New Website Design and Hosting

[Don Boyd]

After reviewing all of the information I could find on this forum and elsewhere, then making a chart of features I was looking for and comparing prices, I decided on using Foliolink.com as my new hosting and template design supplier. Previously I was paying $20 a month for Earthlink just to host my site and was responsible for the site development myself. After paying a one-time start-up fee of $249, I now pay $349 annually.

Let me know what you think of the new site: www.donboyd.com. Thanks

[vinny]

Don, I don't remember the details of your old site but your images look good to me. I really like the orchard in utah and the zion narrows images. The first page that comes up with the "see portfolios" link is a little funky superimposed over the top of the first image. The layout and navigation works fine. It took me a second to get used to the sliding bar, it's skinny and I kept missing it and dragging the text above it.

[Don Boyd]

Thanks Vinny. At first, I was a little put off as well by the superimposed image on the Home page, but have become used to it and have decided that it does direct people's attention to the "portfolios" link. The beauty of Foliolink's templates as that I can change them easily and quickly at will. I will try this template for a while and see how well it works based on feedback. It can be changed literally from anywhere in a matter of minutes.

[Doug Dolde]

I use Foliolink myself and like it a lot. It does take some work though to get what you want. Yours looks like a first cut and IMHO not very refined yet. What style are you using?

[Don Boyd]

Doug, thanks for looking. I am using Santiago II HTML, and yes it is a first cut. I decided it was better to stop treading water and get it up, get feedback and make edits and improvements as I go along. In particular it has not been formatted for web search enhancements (which seems to be an entire industry in itself).

I am very open to suggestions.

[Donald Miller]

Don, I think that your images look great however I too am immediately confused on your opening page by the superimposed image. I did notice that the upper RH links are not functioning and the superimposition makes the lower left scroll impossible to use.

Getting a site put together, up and running is, for me, akin to someone screeching across a black board. I am sure that you will get this site of yours polished in your normal highly professional manner.

Best regards,
Donald Miller

[Andrew O'Neill]

Nice. Doesn't bother me at all. Nice images, too.

[mandoman7]

Don, your images are wonderful and they’re presented with good variety. I like the website too. It’s a bit different to navigate than some others, but I like the ability to see the images in a fairly large format. The presentation has elegance, which I’m learning has its place.
I’ve been dealing with the same challenge and ended up going with 2 different entities; clikpic, (www.jtyoungblood.com) and the indexhibit (www.jyoungblood.com) methods, both of which were used in websites of photographers that I saw on this forum when I was exploring this question. The 2 together cost less than $200/yr..
The indexhibit system I started to explore because it can also present mp3’s and videos which I needed for my musical escapades, but I started to like its ease of management. That site is on the server acct I was already using and I own the site and I like that independence.
In either site, photos are added as easily as attaching a jpg to an email. My prior site took 4 changes! Having the ability to get recent work up easily seems to be a good way to get some more motivation going, but we'll see.

[Don Boyd]

Thanks again to everyone for your feedback. One would think that the challenge of composing an image would make the acquired skills easily transferable to developing a website. In my case, that hasn't been true. My old site was easier to maneuver in but didn't generate the traffic that I had hoped for.

John, I love your river and ocean front images. B&W seems to suit seascapes well - they're already half philosophy . . . makes me miss the ocean.

Andrew, I deeply appreciate the awareness of quietness, of Miksang, in your images. I aspire to more in my own. Thank you for posting.