Posts Tagged ‘Web Design and Development’

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Apr
20

Spring cleaning

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

The economy seems to be picking up a little.  Let’s hope it sticks.

As the economy grows, so do the opportunities for more visitors to your Web site. Now would be a good time to do a little spring cleaning on your Web site.  It’s easy to forget about the foundation of our Web presence when there are so many new and exciting platforms on which to share our message.

Take a fresh look at your Web site. Listed below are five quick things for photographers to consider:

1.)   Does your site look modern?

2.)   Is it easy to navigate?

3.)   Do you have contact information on every page?

4.)   Can the portfolio be updated with better or more current images?

5.)   Are there any dead links?

There are many more things to consider, but if you check and consider the above list, you should be in good shape.  If your site looks outdated, more work is ahead of you.

Make sure visitors can navigate easily on your site.  Ask friends and family to test it, too.  If they have trouble, most likely potential clients are having the same experience. This means you are losing opportunities.

Remember that search engines do not index Web sites, they index Web pages. This means people can land on any page of your site and it could  be their first and last impression.  Make sure your contact information is easy to find on all pages of your site. If you think your visitors can or should figure it out for themselves, you are losing opportunities.

We all have photographs to which we are emotionally attached, but the reality is old and outdated photographs may cost you work opportunities.  I recommend getting a second opinion about your site images from other photographers and clients. Ask them what they think are your strongest images and what photographs should be replaced.

Check all your links, both internal and external.  Click them all, even if the links worked the last time you checked. You might be surprised. External links change all the time.  If you have exchanged links with someone, confirm they have not changed their mind and removed your link.

Spring cleaning should happen more often than once a year.  Every few months, at the very least, check all five items on the above list so your visitors have a good experience.

What items would you add to the spring cleaning list?

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Feb
23

Wrong answer

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

I had a project estimate presentation with a large client.  We had a long list of topics and services to discuss.  One of the services was search engine optimization (SEO).

I was asked to justify the price tag for SEO.  I explained what we do, the actions, research and management of each page.  Although my response was accepted by the client,  I felt my answer was incomplete.  It was the wrong answer.

SEO is a valuable service.  Much of my photography work comes from people finding my portfolio through the search engines.  SEO works.  In fact, this company originally found our Web site because of our SEO efforts.

So what was wrong with my answer? I focused on what our company does — what some might call the features. No one really cares about feature details, only how the features will benefit them.

The client only needed to know one thing: Better search engine placement will help them make more money.

SEO is a good investment. The client most likely will earn back more than they paid for the service. I know it. I’ve experienced it.  The future of most companies hinges on being highly visible on the Internet.

The same principle holds true for your photography.  Your work is valuable.  When someone asks you  to justify your price, make sure you have a good answer. Here are a few examples:

  • “My photography will help you sell more products.”
  • “You are losing money with the poor photography on your Web site.”
  • “I will make you look beautiful.
  • My vision, style and passion will capture the memories of  the most important day of your life.”

People don’t care how you’re going to do it. They just need the justification to spend money on the amazing results you will provide.

Rosh

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Dec
18

Don’t forget Web site basics

Friday, December 18th, 2009

Sometimes it’s good to review some of the basics.

What do people find when they land on your page? Are they pleased?

Does your Web site look professional? Can visitors easily identify who you are and the name of your business?  Don’t forget  to have easy-to-find contact information on every page of your Web site.

Is your Web site easy to navigate? Just because it’s obvious to you doesn’t make it user-friendly for the rest of the population. If you think they will be able to figure it out, you have figured wrong. Don’t make people work too hard.

If you are using a blogging platform such as WordPress as a base for your site, you have a wonderful opportunity. Most blogging systems offer a real simple syndication (RSS) feed so people can subscribe to your site with their favorite reader, such as Google reader.

It’s amazing how many sites don’t have the option to request more information or subscribe to  newsletters. Acquiring e-mails from people who care about you and what you do is extremely valuable.

If you want people to click on a button, make it  easy to find. Make it loud.  Slick buttons that flow with the beautiful design of your site often are overlooked.

How quickly does your Web site load? This is important.  In 2010 it will become even more important as the search engines continue to use page-load speed as a criteria for page rank.

Remember, it is important to test how your Web site looks on different browsers.  Your favorite browser is not enough.  You might be surprised at how different your site looks on other browsers.

While the latest focus is on driving traffic to your site, don’t forget to pay attention to the basics.  All the traffic in the world doesn’t do any good if people can’t find what they are looking for and don’t like what they see.

Rosh

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Nov
17

Fotomoto: Sell Your Photographs on your Web site

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

fotomoto

I have been recommending fotomoto.com for about six months. It’s an effective sales platform for photographers.

Fotomoto offers photographers an easy-to-use e-commerce solution directly on their Web site.  Whether a photographer wishes to sell images directly from a traditional Web site or blog, Fotomoto has a solution.

You may recall me complaining during the summer about their terms of service.  This issue was satisfactorily addressed months ago. Fotomoto makes it very clear you own your images and they only want permission to reproduce the images to serve your clients. I’m just late in following up with a good review.

There is no set-up charge for the Fotomoto service. Once you insert the Fotomoto code or activate a plug-in,  all future images posted to the site will simply and automatically be e-commerce ready without any additional work.

Once you place a photo on your site, Fotomoto automatically keeps track of the views and offers image management such as turning the “for sale” option on and off under the print section at the Fotomoto site.

The platform works with standard HTML Web sites, WordPress, squarespace, movable type, pixelpost and photoblog as well as custom scripts or templates. You have the option to sell prints, cards and products (in the future). They also offer a free e-card option that is designed to help promote your site.  Once an account is opened, multiple sites may be added with custom pricing for each location.  They even make custom coupon codes easy to create to encourage sales.

The entire transaction takes place without the customer losing sight of the photographer’s Web site.  Each transaction is conducted through PayPal, which allows for standard credit card purchases.  If you are not familiar with PayPal once you set up an account all you need to do is give Fotomoto or any e-commerce service your email and PayPal will securely take care of the rest.

Fotomoto earns a 15 percent commission of the sale (plus the cost of the prints or products).  I find this very reasonable.  You don’t have to upload full resolution images until a sale is made.

All the photographer options such as setting prices, products and customer management are found on the Fotomoto Web site.  Each of the options is easily adjusted in the well-laid-out and user-friendly site.  They also offer multiple options to answer your questions such as e-mail support, a getting started page, FAQ section, plus tips and tricks to help you customize.

Although Fotomoto is effective for standard Web sites, I see this platform as an excellent answer for the photoblogger. Fotomoto allows the photoblogger to upload his image and move on without additional actions needed.  Each image automatically will be offered for sale (depending on the settings) to fans and followers.

Below is a sample I created from last Sunday’s Royal Oak photo walk. All I did was upload the image and Fotomoto automatically did the rest. Test it out, send an e-card or review the prints.  I set the price just above cost and commission.

Rosh

trackssmall2

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Nov
3

Seven new Web sites for the photographer

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Take a look at these sites for photographers, most of which are new:

Imgur.com allows you to upload your images and create multiple methods to share, including a link shortening system.  Imgur also features a gallery of popular images and statistics.

Screenr.com offers a free, five-minute screencast.  You can share your best Photoshop technique and then tweet it to the world.

Zenbe.com Don’t have your Google Wave invite yet? It’s not real time, but you won’t be left out of the new collaborative world.  Work on projects and share images with clients in one location.

Imageraters.com allows you to submit, share and others will rate your images.

Snapixel.com is a new service to buy, sell and share photographs.

Plogger.org Open source photography Web gallery.

Faculte.com Create and distribute interactive video presentations.

Feel free to review these site further in the comments.

Rosh

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