The following all applies to proffesional websites, personal sites are obviously for a different use really, and as such much of the following doesn't apply.
any website that takes more than about 4s to load, you start losing viewers.
any entirely flash based website is not only bad for your SEO (search engine optimisation), but bad for people with disabilities, slow to load, etc etc. IF your flash app needs a 'loading' icon (remember the 4s rule), it's probably taking too long to load, and probably uses flash too much
music on websites, ESPECIALLY that plays the second you go to the site, animated gifs, splash pages (mostly, though occasionally acceptable for photographers), mailto: links (use a contact form, or just display your email!), being able to use the back button, are all SO 1994. Don't do it.
200 different categories of photos in a gallery, with each section basically being 'oh I went to the zoo once, I'm therefore an animal photographer' or 'I took my point and shoot to a gig and got 3 half decent shots'.... your portfolio needs to be concise, show the kind of work that you WANT to do (and don't say 'anything that'll pay!') - and preferably a clear link between these sections. If you're trying to get commercial work, unless you are very good and trying to shoot cars for magazines or whatever, a huge section on motorsport, coupled with a few studio shots of your kids and a couple of commercial type shots, is just going to say to your clients that you primarily shoot cars on a track... so they'll go to a 'people specialist' instead...
All of the photos need to be of a similar standard - if there is one weak image, then that is what will be judged, and all the rest of the good work next to it is pointless.
Think carefully about the shots that load on your site, especially the very first image or two that the visitor will see - a comemrcial client in an office doesn't want to be greeted with a glamour shot, neither does a parent looking for cute portraits of their kids.
In the same way, putting 3 similar shots (or even more than 2 shots of the same model / thing in the whole portfolio) just suggests to the reader that you don't have enough material to make a 'full' portfolio. Take these multiples out, and whatever you do, do not put them next to each other, unless you have a very good reason for doing so...
Corporate language, buzzwords, etc is a pet hate, HOWEVER, if you are a commercial photographer marketing yourself to commercial clients, then that is what they like, so that is what you should use!
I hate walls of text (hah, sorry about this post... ) - the guy hiring you doesn't care about your life story, they want to be sold on the fact that you can get the job done, well, with good results, creative vision etc etc. 10 paragraphs is NOT the way to do this.
Zack arias does regular critiques on websites and portfolios, which are very good - they're in the format of a video of him surfing the site and an audio track of him commenting on them. Well worth a watch.
it...drives me up the bleedin' wall
