Amateur photographer and building a website

[RonKolos]

Hi everyone, nice to meet you all. I just joined this forum because I love photography. I've recently decided to get a bit more serious about photography, so I've started building a website where I can showcase some of my work. I'm buying myself a better camera soon too. Check it out out and tell me what you think: https://www.ronkolos.com

 

[koraks]

Welcome aboard @RonKolos! Congratulations on starting your new website.
I have taken the liberty of moving your introductory thread to the subforum most suited to it.
I also notice that you have a 'shop' category on your website, and categories for possible services that you perhaps will offer in the future. This is a kind reminder that on Photrio, we only allow commercial offerings in specific places and under specific circumstances.

 

[RonKolos]

"This is a kind reminder that on Photrio, we only allow commercial offerings in specific places and under specific circumstances."

Hi, that's great, thanks.

Ok, noted

 

[jvo]

You've accomplished some museum reproductions and done a better job at it than I could have.

There's a lot of text descriptions that given the amount and size makes it more of a chore to read, especially with the various color schemes - I'm more of a white space kinda guy.

Keep going, you're on the right track!

 

[RonKolos]

You've accomplished some museum reproductions and done a better job at it than I could have.

There's a lot of text descriptions that given the amount and size makes it more of a chore to read, especially with the various color schemes - I'm more of a white space kinda guy.

Keep going, you're on the right track!

Hi Jvo, thanks for your message.

I've decided to start with white font on a darker background for contrast and because it's easier for my eyes as my eyesight isn't great (looking at a white computer screen for too long gives me headaches). But what I'm planning to do eventually is add an accessibility option at the top so that visitors can change the colour scheme, font, and text size.

 

[runswithsizzers]

Hi Jvo, thanks for your message.

I've decided to start with white font on a darker background for contrast and because it's easier for my eyes as my eyesight isn't great (looking at a white computer screen for too long gives me headaches). But what I'm planning to do eventually is add an accessibility option at the top so that visitors can change the colour scheme, font, and text size.

Your eyes must be a lot better than mine, because much of the text on your website is very hard for me to read.

This I can read:

This I cannot:

Despite my unhappiness with some of your color and font choices, personally, I would not be interested in having the ability to change the "the colour scheme, font, and text size" on your webpages. I feel like it is the web-designer's job to get those elements right so I don't have to spend my time messing around with the mechanics of the site before I can enjoy the content. If you really want to give the user some control over the way the website looks, you might consider offering two, or at most three choices for: Large Screen, Small Screen, and Phone(?) But if there is some way to make the website deliver a different website experience depending on the viewer's screen size, then I would prefer that to happen automatically in the background rather than making me choose.

Other issues:
- Your "Blog" link wants me to sign in before viewing; that's not gonna happen.
- When I look at your "About" page, I see too many different colors and different fonts, which combined with the almost random layout of elements results in a haphazard impression. The busy webpage design competes with your content for my attention.
- I think photos (and most artwork) are best displayed on more subdued backgrounds rather than bright primary colors. The blue background used for your "Home" "About" and "Art Gallery" pages looks too garish to me.
- On your Art Gallery page, I notice you give credit to the museum or gallery where the painting is located, but none to the artist who created it. Somehow, that doesn't seem quite fair.

Whenever I read something like, "The above text was generated by OpenAI's Chat GPT," then the whole website looses a lot of credibility for me. I have seen too many articles which give examples of factual inaccuracies and absurd conclusions that have turned up in some AI generated text. For a small, personal project like yours, I have to wonder, If the creator does not care enough about the website to create the content themself, then is this website worthy of my time?

Bottom line for me: not bad as a starting point, but obviously not a finished product. If your main goal is to learn how to build a website, then keep working at it and refine it until you are satisfied. But if your main goal is to showcase your photos, then I wonder if it might be more efficient to adopt a template from an existing photo-sharing / blog service that would give your site a more polished appearance without having to take the time to re-invent the wheel? I am not a big fan of Flickr -- too much "promoting" and too much social media crap on every page. Personally, I use SmugMug (https://garywright.smugmug.com), but I'm sure there are other online providers that allow your photos to be displayed without being surrounded by a lot of distracting BS.

And good luck to you with your project.

 

[koraks]

But if there is some way to make the website deliver a different website experience depending on the viewer's screen size, then I would prefer that to happen automatically in the background rather than making me choose.

This is default functionality in platforms like WordPress. Which is one of the many reasons that explains its (and similar platforms') success.

tell me what you think

It takes me back to the mid-1990s and the first websites I built.
What's the purpose of your website? If it's about showcasing your work - I notice you already have Flickr, and if you're not happy with that, @runswithsizzers has suggested SmugMug which apparently also works well for people. If you prefer to host everything on your own domain, consider Wordpress with one of the many, many gallery plugins. Pick any Wordpress theme that's to your liking and modify its settings as you see fit. There's very little reason to DIY any of this; if you want to get the job done, the last thing you want to do is dive into manual writing of HTML, PHP, CSS, JavaScript etc. as you'll be guaranteed to spend many, many hours to build something for which a technically and aesthetically superior solution has been available (often even for free, for private use) on the market for years already. And when (you think) you are done, you realize you have to deal with all manner of updates and bugfixes as devices and browser technologies evolve, causing your website to no longer work all of a sudden, or you start getting urgent emails from your web host alerting you to security problems and potential account discontinuation if you don't fix them in a timely manner.

If you're looking to gain experience with 'roll your own' HTML, PHP etc, I'd recommend doing so on a local server (which can run on your desktop/laptop computer, so the same machine you develop on) which will be faster, cheaper and more secure.

 

[xkaes]

Your eyes must be a lot better than mine, because much of the text on your website is very hard for me to read.

There are many websites I don't visit because they are so difficult to read -- and I have very good eyesight, unlike a lot of people. Just one thing that many "webmasters" don't take into account. Another common problem for website visitors are sites that assume that the viewer is using the latest and greatest hardware, software, and operating system.

 

[RonKolos]

Hi, thanks for the feedback. You're right, that bright blue background that I was using is not for everyone. The purpose of my website right now is mainly just for me to practice web design and learn some HTML, CSS and Javascript. I know it's more efficient and better to showcase my work on already well-tested sites, but this one is a fun project to work on for now. In future it will have more of a purpose.

 

[bernard_L]

Your eyes must be a lot better than mine, because much of the text on your website is very hard for me to read.

This I can read:
View attachment 390104
This I cannot:
View attachment 390105

Despite my unhappiness with some of your color and font choices, personally, I would not be interested in having the ability to change the "the colour scheme, font, and text size" on your webpages. I feel like it is the web-designer's job to get those elements right so I don't have to spend my time messing around with the mechanics of the site before I can enjoy the content. If you really want to give the user some control over the way the website looks, you might consider offering two, or at most three choices for: Large Screen, Small Screen, and Phone(?) But if there is some way to make the website deliver a different website experience depending on the viewer's screen size, then I would prefer that to happen automatically in the background rather than making me choose.

Other issues:
- Your "Blog" link wants me to sign in before viewing; that's not gonna happen.
- When I look at your "About" page, I see too many different colors and different fonts, which combined with the almost random layout of elements results in a haphazard impression. The busy webpage design competes with your content for my attention.
- I think photos (and most artwork) are best displayed on more subdued backgrounds rather than bright primary colors. The blue background used for your "Home" "About" and "Art Gallery" pages looks too garish to me.
- On your Art Gallery page, I notice you give credit to the museum or gallery where the painting is located, but none to the artist who created it. Somehow, that doesn't seem quite fair.

Whenever I read something like, "The above text was generated by OpenAI's Chat GPT," then the whole website looses a lot of credibility for me. I have seen too many articles which give examples of factual inaccuracies and absurd conclusions that have turned up in some AI generated text. For a small, personal project like yours, I have to wonder, If the creator does not care enough about the website to create the content themself, then is this website worthy of my time?

Bottom line for me: not bad as a starting point, but obviously not a finished product. If your main goal is to learn how to build a website, then keep working at it and refine it until you are satisfied. But if your main goal is to showcase your photos, then I wonder if it might be more efficient to adopt a template from an existing photo-sharing / blog service that would give your site a more polished appearance without having to take the time to re-invent the wheel? I am not a big fan of Flickr -- too much "promoting" and too much social media crap on every page. Personally, I use SmugMug (https://garywright.smugmug.com), but I'm sure there are other online providers that allow your photos to be displayed without being surrounded by a lot of distracting BS.

And good luck to you with your project.

+1 to all the remarks of @runswithsizzers

Plus:

• In the blog I read: The Canon T50, a 35mm film camera with an APS-C sized sensor, delivers high-quality images with rich detail and vibrant color reproduction hmm, my T50 has a full-frame sensor (used to be called film frame). Oh, I see, must be ChatGPT...
• In the home page, clicking on "Graphic Design" brings up sub-menus. Most are just inactive. The first one "Logos" seems to do something, but the "Logo Design Trends" brings up a 404.

You should not put online something that is a work in progress.
I agree with @runswithsizzers the SmugMug site is "clean". For another example of a "clean" photo site design, see ipernity where I host some images (link in my signature).

 

[logan2z]

I echo the comments of the other posters. If you are just having fun learning JavaScript, HTML and CSS, then enjoy the process of building your site from scratch. But if your end goal is a professional website that promotes your business, then I'd use a website builder like Squarespace or similar. It'll save you a ton of time and you'll end up with a well designed, cross platform site that your visitors will enjoy using.

Good luck.

 

[koraks]

The purpose of my website right now is mainly just for me to practice web design and learn some HTML, CSS and Javascript.

Oh, definitely carry on then; you're on the right track!

 

[xkaes]

I'm not against website builders, but you need to think about what you use. I, like lots of other folks, use multiple builders because each has its own plusses. Each seems to have its own minusses, too. It's similar to digital imaging software -- no need to use just one.

And whatever you use, try to avoid AI -- which some probably incorporate. The example above:

"The Canon T50, a 35mm film camera with an APS-C sized sensor, delivers high-quality images with rich detail and vibrant color reproduction"

sure sounds like AI to me. You can smell it a mile away -- not only does it contain errors, it's simply lots of superlative adjectives and adverbs saying nothing.

 

[runswithsizzers]

I certainly don't want to discourage anyone from spending their time doing domething they enjoy and learning new skills.

It is kind of ironic, one could advise me to stop taking photos because others have already taken photos similar to mine, but they are doing it better -- so why not just look at their photos? Which is kinda the message my post #6 was sending. Sorry about that. ;-)

 

[Hassasin]

I will only pitch in one small bit of advice: WordPress. Set up true Wordpress (NOT Wordpress.com) on your host (most offer free auto-installation) and have at it. Tons of free templates that can be modified to a high degree to fit the need (or rather cheap paid ones. but with more unique looks), but they all will give you one major advantage: consistency across the pages, a key to visual logic of whatever a site contains.

Any add-ons you can think of can be added at will at any stage. There ar competing to WP content management platforms, but I still think WP has the largest following and support for a reason.

 

[runswithsizzers]

I haven't tried to build a website since HTML 4 was new, so I am mostly ignorant about the details. But I have noticed one thing when looking at websites that were apparently built with some variety of Wordpress. When there is a page that consistists mostly of smaller photo images, I can click on each image to view it larger. Now, if I want to look at the rest of the images on the page at the larger display size, the ideal behaviour would be to click on a right arrow to see the next one. But almost invariably, I must first close the enlarged image, go back to base page, then click on the next smaller one, etc. I don't know if this irritating behaviour is a limitation of the Wordpress software, or perhaps due to lack of skill/knowledge on the part of the website builder?

 

[Hassasin]

I haven't tried to build a website since HTML 4 was new, so I am mostly ignorant about the details. But I have noticed one thing when looking at websites that were apparently built with some variety of Wordpress. When there is a page that consistists mostly of smaller photo images, I can click on each image to view it larger. Now, if I want to look at the rest of the images on the page at the larger display size, the ideal behaviour would be to click on a right arrow to see the next one. But almost invariably, I must first close the enlarged image, go back to base page, then click on the next smaller one, etc. I don't know if this irritating behaviour is a limitation of the Wordpress software, or perhaps due to lack of skill/knowledge on the part of the website builder?

WP has everything anyone could possibly ask for. Display of images can be done in multiple ways through all sorts of "light boxes, overlays, pop-ups etc." and no, you can have a flow of one image to next in almost any way imaginable.

WP does take some time to grasp its logic, but I am not talking about going deep dive into designing intricate page layouts with now provided tools of near infinite flexibility. Templates can deliver unique designs, plug-ins can add features, and al editing is done in the back on a dashboard no visitor can actually see.

Then you have statistical features, commerce add-ons etc.

But let me say this one more time: I am talking about true Word Press as in Wordpress.org (on your own, with a host you pick, it's a free platform in itself) NOT Wordpress.com which is an easy way in, but with limitations unless you want to pay up rather big.

All in all, I think time needed to gain understanding of WP will pay off in a long run.

 

[Hassasin]

To give a quick glimpse into WP themes, "template" I referred to earlier is not the right call in WP

Here is one of a few major sites that sell themes, most are lifetime updates (only support is limited and paid if you need it). There are free themes as well. Most flexibility comes with paid themes, but free is a way to learn how WP works, especially in the backroom.

Check out some demos, live sites, it's all there to see the potential. And keep in mind, what a theme shows can stil bel altered almost infinitely with layout changes and colour sets.

Below links to "photography" type themes, but any theme can be used to do whatever, and each customised later on. Remember: WP and other CMS (content management software like Joomla, Drupal and many others).

ENVATO

 

[koraks]

I don't know if this irritating behaviour is a limitation of the Wordpress software, or perhaps due to lack of skill/knowledge on the part of the website builder?

For viewing large numbers of photos, the most appropriate way in WordPress is to use a gallery plugin. There are plenty of gallery plugins, also free, that perform quite well. I sometimes use NextGEN which also exhibits the browsing behavior you point out. https://wordpress.org/plugins/nextgen-gallery/

free auto-installation

One brief remark about the 'free' bit - this applies to non-commercial sites. When used for commercial ends, WordPress isn't free. This same policy extends to many of the 3rd party plugins one might use for galleries, mailers etc. Since OP appears (judging by the menu items on his present website) to be considering advertising his services, this would mean that WordPress may not be free in his particular use case. For a personal web page that's not set up to sell, advertise etc., it is indeed free.

 

[Hassasin]

For viewing large numbers of photos, the most appropriate way in WordPress is to use a gallery plugin. There are plenty of gallery plugins, also free, that perform quite well. I sometimes use NextGEN which also exhibits the browsing behavior you point out. https://wordpress.org/plugins/nextgen-gallery/


One brief remark about the 'free' bit - this applies to non-commercial sites. When used for commercial ends, WordPress isn't free. This same policy extends to many of the 3rd party plugins one might use for galleries, mailers etc. Since OP appears (judging by the menu items on his present website) to be considering advertising his services, this would mean that WordPress may not be free in his particular use case. For a personal web page that's not set up to sell, advertise etc., it is indeed free.

You can correct me where I'm wrong below, I don't claim legal background.

Wordpress itself is free for any purpose (at least I don't see any restrictions, it's under GPLv2 license, if there is another definition of "any purpose" I can't find it), many plug-ins may and some will charge for commercial use. But am not sure what "commercial" definition applies, and I doubt fringe sales inconsequential to one's existence would fall into that category (??). But this is easy enough to ask whoever wants to charge. Most "commercial" use licenses would come with continual support, and the would call for money, free has effectively none in that sense.

My "free auto-installation" may vary host to host. To start it is certainly free from account management backend, or check host to be sure before paying up, if one wants any on-going support for WP, it won't be. It still depends on hosting service agreement level.

 

[jeffreyg]

If you are using a Mac take a look at Rapid Weaver I used it a few years ago to make two sites while not knowing the first thing about making a website. It wasn’t expensive and as I recall there was a way to try it before buying It was pretty easy. I haven’t updated my sites but one day I’ll get around to it

ABOUT | JEFFREY GLASSER

HOME | SCULPTURE and PHOTOGRAPHY

 

[warden]

... the text on your website is very hard for me to read.

View attachment 390105

It's not just you - the example (blue/black/red) fails accessibility analysis due to insufficient contrast. It should be at least 5:1. The drop shadow on the red text makes the situation worse for anyone with compromised sight.

I think there are issues with colorblindness accessibility on the site too but haven't dug in to review.

I use Adobe tools to check accessibility but there are others. I don't know if you need an account to use this tool but I recommend the OP take a look:

https://color.adobe.com/create/color-contrast-analyzer

 

[koraks]

Wordpress itself is free for any purpose

Thanks for setting the record straight; you're correct!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Welcome to Photrio!!

 

[Kyle1234]

I echo the comments of the other posters. If you are just having fun learning JavaScript, HTML and CSS, then enjoy the process of building your site from scratch. But if your end goal is a professional website that promotes your business, then I'd use a website builder like Squarespace or similar. It'll save you a ton of time and you'll end up with a well designed, cross platform site that your visitors will enjoy using.

Good luck.

Agree. You have some great works posted, but within 10 seconds I said 'is this html!?" and then looked and saw it was. If coding is something you enjoy, then go for it. But I notice you have a "Shop" section and seem to want to generate income off of this, rather than it being fun on a Saturday morning. I recommend hiring a service for website design, or use websites like SmugMug, Wix, SquarSpace, etc. to build out a more professional design. Take a look at your favorite photographers to get a feel for what draws you to their websites and use that as a vision for developing yours. Also, I recommend keeping the text and background colors simple. It is too showy and hard to read.