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12/10/2004 02:38:18 AM · #1
please tell me what you think? this is our new business website.. me and my friend jerry (ijerry) have started a photo studio and this is our new website. please tell us what you think...

prestige photo

Message edited by author 2004-12-10 02:38:43.
12/10/2004 02:47:19 AM · #2
My I be one of the first to congrat you and Jerry on your new business.
12/10/2004 04:04:32 AM · #3
just had a quick look
not bad but...
the thumbnail to the Wedding Gallery needs some work as it dosn't look very sharp and it is first impressions that count. the home page needs crisp clear thumbnails
I think each page needs a back button you don't want people having to move their mouse off the page to go back or they might not stay on your site
the home page link needs to be more prominent it was to hard to find
maybe to help people navigate your site you could use links like at the top of this forums page
eg: Prestige Photo Design>>Galleries>>Weddings>>whatever
this is just some thoughs from a user not a web designer... hope it helps and good luck with the business

12/10/2004 04:25:50 AM · #4
Man...I love the simplicity! Great work.

It's been so long since I've seen text links on a photographer's site and I must say it's a welcome change.

Tip..the title of your page isn't changing with each section. I would customize each and every page for optimal searching. For example, when you click wedding, I'd like to see "Wedding Photographer in Cheyenne, Qyoming". Small thing but it'll be great when someone surfs over to google and punches in 'wedding photographer cheyenne wyoming'. Get it?

Congrats!

Edit: Oh and double check about 'window.open'. It might not work in SP2 of Windows XP. Can't quite remember at this moment.

Message edited by author 2004-12-10 04:27:29.
12/10/2004 04:24:42 PM · #5
hey, good work and good luck with your new business.

the simplicity of the site is greate, nearly impossible to get lost. I used firefox and XP SP2 and it worked fine, even the window.open function.

as 1st-2-click said, the thumbnails werent as sharp as they should be, i have always felt that since this is a photography website, quality should be of greater importance than speed.

my only complaint is that maybe your logo is a bit too plain, you dont want to distract the user too much away from the sites content, but it looks too much like it is straight out of a template.

just my thoughts...good luck
12/10/2004 04:28:52 PM · #6
nice and simple and lot's of text links = good.

One thing that is going to be of equal importance is getting keywords and a description up there so Google et al can find your site.

Also add a more descriptive page title as this is a big factor in being found (add you most desired keywords in the title, then in the keywords, description and several times in the body)

Best of luck.

12/10/2004 04:33:05 PM · #7
I think you guys need a splash page. They're a standard "opener" to most websites, just makes it reeeeal easy for people to know your name and maybe even what you do. There's a lot of info on your first page that competes with your name :-)

Good luck with everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
12/10/2004 04:52:37 PM · #8
Originally posted by GoldBerry:

I think you guys need a splash page. They're a standard "opener" to most websites, just makes it reeeeal easy for people to know your name and maybe even what you do. There's a lot of info on your first page that competes with your name :-)

Good luck with everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Sorry, I have to disagree with Goldberry here 100%

The only sites that use splash pages anymore are of the rude kind :D

Really, there is not one single reason to use them, having a page full of nice text will say more about your site than a logo or photo.

Some reasons not to use splash pages are as follows, although in all honestly this list is 45 times as long.

1) Porn sites use them
2) You need your homepage to be full of text and keywords, describe your company, tell the user what they can expect and show off a little about what you do.
3) You will get poor (if any) search engine ranking if you use a splash page due to lack of keywords and content - and no ranking = no visitors
4) Porn sites use them
5) Google et al, will often punish a site if they are using doorway pages which are unrelated
6) It serves as one more page for the user to click through in order to reach your site - an annoyance to the user
7) Think about it, your a business, your selling your wares - You don't have a door to get to the main door in a shop
8) Porn sites use them - get the idea here...? :D

12/10/2004 04:59:31 PM · #9
LOL

I didn't mean that sort of splash page, I guess I should've been more specific..my site has a splash page that's nothing like what jonpink is talking about. But it's waht I was referring to....not becuase I'm biased, but because people like them and they're easy to navigate.

:-)
12/10/2004 05:06:17 PM · #10
Originally posted by GoldBerry:

LOL

I didn't mean that sort of splash page, I guess I should've been more specific..my site has a splash page that's nothing like what jonpink is talking about. But it's waht I was referring to....not becuase I'm biased, but because people like them and they're easy to navigate.

:-)


Can I see it? :D

12/10/2004 05:32:43 PM · #11
my site, even though this thread is about another site..just an example of a simple splash page.

dangit, I think I'm having a problem with my host site...never mind.

Message edited by author 2004-12-10 17:33:27.
12/10/2004 05:49:55 PM · #12
Originally posted by jonpink:


Sorry, I have to disagree with Goldberry here 100%

The only sites that use splash pages anymore are of the rude kind :D

Really, there is not one single reason to use them, having a page full of nice text will say more about your site than a logo or photo.

Some reasons not to use splash pages are as follows, although in all honestly this list is 45 times as long.

1) Porn sites use them
2) You need your homepage to be full of text and keywords, describe your company, tell the user what they can expect and show off a little about what you do.
3) You will get poor (if any) search engine ranking if you use a splash page due to lack of keywords and content - and no ranking = no visitors
4) Porn sites use them
5) Google et al, will often punish a site if they are using doorway pages which are unrelated
6) It serves as one more page for the user to click through in order to reach your site - an annoyance to the user
7) Think about it, your a business, your selling your wares - You don't have a door to get to the main door in a shop
8) Porn sites use them - get the idea here...? :D


I'd have to agree with Jon here. Not because porn sites use them (I'm not as well versed in porn as Jon apparently is ;) ) but because they are annoying and pointless. It's really not necessary to make people click another time to actually enter the content of your site, just give it to them straight up.
12/10/2004 06:55:38 PM · #13
Originally posted by GoldBerry:

my site, even though this thread is about another site..just an example of a simple splash page.

dangit, I think I'm having a problem with my host site...never mind.


"You are not authorized to view this page" is not a good choice of splash page :D

12/10/2004 06:57:43 PM · #14
Originally posted by mk:

(I'm not as well versed in porn as Jon apparently is ;) )


Joking aside, porn sites tend to be at teh forefront of web development - tehy have all the gimiks and cash and most advertising ideas all stem through them..

Fastest growing business in the world market too.. :D (so I hear)

12/10/2004 07:21:09 PM · #15
I like the site. It comes off as both very professional and personable. I like the fact that you say "we" when describing your studio or staff in the first person instead of coming off like most other photographer's websites where they almost always talk about themselves in the third person as if they're not good enough to talk directly to the viewer of prospective client.

Good job, I'm sure it will help get the business to your doorstep.
12/10/2004 07:48:10 PM · #16
thanks a lot everyone.. really appreciate the input
12/10/2004 08:13:10 PM · #17
(1 - 8x10 = $30
1 - 5x7   = $10
1 - Picture CD = $75
1 - Slide Show DVD with Music = $75)

Be careful here!

We have been doing DVDs with music for our clients as well -- however, one dad (a lawyer) pointed out to us that using music without permission on an item you're selling is a copyright violation. We've been just "giving" them a DVD not "selling" it to get around this until we figure out what to do. We certainly can't afford to purchase the copyright permission.
12/10/2004 08:33:59 PM · #18
Originally posted by debitipton:


1 - Slide Show DVD with Music = $75)

Be careful here!

An option: iamusic.com
12/10/2004 11:17:25 PM · #19
The music copyright is a good point. However, we are not selling the music, we are selling the service of pictures and DVD, plus authoring time. Much like a DJ at a wedding gives the bride and groom a copy of the music they played at the reception. They charge for their services but not the music. Same here. People are not able to pull off the music or use it in any way, so really we are a step above the DJ here where he is giving away music.

We will check more into it though, but, from my understanding of copyright law, albeit not as much as a copyright lawyer, we are in the grey area. I may also be completely in the wrong but we will definitely look into it, and to be honest it was something we didn't even think about. thank you.

Also, thank you all for your input on the site. We are changing the page titles, submitting to search engines and are also re-wording some of our text to sound a lot better. we got rid of a splash page that was in the previous version of the site, so we won't be adding one again.

Thanks again.
12/11/2004 12:57:02 AM · #20
Originally posted by ijerry:

We will check more into it though, but, from my understanding of copyright law, albeit not as much as a copyright lawyer, we are in the grey area. I may also be completely in the wrong but we will definitely look into it, and to be honest it was something we didn't even think about. thank you.


Jerry
The way he explained it to me was -- Anytime you use music on an item you are making a profit from you must obtain copyright permission from the holder to use any portion of that music. Much like you'd need at get permission from Pepsi to use their product in anything you'd be making a profit from. I've burned DVDs without using music but they just aren't the same. It really needs that background music. I'll also be checking out the iamusic.com site that Brad pointed out.

Please let me know if you find out anything different. Not being a lawyer either I'm needing to do more research on this as well.
Debi
12/11/2004 01:08:39 AM · #21
A possible workaround...

Aren't customers allowed to reproduce music for their own personal use? If so, then why can't your customer hand you a CD they own and ask for a specific song to be inserted into their DVD-photo montage? They paid for it and you will not be keeping a copy. Then you would technically be adding it for their own personal use. Naturally, you must offer this 'free' to avoid legal issues. But it doesn't seem wrong to me.
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