First professional website

[PatrickMarq]

I’m creating my first professional website and i’m stuck with some ‘existential’ questions.

It’s a WordPress website, with a good theme adapted by a graphic designer. Text is created with a content writer.
So far it is going good, it’s the visualisation of the ‘portfolio’ images that’s difficult.
Now i’m must do the part of image culling to place the images om the site.

Goal of the website:
- if possible sell some prints (done that in the past): cyanotype, Platinum Palladium and inkjet.
- Workshops for learning 4x5 and lichtmeting (yes there is here some intrest)
- Fotowalks for visitors in Belgium (already done two)

I’m for 90% a LF, MF photographer, but there are also digital images.

So here are the questions
I can show the exif information (camera, lens …) of each image on the site, but is this interesting for a ‘customer’ and should I ?
The ‘portfolio’ has several category’s and i’m not sure if the digital images must have there own, or can they go together with the analog images.

My first impression is that a potential customer doesn’t care with what camera, lens or film the image is taken.
As long if he likes it, he wil buy it.

So some feedback is welcome.

[BrianShaw]

Well I just took a look at your site. Really nice. I wish I understood Dutch, though. My limitation and my fault entirely.

The site loads reasonably well on my system. The pics take a second and that's on a 1gig internet connection. Folks with slower service might have longer wait time for pics to load.

I really like your photography. The portfolio I looked at the most was the cemeteries. I once had plans to travel to Begium (Berchem, Atwerpen, to be specific) to visit a grave but found out that it was reclaimed a few years ago... so nothing to visit anymore. Might visit anyway some day.

[BrianShaw]

And regarding your question about categories... I think the topical categories, irrespective of how they are produced, is best. I did not even bother looking at the production aspect as my interest was in the images. In general I don't really care. But I would look and read the details if you statewhat camera, lens, film, etc was used on specific images.

[xkaes]

The home page of any website should clearly state what it is, what it does, and why it's there.

I don't see any of that -- so why would I "go forward"?

It's true that many websites suffer the same affliction, but you won't get on any search engine list without that.

[sharktooth]

Lots of nice images there, and it's very easy to look for things quickly without fuss or bother.

One thing that doesn't look right is the font below the picture of the view camera on the main page. That font looks like something from an old DOS warning message.

As Brian Shaw noted, the site language limits your potential viewer base. I'd add some English translations beside or below the original language text. The English can be in a smaller font, so it doesn't clutter up the layout too much.

My biggest criticism is that you haven't done anything to generate "sales". Salesmanship is vital if you want to sell things, and your post stated that image sales are a primary goal.

You should include some basic information on each of the pages that show images. At least let people know that the images are for sale. It would also be useful to provide some basic idea of cost, size, and materials.

At the moment, if someone sees an image on your site that they really like, they'd have no idea if the image is even for sale. They would have to contact you to even find out, and most people aren't going to bother. Once they're hooked, you have to make it as easy a possible for them to go the next step.

[BrianShaw]

Google translate made it very easy to address those of us who aren’t very literate in Dutch. I just highlighted the text and right-clicked to select translate.

[xkaes]

Google translate made it very easy to address those of us who aren’t very literate in Dutch. I just highlighted the text and right-clicked to select translate.

True, but few will go to the trouble, and it isn't available to everyone anyway.

And along the same lines, web generators, like much new stuff, tends to assume that every "client computer" also has the latest and greatest stuff. There are lots of websites that I can only fully access on my latest and greatest computers, and I usually don't waste my time. Good websites are designed to assume that not everyone has the latest and greatest stuff.

A simple example is having images on a website at a higher resolution than a computer screen can display.

[Pieter]

A few things. The design is fine, simple, to the point. Typography is good, too.

It seems a bit slow to load all the photos when you go to a thumbnail page. Language--you should have the possibility to choose a language for the site. Flemish is fine, but you obviously need to be able to view the site in French and English would be good, too.

A short sentence about all the prints being available for sale on the category thumbnail page is good, as well as an indication to click on the thumbnails for a larger image. When the larger image is displayed, the size and medium as well as the price is good, plus instructions to contact you for details and purchasing. No one cares about the technical info, camera, lens or any of that, just the size and medium and if multiple sizes are available. Any editioning information should be included, too. If you would rather not have the price on the website, just include instructions to inquire about that in the contact. I know it may be getting complicated but if your intent is to sell prints through the site, when someone clicks on the large image, for purchase the image info should automatically be part of the subject line. If you also want to be contacted for assignments, make that a separate line on the contact page, either instructing the viewer to include "commission request" or something like that in the subject line. Unless, of course you have an agenda for that. Any agents, reps or galleries you are affiliated with should be listed on the contact page as well.

[Pieter]

A simple example is having images on a website at a higher resolution than a computer screen can display.

An invitation to piracy, too. And AI scraping.

[PatrickMarq]

Well I just took a look at your site. Really nice. I wish I understood Dutch, though. My limitation and my fault entirely.

The site loads reasonably well on my system. The pics take a second and that's on a 1gig internet connection. Folks with slower service might have longer wait time for pics to load.

I really like your photography. The portfolio I looked at the most was the cemeteries. I once had plans to travel to Begium (Berchem, Atwerpen, to be specific) to visit a grave but found out that it was reclaimed a few years ago... so nothing to visit anymore. Might visit anyway some day.

Thanks Brian,
But this is the old website. There are more beautiful cementeries around Antwerp, that’s why i’m going for the photowalks :-)
Tip, You have the Antwerp cementary, the one in Ghent. And a hidden one in Brussels with underground graves. And at solstice a hart on an certain grave.