mundane and unassuming....it needs a little bit of design elegance to shift its clean and tidy into professional and classy.

Search engines will find your site and index you along side all the other photographic sites ..... But you don't have enough words, so the search engines have nothing much to go on, compared to the many other sites ... you need some very good wording to compete with them.
Click to expand...

slowness is to be rectified with all new images a little lower on the quality slider and pos a little smaller

seo is a problem, which is why I integrated the blog, I'm pushing links from business directories fairly hard and the rewrite should help a little
 
DemiLion said:
The About drop downs on your categories need to be more obvious. It would be very easy to click on Wedding and never find the About section with the pricing details.
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I'll second this, they seem a bit slow appearing and the first couple of times I had moved the mouse off before they started to appear.

Apart from that the layout is good, the white background looks very clean and neat which can be hard to pull off (hence I'm changing my site at the moment from white to grey). The text in the About section might want looking at but others have already covered that. Nice job overall!
 
Good idea ...blogs are loved by search engines , especially if, unlike me, you actually write a few every now and then.

I also find that although you got the blog attached, the search engines will Kinda look at it separately from the rest of the site ... so the other pages wont get ranked or published within someone’s search results, only the blog ones ... unless you pay them specific attention with wording and make them stand out a bit…if you get me.
 
david1701 said:
I've been digging and I think its a matter of marketing not skill. Theres one guy who worries me cos he is good but v traditional so I think there can be a fair bit of seperation there + he has the shop in town while I get no real passing trade

when I've got the site sorted I'm gonna hit adwords fairly hard, but I'm feeling a rewrite coming on first
Click to expand...

You need my Wedding marketing tip #1 - not do-able in all areas - but it works :)

How much is a booking every 40 letters & bumph sent out worth to you ??? :D

DD
 
hmmm so maybe my practice of having seperate 'about' sub pages is baaad :s

Yeah I average a blog post every 2 weeks (overdue atm) I'd like to make it a post a week and to have them better for seo but need to get my ass in gear
 
danmon_81 said:
on the home page the pictures still move/ jitter when a roll over them! Anyone else?

I like the white!!!
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nothing should be jittering :s

and on the home page the top text is rollover as are the social media Icons but the big pictures aren't :s

or do you mean the blog page?

Rewritten and aggressively culled the written sections still not happy with them but they're better at least
 
I'd recommend a BIG review of your written content...
Sensational wedding photos are the result of organisation, preparation and empathy with my clients
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Surely as a photographer you want your sensational wedding photos to have something to with a
fluent understanding of light, an ability to translate your story into a digital record and provide you with a product whose quality reflects the time and effort you {the bride} put into all the other details of your big day
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.... just as an example alternative!
 
yeah an overhaul of written content is required, we culled the most offensively bad bits last night but more is needed
 
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