Want to make a professional website

[Will S]

And a general question... what is wrong with flash?

Some users can't use flash, or the version of flash that you require. My windows95 machine still works just fine (it's only 7 years old), but there are a growing number of websites it will not work with. Though flash is not the only issue.

And it would be tough to do things like this:

http://www.websitedesignawards.com/flash.html

without flash...


Best,

Will

 

[Rob Skeoch]

I'm on my fourth website... doesn't make me an expert but I've spent money in the past on.... a custom website (about $4000 and hard to make changes) .... bought the software to do my own (seemed like a good idea at the time, never got it working) .... bought an overpriced DVD Tutorial to learn the software (more money in the wrong direction) .... did my own website with "www.bigblackbag.com" they are a hosting/template firm that is easy to use and now offer on-line proofing.
The first website was "thepicturedesk.ca" ..... then I did "www.bigcameraworkshops.com" and also "theweddingphotographers.ca"

It's worth looking at.

-Rob Skeoch

 

[Kay Thorogood]

I signed up with BigBlackBag this July. I tried out their 7-day trial and decided on the 4th day to sign up with them. Really easy directions to follow and if I got stuck, an email or phone call got the problem solved right away. I'm almost 99.9% done. Right now I have three friends picking my site over with a fine tooth comb to make sure I don't have any grammatical or spelling errors, etc. I have 100 mb of space and have only used about 20 mb. They have a lot of great features, the most important to me is being able to change anything I want at anytime. It cost me $50 set up fee and $180 for a year (includes my domain name). It took almost a year for me to decide whether I wanted to learn Dreamweaver, buy a template (most were boring and leaned toward the corporate world - not art), have my son design it, plus a lot of other options. I just got sick of being in limbo and made the decision to find a good template based web site. For my needs, BigBlackBag fits the bill. I would suggest signing up for the 7-day trial. Really, you just push buttons and before you know it you've created your home page. And, no, it won't look like those beautiful sites one pays thousands of dollars for, but you will look professional. Good luck.

 

[SuzanneR]

Thank you, both. I came across them before, and it's good to hear you've had a good experience.

 

[SuzanneR]

I finally have a new website.

I ended up with a template, and yes it uses flash. That seems to be a bit taboo around here, but I am aiming it at affluent parents of the northwest 'burbs of Boston, most of whom have broadband connections. A template just seemed the easiest way to go in terms of time, afterall, I still had to keep an eye on my kids over the summer Plus, I just thought this particular design would make my photos look good!

It's at www.suzannerevy.com

Thanks for all the replies and help in this thread!

 

[Dave Parker]

Suzanne,

If it works for you, then that is really the only thing that matters, time will tell if it works for others, I don't think it looks bad at all.

Good luck with it.

Dave

 

[bill schwab]

I finally have a new website.

Suzanne,

Very well done. Looks good, navigates well... and better yet, it contains beautiful work.

Bill

 

[SuzanneR]

Thank you both, Dave and Bill for having a look at it!! I'm quite pleased with it, and I can change the content anytime... so I'll be adding a halloween themed pic on the home page in October!!

 

[audungk]

Suzanne, IMO the reasons to dislike flash are gradually disappearing... Modern versions of flash can be indexed by google, and therefore help you search ratings, so to me the only disadvantages are that it runs slower on Macs (atleast the powerpc based...) and it is hard to bookmark a certain area of the site...

Your page is nice, and not all that "whoa, look at my cool animation-stuff" that some people puts up.

 

[MattKing]

Suzanne - I really like the site, and in particular the work shown on it. It is well laid out, and shows off your work in a very professional manner.

I have a minor quibble, which may or may not be easy to change.

When I am paging through a gallery of work, I find it irritating if the "next" link moves around the screen. Ideally, when I've finished looking at one (marvelous) image, I dont want to have to take my eyes of the photograph, find the link for the next photograph, and then click it. I would prefer to just keep clicking in the same location, paying attention to the photos, rather than the website functions.

In the case of your galleries, as one progresses through the images, the borders change, and the "next" link moves with them, thus requiring a shift in focus and attention.

Hope this helps.

Matt

 

[Treyc]

Suzanne - I have to say i normally hate flash sites and find them clunky, slow and irrating to use. Your site however has changed my opinion. Perhaps its the awesome photographs, anyway grats on the site!

 

[SuzanneR]

I appreciate everyone's kind words about my photographs! I'm glad the presentation in the website pleases, too.

And, Matt, that is an issue I was worried about, and tried whever possible to make the scans the same size so the arrows don't move around too much. The first gallery has the most "different" sized photos, and that is a bit of a bother. As I add/delete/edit I am going to try to keep the scans the same size whenever possible to minimize that. At some point down the road, I will also cusomize it a bit more. Then I can decide where to put those arrows.

And Trey... I hear you. I wasn't a fan of flash until I started researching websites. I looked at a lot of photographers' sites, and I think if you exercise a little restraint it can be a great way to present photographs on the web!

 

[catem]

Suzanne,

Both the work and the website look great

Cate

 

[JustK]

Hi Suzanne,

It was wonderful to get on-line today and to see your new website - congratulations!!! It is beautifully done - professional, un-cluttered, easy to navigate. The best part however is your work, it was a privilege to see so much of it. Your love for children and photography shines through! I hope your new website brings you much joy and success. You Go Girl!!!

Cheers, Krystyna

 

[Stephanie Brim]

The first thing I did when I got online was learn HTML and CSS. I spent a year learning and perfecting techniques. I used to love doing it, but I've since gotten tired of doing it. Even so, I'm once again finding myself in need of a website that actually looks good and, therefore, I'm back to needing to come up with about four layouts: two templates for Wordpress, a gallery, and a main website. I'll be working on those and a few other things, including a photography project I've wanted to do in time for Halloween, within the next few weeks. I HATE web design.

But your site looks good, Suzanne. I'm usually not one for Flash designs, but it looks clean and uncluttered.

 

[SuzanneR]

Cate, Krysyna, and Stephanie.... thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I'm pleased with my site, and it was pretty easy to put together. Perhaps it's a generational thing, mine invariably cost more than what you'll be able to pull together, but it saved me a lot of time and frustration, I think, as I have never bothered to learn any HTML, of CSS, or even Photoshop!

Good luck with your projects, and let us know when you have them online... I'd love to see it!

 

[Stoo Batchelor]

Hi Suzanne

Hey, just love your site. Lovely simple design. The colour scheme is pleasant to the eye and the work exquisite. Well done.

Just out of curiosity, what page width/depth did you use?

Kind Regards

Stoo