Redesigned website after bad reviews C&C

ki_user

Hi everyone. Last time I asked for feedback on my website everyone was brutally honest and ripped it to shreds. Taking everyone's feedback into account I have completely redesigned it.

www.digicasephotography.co.uk

I would love to know what you think of this one, and wait with interest to hear your comments good or bad.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to look and post.

Lee.

chrisjohnson

Some quick impressions:
- don't like the click to start idea. The landing page is very important. Most people do not look further so your front page should tell them what they need to know, the rest is supportive to the main message.
- the slide show runs a bit too quick for my taste. Makes me feel rushed. Never thought I would say that about a photo site - compliments to your hosting provider.
- don't know who "Oshi" is. Perhaps copyright Digicase is better then I know you took the photos. Oshi is not very Welsh so I found myself wondering how Japan figures in the world of a Bridgend photographer. You need to be consistent with your branding.
- I think Google will have trouble figuring out where to sort you. Digicase sounds like you sell luggage - it does not tell you are a photographer in South Wales wanting to shoot portraits and weddings. Add some simple text on the landing page to tell what you offer.
- business wise you miss the post-shoot sales opportunity. Eg in Smugmug with a couple of clicks and a credit card you can buy copies. In your case it is not even clear how to reference the photo I want when buying via email or however you do it.

Otherwise it is just fine

denisegoldberg

I also dislike the "click to I find the switch from white background to black to be quite jarring.

Your About page text is much to small. It may look pretty, but it is difficult to read. Same is true of your contact us text (phone numbers and email address).

There doesn't appear to be a way to step through the larger images in your portfolio without going back to the small display. I clicked a photo in the smaller "strip". Saw a reasonably-sized image, wanted to get to the next large image, and had to get there through the small image. I won't take the time to click twice to see each image. And the automatic scrolling when I hover over the photos is quite annoying, doesn't leave time to actually see anything.

"This website was created by wix.com" line on the bottom doesn't thrill me. I know, I know, I have a smugmug copyright on the bottom of my site, but this jumps out at me on your site because of the white box on black. It just floats off of the page.

--- Denise

ki_user

goldenballs wrote: »

Some quick impressions:
- don't like the click to start idea. The landing page is very important. Most people do not look further so your front page should tell them what they need to know, the rest is supportive to the main message.
- the slide show runs a bit too quick for my taste. Makes me feel rushed. Never thought I would say that about a photo site - compliments to your hosting provider.
- don't know who "Oshi" is. Perhaps copyright Digicase is better then I know you took the photos. Oshi is not very Welsh so I found myself wondering how Japan figures in the world of a Bridgend photographer. You need to be consistent with your branding.
- I think Google will have trouble figuring out where to sort you. Digicase sounds like you sell luggage - it does not tell you are a photographer in South Wales wanting to shoot portraits and weddings. Add some simple text on the landing page to tell what you offer.
- business wise you miss the post-shoot sales opportunity. Eg in Smugmug with a couple of clicks and a credit card you can buy copies. In your case it is not even clear how to reference the photo I want when buying via email or however you do it.

Otherwise it is just fine

Thanks for your feedback, some sound advice in there, not sure I need to worry about google, try typing "digicase" or "professional photographer bridgend"

denisegoldberg wrote: »

I also dislike the "click to I find the switch from white background to black to be quite jarring.

Your About page text is much to small. It may look pretty, but it is difficult to read. Same is true of your contact us text (phone numbers and email address).

There doesn't appear to be a way to step through the larger images in your portfolio without going back to the small display. I clicked a photo in the smaller "strip". Saw a reasonably-sized image, wanted to get to the next large image, and had to get there through the small image. I won't take the time to click twice to see each image. And the automatic scrolling when I hover over the photos is quite annoying, doesn't leave time to actually see anything.

"This website was created by wix.com" line on the bottom doesn't thrill me. I know, I know, I have a smugmug copyright on the bottom of my site, but this jumps out at me on your site because of the white box on black. It just floats off of the page.

--- Denise

Thanks for your help, there should be a little hover icon on the pig pics with two arrows

denisegoldberg

ki_user wrote: »

there should be a little hover icon on the pig pics with two arrows

It takes a while for that to show up, and I find that it moves; it's not in the same place with every photo. That's quite annoying and would stop me from perusing photos.

Back to portfolio should go back to the starting portfolio page in a single click. It doesn't.

--- Denise

ki_user

Fair comment, thanks

Foques

when i'm browsing websites, if they are built on flash only, that is the end of my browsing of the said site.
So click to start was a first negative thing, once I clicked, you lost me at flash.

ian408

Didn't look because I had to click to enter.

Sam

I concur with everyone else.

One thing that jumped off the page at me:

"Digicase Photography have has over 10 years experience and cover covers most aspects of photography."

I don't care for the Wix.com advertising. The hover button has got to go.

The site seems very simple, to simple and basic. I think a darker background would help the photos pop.

Why not look at a SmugMug site?

My thoughts.

Sam

chrisjohnson

google
You are right about google - in the top 10!

ki_user

Thanks all, it's all about learning eh?

Hikin' Mike

ian408 wrote: »

Didn't look because I had to click to enter.

+1.

Photog4Christ

I'm surprised no one mentioned that it switches domains when you enter the site.... wix.com

NikonsandVstroms

As people have said lose the splash (opening page) page just has nothing really going for it because even though you list the sections you can't navigate to them...which I tried to do, also it is not centered.

The slideshow is too fast making the viewer slightly uneasy.

If there is anyway to minimize the stuff from the site you used to make it I would, it make a simple page busy and kills that effect for you, plus hurts on the professionalism front....they might have a black banner which would help minimize this.

On the about section I would move it down a little because it currently does not match up with any lines....you could have it go from the top of the lens which would make sense or somehow try to line it up with the top or bottom of the logo.

Also I would change the color of the text in the portfolio section, especially in landscape and art these are hard to read, a grey would be fine, or even switch it. Also they put the text for the links as selectable text even though it is flash which makes no sense, you should be able to click the text and go to the link. I am on a fast computer and it might be the frame rate of their SWF but the scrolling left/right in the portfolio sections is choppy and bothers my eye.


The contact page doesn't fit with your theme....simple clean but then a distressed contact form. Also the black is a lot coming out from there, you could just have it be there with the white background and perhaps some black lines to make a box. As of now my eye is drawn to that more than anything, also there is a lot of negative space so this would be a good place for an image.


I looked at the site you used to make this and I understand they are free but even their examples of what you can do have some weird design elements that make no sense. It looks like they go for a lot of animations just to have them, even when they interfere with other design elements.

You have that nice and simple logo but then it just gets busier and busier, your best bet might be to tone it down a bit and find another web design tool or contact a web designer to do a cleaner site to go with that style of the initial page....if that is what you are going for.

If you look over on my portfolio site and the commercial/design section it is actually simpler than your current splash page, and something along those at least when it comes to that simplicity. After looking at this for a bit I do feel that you could work on a more vertical basis giving your logo that whitespace like at the beginning of the wix page and have it off the the left and content on the right 2/3 of the page.

ki_user

Thanks to almost everyone for your feedback

Sam

ki_user wrote: »

Thanks to almost everyone for your feedback

Almost everyone????????????

Did I miss something?

Sam

jecottrell

The graphic design of the page is beautiful, except it is portrait which doesn't lend itself to landscape monitors. Nothing like having to scroll up and down to navigate a site.

Fix the typos, one of which has already been highlighted in this thread.

If you'd like to sell your landscape work make it possible from your site. Shoppers aren't going to make the effort to "contact you" to inquire about purchasing.

Hope this helps some,

John

ki_user

thanks for the feedback, my landscapes are not something I'm really hoping to sell, more to showcase them.

Zaui

Sam wrote: »

One thing that jumped off the page at me:

"Digicase Photography have has over 10 years experience and cover covers most aspects of photography."

This might be a UK vs. American usage issue, and not technically wrong.

FedererPhoto

I had to wait like 30 seconds... and when I was done waiting, only a small wedding image popped up. Then a slideshow started...

Have the image files dynamically load -- it will increase the apparent speed of the load dramatically.

W.W. Webster

Zaui wrote: »

This might be a UK vs. American usage issue, and not technically wrong.

:nono