Webpage Update

As some of you know, I recently took an interest in youth sports and have actually had a few sales. With this in mind, it was suggested that I update my webpage to reflect this interest and to attract potential buyers. So.......I had the day off today and decided to give it a try.


The background was my first and biggest problem. I didn't care for any of the "stock backgrounds" my service offers so I created my own. I have never done this before. I have I never created a page from scratch, never used gradients, never used layers and never worked with multiple documents using Photoshop---I learned the basics with all of those today:). I still have some details to complete, but I wanted to get a few opinions before I continue.


Please take a look and let me know how I am doing so far---If it's complete garbage, don't be afraid to say so.


Look Here: http://rwilliamsimaging.com


Thanks and I appreciate your feedback

Oh WOW, Bob! You really must have worked your butt off on this! I think it looks great! I don

Thanks for the sharp eye Denise, I made the changes you suggested. I forgot to change the gallery pages to something more appropriate, thanks for pointing that out. I think you were also correct about the football players on the Youth Sports page taking up too much room--they are gone now.


I learned how to put the "how to buy" video from one of the Zenfolio webcast videos. I think it was the "marketing" one.


Thanks again

Bob,


I don't know how this Zenfolio thing works, so I don't think I can give good critique.(because not every one may be posible)


A few points that I noticed are that your lay-out changes with different pages. You cannot keep the same layout all over the site? I mean in some pages even the menu changes to right hand top of the site, while I like the middle placement. Which is also easier for different browsers and screenresolutions. And with the Zenfolio video, you refer to a new pop-up window.


I personally don't mind the football players on the mainpage, however when you do get to a page where you can scroll down, I think it doesn't look smooth when the players don't walk down with you when you scroll down ;)


I personally would make a static logo next to your name-logo with the players instead of using them as figures on the page itself. Your attention will be more on the photos then.


Good luck Bob, I'm re-doing my website as well so I know how much time goes into it and how hard it can be to get it exactly like you want to ;)

Jan, Thanks for the comments. Because I actually have two different them es and layouts, things are a little different from page to page. I am currentl working on standardizing everythings location and layout. Some elements I remove on some pages but leave on others. For example:


I removed the "buy" and "share" buttons from the collection because if you hit the buy button, it would put that entire collection you your basket. so you may see some difference like that. But I do need to make sure that most things are standardized throughout the site.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jan Paalman

I personally would make a static logo next to your name-logo with the players instead of using them as figures on the page itself. Your attention will be more on the photos then.

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Thats a really good idea. And the more I look at thegraphics of theplayers on the main page, the less I like them and they severley limit my layout options.


Thanks again

Hi Bob,


Nice work on the website so far!


1) I'm not sure what age Youth Sports goes up to (I tend to think up to around 4-13 yrs old) , but eventually you might want to shoot High School, so maybe you should consider dropping the "youth" part of the title and just call it Sports Photography. I would consider the same suggestion for your next batch of business cards. I would say that there is probably more money to be made in youth sports, since parents like to buy more photos of their young children, so maybe it's a good thing too. I just don't want to to see you get pigeonholed into one age group. If you add older kids later, then you can also just add a new folder for Sports Photography that doesn't pertain to youth sports.


2) I would take out the part in your "About Bob" section that states that you curse sometimes, since this may offend some parents since you will be around their kids. I would also take out the part where it says that photography can offset the cost of supplies, but leave in the labor of love part.


3) The slide show looks great, but keep in mind that it's not password protected and anyone can see and/or buy all of the photos by clicking on the slide show. I don't have a problem with that, but I thought you should be made aware of it.


4) I would change the name of "Bob's Personal Gallery to "Bob's Portfolio," since this is a business and you're offering those photos for sale too.


Keep up the good work,


Rich

I was going to mention that also about the "Bob

I like the new style better, as it looks more professional!


You have a typo under the Potpourri tab: "Balloons" and "Lightning"


I also love the Hummingbird Tips Section (under info) and those Water Drop shots are outstanding. Maybe you can also add how to do the water drop shots and put them both into a tips section or, blog section on your website.


I think you should enter one of those into this weeks color assignment!


Rich

@Rich, Thanks for taking a look and catching those typo's for me and for the comments on the H-Bird Tutorial and water drops. It's appreciated.


@ Denise, The menu titles have changed, Thanks


@ Rich, All comments heard and corrected. I left the photos on the slide show, but you can no longer access those password protected galleries from the slide show.( a big thanks for catching this one).


To all, I spent most of the day, fixing, correcting, and I hope, improving the site. I still have to write the "about" section but the "welcome message" is complete. Please take another look when you have a chance, and let me know.


Its funny, I spent all that time in PS yesterday trying to build a catchy background, but in the end, went back to a fairly plain format. I still like my mirrored gradient back ground. Hopefully customers will appreciate the simple look and feel of the site.


http://rwilliamsimaging.com/


Thanks again,

ABSOLTELY LOVE IT!!! Very professional quality in the site and your photos! I love the layout ...everything!


I know you worked extremely hard on the first (revised) site but think of all you learned in the process!


Denise

Thanks Denise, I really appreciate your input and encouragement. And YES, it has been a learning experience. In fact, my wife says I have to "Step away from the computer" to do house and yardwork tomorrow:(.

Hey Bob. I just won a free year subscription to the Zenfolio Premium Business account. Currently surfing the learning curve.. mind if I pick your brain if I get stumped on anything?

Also, Really like how the site turned out. Good job!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rocco

Hey Bob. I just won a free year subscription to the Zenfolio Premium Business account. Currently surfing the learning curve.. mind if I pick your brain if I get stumped on anything?

Also, Really like how the site turned out. Good job!

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Rocco, Thanks and sorry for the late reply, I have been trying to recover from a 3900 mile trip that I drove last weekend. Anyway, Yes, I would love to share anything I know regarding zenfolio, setups etc. Ask Away. Zenfolio just added a Blog Feature to thier site that I am really interested in trying, But I need two things before I start that---a subject and someone to read it.

Ask away and good luck.

Bob