What's good? What's missing? What could be improved?
Thanks!
I think the first questions you need to ask yourself is what do you want people to focus on when they get to your homepage and then what do you want them to do. For me, it's admire whatever is on the homepage and start clicking for more. I think less on the homepage is better; it aids the viewer into focusing on your work and your work is beautiful. I find that your homepage is cluttered and distracts me from focusing on the work. I am not a fan of both a banner/header on the top and menu on the side. I am seeing that more with the new smugmug and it is very cluttered, especially on a 13 inch laptop screen. Considering the popularity of ipads and smaller screened devices, clutter becomes more of an issue. I would get rid of the fleur de lys on the left; it does not add much. You don't need the word favorites on the homepage; that's obvious or you would not put the images there. If you stay with the header across the top, I would make it thinner; gives you more real estate to show off your work. I would turn off the captions on the homepage; makes for less clutter. maybe condense your menu and make a folder called something like portfolio or galleries, put the headings that you have or the side bar within it, design it like a flyout and then your menu would be condensed to home, portfoilo and contact; less clutter. And maybe a slideshow on the homepage?
I think the first questions you need to ask yourself is what do you want people to focus on when they get to your homepage and then what do you want them to do. For me, it's admire whatever is on the homepage and start clicking for more. I think less on the homepage is better; it aids the viewer into focusing on your work and your work is beautiful. I find that your homepage is cluttered and distracts me from focusing on the work. I am not a fan of both a banner/header on the top and menu on the side. I am seeing that more with the new smugmug and it is very cluttered, especially on a 13 inch laptop screen. Considering the popularity of ipads and smaller screened devices, clutter becomes more of an issue. I would get rid of the fleur de lys on the left; it does not add much. You don't need the word favorites on the homepage; that's obvious or you would not put the images there. If you stay with the header across the top, I would make it thinner; gives you more real estate to show off your work. I would turn off the captions on the homepage; makes for less clutter. maybe condense your menu and make a folder called something like portfolio or galleries, put the headings that you have or the side bar within it, design it like a flyout and then your menu would be condensed to home, portfoilo and contact; less clutter. And maybe a slideshow on the homepage?
Hope that helps!
Thanks so much for taking the time to express your thoughts!
Since I don't sell, my main reason is just to share the images. I would indeed like to make the header smaller, I'll work on doing that.
I have gone back and forth about the slide show on the Homepage. Right now it is just a menu item. I guess I was thinking that a variety of images on the Homepage, without having to watch them one at a time via a slideshow, would give folks an idea of my work and encourage them to explore further.
You've given me a lot to think about....thank you so much!
I have finally got my site to where I am happy with it. It was much easier this time around than the legacy site was years ago.
I had a hard time with the slideshow on my homepage, but thanks to the instructions from "digitalpins" on page 24 of this thread, it worked like a charm - many thanks to Lamont Photography!
Thanks so much for taking the time to express your thoughts!
Since I don't sell, my main reason is just to share the images. I would indeed like to make the header smaller, I'll work on doing that.
I have gone back and forth about the slide show on the Homepage. Right now it is just a menu item. I guess I was thinking that a variety of images on the Homepage, without having to watch them one at a time via a slideshow, would give folks an idea of my work and encourage them to explore further.
You've given me a lot to think about....thank you so much!
I know what you mean about the slideshow. If I remember correctly, I think you were one who commented that you missed the Fastline media full screen homepage slideshow? If you stick with the images all the more reason to simplify the rest as the images make it more cluttered in and of themselves which is why I suggested getting rid of the captions on the homepage. You can do that on the homepage image controls; they will remain on the originals just won't display on the homepage. Your work is lovely especially some of your travel portrait stuff. Focus on getting people to see that.
As for the header, some of the new templates had a very thin header. Revisit that. It will keep your current template as you have customized it but if you choose a new theme, you will have to re-do all of that. Or customize what you have to the look of another template.
What's good? What's missing? What could be improved?
Thanks!
The white background is a vast improvement over your previous iteration. I would recommend a little reorganization to your folders and galleries. You have flowers in with Birds/Other? Think of how many clicks a visitor from your website needs to click to get to a gallery. Try to keep it simple without too many folders. It is currently three clicks to get to your hummingbird gallery. Current structure is: Birds/Other: Hummingbirds: Hummingbirds. Simplify to Birds(folder): Hummingbirds (I would keep your solo and duet images together in the same gallery). Some of this may require some more logical groupings based on your subjects. You have some compelling images. Best of luck.
Thanks,
Jake
Website: www.frozenshutter.com
"Some people hunt with a rifle, I hunt with a Canon" ~ Gary Jacobson
I have finally got my site to where I am happy with it. It was much easier this time around than the legacy site was years ago.
I had a hard time with the slideshow on my homepage, but thanks to the instructions from "digitalpins" on page 24 of this thread, it worked like a charm - many thanks to Lamont Photography!
Many of the new sites look great - thanks for sharing everyone!
Kathy
Overall, I think your new site design looks quite good and I enjoyed looking through your photographs.
I do have a few comments about the portfolio page that you could consider. For one, the "Other" folder does not have an image. You may have selected something that is in a private gallery.
The other comment I have is that, with the exception of the "Stock Images" link, clicking on all the other selections takes me to a second page with the same selection again where I have to click a second time to get to your photos in that gallery. Looking at the URLs, it seems this is related to your site organization but you should be able to change things on the portfolio page so a single click takes the user directly to the gallery.
For the Stock Images, I wonder if navigation would benefit from doing the opposite. The catagories are clearly helpful for someone shopping for a particular type of photo. But I think you could arrange all of the catagories into one display instead of using the drill down method you currently have. I'm personally more in favor of scrolling to see a few more categories that I can directly click on rather than being required to "drill down" by clicking several times. Just my personal opinion of course.
I would remove the smugmug header and footer. They are easily removed on the settings page for your entire site.
I find your choice of dark blue against black and dark gray against black somewhat painful to read. If you're going to use a black background I'd suggest using lighter (or brighter) colors for text.
Your "About this site" page has a slideshow button on it. I don't think a slideshow on an about page containing only 3 photos is needed; it would look cleaner without the button.
--- Denise
Denise,
Thank you so much for your suggestions. Missed the part where I could turn off the header/footer and the slideshow on about. Like your site with the nice, clean look too.
I would add to Denise's comments that you have a lot of nice photos on your homepage - why would you detract from them by having the search globe?
It may be better to have that as a separate page on it's own.
Also the facebook Icon, is too far to the left, to match your menu system above, I would suggest putting it in the centre of the block
Thank you for your suggestions. I put the globe on my About page for now. Love your panoramic home page. And the tilt/shift of Niagra brought a grin to my face.
Perry
One thing that jumped out at me is really personal preference - and that is that I think I would prefer a background color matching your header. Your choice, of course!
The contact form that comes up when I click Email me from the bottom of your Services page does not have your site header on it and it has a Wufoo label on it. I'm guessing the Info... Contact form is also from Wufoo but that one is integrated into your page. I would prefer to see both bring up the same form (the one from Info... Contact).
One thing that jumped out at me is really personal preference - and that is that I think I would prefer a background color matching your header. Your choice, of course!
The contact form that comes up when I click Email me from the bottom of your Services page does not have your site header on it and it has a Wufoo label on it. I'm guessing the Info... Contact form is also from Wufoo but that one is integrated into your page. I would prefer to see both bring up the same form (the one from Info... Contact).
--- Denise
Thanks Denise, it always helps to have extra eyes. I agree with you after looking closer. I made a slight change in color to the header but just a little different to keep it a little seperate. I also fixed the form. Thanks!
I'd like to see the header take up less space so the slide show images are more prominent. Also if the favicon for Facebook was on the same line as the "like......" line, more space would be available for the slide show.
I'm also unsure of the difference between Portfolio and Browse galleries....
I was a bit surprised to see both a side navbar and a header. You've reserved space for words at both the top and the left side of your site. That takes away from the space available for your photos. Yes, I know, it doesn't matter on a large screen monitor - but it matters a lot on a laptop, tablet, or phone.
"Click to see more... " on the pages where you present folders isn't needed. A combination of that, the icon at the bottom of your nav, and the icon with the words "to top" at the bottom of the page give a very dated look to your site. That's fine if that's the look you are after, just wanted to mention it.
I was a bit surprised to see both a side navbar and a header. You've reserved space for words at both the top and the left side of your site. That takes away from the space available for your photos. Yes, I know, it doesn't matter on a large screen monitor - but it matters a lot on a laptop, tablet, or phone.
"Click to see more... " on the pages where you present folders isn't needed. A combination of that, the icon at the bottom of your nav, and the icon with the words "to top" at the bottom of the page give a very dated look to your site. That's fine if that's the look you are after, just wanted to mention it.
--- Denise
Denise,
Thanks so much for commenting! I truly appreciate it! Do you think the slide show would be better on the homepage??????
The "to top" was simply an easy way for the viewer to go to the top. If not valuable to the viewer - it is history! ! Same with the "click to see more"....I was trying to encourage the viewer to explore the site.
The icon on the left side should not be taking up more space, since it is within the width of the menu and whatever folders/galleries or images are on the page are "taller" than the menu and the icon. However, I will consider the "dated" feel that the icon may induce.
Lastly the copyright comments were an after thought. You are right....not necessary.
Hi, Rich! Personally I love the slide show as it conveys movement - which emphasizes the athletic ability of the dogs!
It does appear that you can minimize the space needed for your header and allow more room for the slide show. I too the top and bottom margins to -0- in many cases. Also, the top margin of the slide show appears that it can be reduced. Since few of your slide show images are really wide....you might be able to move the menu to the left side and give yourself more room for a larger slide show....since vertical space is usually the limiting parameter..... Just a thought....
How did you get your Header information to scale smaller as the monitor size decreases? Even the menu converts to a single word. It looks very nice!
Thanks Karen, I really didn't make too many changes to the header other than color. Its the Isis theme and maybe its just built into it? Thanks for your feedback!
I think Karen is right on. I love the dogs and would love to see more of them; literally, by seeing you create more real estate for the slideshow. This would mean making the header thinner. Maybe you can set your logo to be flush left, then raise the menu and get it flush right. You can condense the menu by using Galleries instead of Gallery Index, Events or Calendar instead of events Schedule, get rid of My Facebook and use one of the social media icons. Then the doggies can have more room to roam!
I really like how your site, and Connie's adjust to smaller screens. The header and menus scale down. Is this a function of the theme you started with, because that doesn't seem obvious when picking a theme. I started with Sierra and Willow, but both do not adjust to smaller screens. Did you start with Isis too? Or ......????
I really like how your site, and Connie's adjust to smaller screens. The header and menus scale down. Is this a function of the theme you started with, because that doesn't seem obvious when picking a theme. I started with Sierra and Willow, but both do not adjust to smaller screens. Did you start with Isis too? Or ......????
I assure you, I did nothing to make it adjust to smaller screens. I suspect that these templates by default will adjust to the viewing screen. Perhaps you inadvertently un-did that??
I started with the NYX theme. I think I chose that one because it had the side bar.
Comments
I think the first questions you need to ask yourself is what do you want people to focus on when they get to your homepage and then what do you want them to do. For me, it's admire whatever is on the homepage and start clicking for more. I think less on the homepage is better; it aids the viewer into focusing on your work and your work is beautiful. I find that your homepage is cluttered and distracts me from focusing on the work. I am not a fan of both a banner/header on the top and menu on the side. I am seeing that more with the new smugmug and it is very cluttered, especially on a 13 inch laptop screen. Considering the popularity of ipads and smaller screened devices, clutter becomes more of an issue. I would get rid of the fleur de lys on the left; it does not add much. You don't need the word favorites on the homepage; that's obvious or you would not put the images there. If you stay with the header across the top, I would make it thinner; gives you more real estate to show off your work. I would turn off the captions on the homepage; makes for less clutter. maybe condense your menu and make a folder called something like portfolio or galleries, put the headings that you have or the side bar within it, design it like a flyout and then your menu would be condensed to home, portfoilo and contact; less clutter. And maybe a slideshow on the homepage?
Hope that helps!
My Fine Art Photography
My Infrared Photography
www.CynthiaMerzerPhotography.com
Thanks so much for taking the time to express your thoughts!
Since I don't sell, my main reason is just to share the images. I would indeed like to make the header smaller, I'll work on doing that.
I have gone back and forth about the slide show on the Homepage. Right now it is just a menu item. I guess I was thinking that a variety of images on the Homepage, without having to watch them one at a time via a slideshow, would give folks an idea of my work and encourage them to explore further.
You've given me a lot to think about....thank you so much!
www.butlerkid.smugmug.com
I had a hard time with the slideshow on my homepage, but thanks to the instructions from "digitalpins" on page 24 of this thread, it worked like a charm - many thanks to Lamont Photography!
My site is here: http://www.photographybykml.com/
Many of the new sites look great - thanks for sharing everyone!
Kathy
http://photographybykml.com
http://photographybykml.blogspot.com
I know what you mean about the slideshow. If I remember correctly, I think you were one who commented that you missed the Fastline media full screen homepage slideshow? If you stick with the images all the more reason to simplify the rest as the images make it more cluttered in and of themselves which is why I suggested getting rid of the captions on the homepage. You can do that on the homepage image controls; they will remain on the originals just won't display on the homepage. Your work is lovely especially some of your travel portrait stuff. Focus on getting people to see that.
As for the header, some of the new templates had a very thin header. Revisit that. It will keep your current template as you have customized it but if you choose a new theme, you will have to re-do all of that. Or customize what you have to the look of another template.
Good luck!
My Fine Art Photography
My Infrared Photography
www.CynthiaMerzerPhotography.com
The white background is a vast improvement over your previous iteration. I would recommend a little reorganization to your folders and galleries. You have flowers in with Birds/Other? Think of how many clicks a visitor from your website needs to click to get to a gallery. Try to keep it simple without too many folders. It is currently three clicks to get to your hummingbird gallery. Current structure is: Birds/Other: Hummingbirds: Hummingbirds. Simplify to Birds(folder): Hummingbirds (I would keep your solo and duet images together in the same gallery). Some of this may require some more logical groupings based on your subjects. You have some compelling images. Best of luck.
Jake
Website: www.frozenshutter.com
"Some people hunt with a rifle, I hunt with a Canon" ~ Gary Jacobson
Overall, I think your new site design looks quite good and I enjoyed looking through your photographs.
I do have a few comments about the portfolio page that you could consider. For one, the "Other" folder does not have an image. You may have selected something that is in a private gallery.
The other comment I have is that, with the exception of the "Stock Images" link, clicking on all the other selections takes me to a second page with the same selection again where I have to click a second time to get to your photos in that gallery. Looking at the URLs, it seems this is related to your site organization but you should be able to change things on the portfolio page so a single click takes the user directly to the gallery.
For the Stock Images, I wonder if navigation would benefit from doing the opposite. The catagories are clearly helpful for someone shopping for a particular type of photo. But I think you could arrange all of the catagories into one display instead of using the drill down method you currently have. I'm personally more in favor of scrolling to see a few more categories that I can directly click on rather than being required to "drill down" by clicking several times. Just my personal opinion of course.
Richard Vanderlippe
www.rvanderlippe.com
Thank you so much for your suggestions.
http://www.connieandersonphotography.com/
Perry
One thing that jumped out at me is really personal preference - and that is that I think I would prefer a background color matching your header. Your choice, of course!
The contact form that comes up when I click Email me from the bottom of your Services page does not have your site header on it and it has a Wufoo label on it. I'm guessing the Info... Contact form is also from Wufoo but that one is integrated into your page. I would prefer to see both bring up the same form (the one from Info... Contact).
--- Denise
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
http://www.omnisourceimages.com
Thanks Denise, it always helps to have extra eyes. I agree with you after looking closer. I made a slight change in color to the header but just a little different to keep it a little seperate. I also fixed the form. Thanks!
Really nice images!
I'd like to see the header take up less space so the slide show images are more prominent. Also if the favicon for Facebook was on the same line as the "like......" line, more space would be available for the slide show.
I'm also unsure of the difference between Portfolio and Browse galleries....
www.butlerkid.smugmug.com
"Click to see more... " on the pages where you present folders isn't needed. A combination of that, the icon at the bottom of your nav, and the icon with the words "to top" at the bottom of the page give a very dated look to your site. That's fine if that's the look you are after, just wanted to mention it.
--- Denise
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
Denise,
Thanks so much for commenting! I truly appreciate it! Do you think the slide show would be better on the homepage??????
The "to top" was simply an easy way for the viewer to go to the top. If not valuable to the viewer - it is history!
The icon on the left side should not be taking up more space, since it is within the width of the menu and whatever folders/galleries or images are on the page are "taller" than the menu and the icon. However, I will consider the "dated" feel that the icon may induce.
Lastly the copyright comments were an after thought. You are right....not necessary.
www.butlerkid.smugmug.com
Very nice! I think the collage format on the homepage really complements the type of photography you do.
My Fine Art Photography
My Infrared Photography
www.CynthiaMerzerPhotography.com
REALLY professional images! Nice Work!
Love your website! It really highlights your images!
www.butlerkid.smugmug.com
Thank you!
www.richknechtphotography.com
www.richknechtphotography.com
It does appear that you can minimize the space needed for your header and allow more room for the slide show. I too the top and bottom margins to -0- in many cases. Also, the top margin of the slide show appears that it can be reduced. Since few of your slide show images are really wide....you might be able to move the menu to the left side and give yourself more room for a larger slide show....since vertical space is usually the limiting parameter..... Just a thought....
www.butlerkid.smugmug.com
It looks good so far. To my eye there is a lot of space between your name and your nav bar.
Thank you Karen!
How did you get your Header information to scale smaller as the monitor size decreases? Even the menu converts to a single word. It looks very nice!
www.butlerkid.smugmug.com
www.richknechtphotography.com
Thanks Karen, I really didn't make too many changes to the header other than color. Its the Isis theme and maybe its just built into it? Thanks for your feedback!
Connie
You might also see a big difference with the menu along the left side.....nothing is there anyway!
Your work is wonderful!
www.butlerkid.smugmug.com
Yes looks way better!
I think Karen is right on. I love the dogs and would love to see more of them; literally, by seeing you create more real estate for the slideshow. This would mean making the header thinner. Maybe you can set your logo to be flush left, then raise the menu and get it flush right. You can condense the menu by using Galleries instead of Gallery Index, Events or Calendar instead of events Schedule, get rid of My Facebook and use one of the social media icons. Then the doggies can have more room to roam!
My Fine Art Photography
My Infrared Photography
www.CynthiaMerzerPhotography.com
I really like how your site, and Connie's adjust to smaller screens. The header and menus scale down. Is this a function of the theme you started with, because that doesn't seem obvious when picking a theme. I started with Sierra and Willow, but both do not adjust to smaller screens. Did you start with Isis too? Or ......????
www.butlerkid.smugmug.com
I assure you, I did nothing to make it adjust to smaller screens. I suspect that these templates by default will adjust to the viewing screen. Perhaps you inadvertently un-did that??
I started with the NYX theme. I think I chose that one because it had the side bar.
My Fine Art Photography
My Infrared Photography
www.CynthiaMerzerPhotography.com