achammar Loc: Idaho

Not sure this is the right section but I was wanting some advice or comments. I've been trying to figure this out on my own for a long time, and made many changes to no avail.
Here's the deal. My web site address is: http://www.als-photo.com

I have a counter on all my pages there and have been tracking them for a year or so. For every 15 times someone goes to my home page, I might get 1 that go to any other pages...that tells me my home page is not good enough, or is too slow, or isn't working right in their browser, or maybe they are being asked to allow blocked content and turning away from there...I just don't know what it is...or maybe that is normal and people are just browsing out of interest and not seriously needing a photographer...you know like window shopping...lol...or maybe the images simply aren't good enough...
Anyway, if any of you are inclined to go to my site and let me know if it displays right for you, or what is happening, or comments on why no one goes any farther (not even the pricing page), I would greatly appreciate feedback or comments on everyone's attempt so maybe I can narrow down the problem.
Thanks!
achammar

Dr Rae Loc: Sarasota Florida

I'll start by saying I'm not a professional photographer, so I went to your site as if I needed a photographer. The first thing I noticed is the yellow print and the font of that print. I once owned a sign company and learned that the best color combinations for a readable street sign is yellow on black in an arial or other straight font. While this works for signs it doesn't work for me on your site. It's kind of sales-pitchy. What would work better for me is something more relaxing that says - hey, take a moment to enjoy my work, I'll make your special day memorable. As for all the links and videos they played fine for me and your work is very, very good. One thing I ALWAYS look for is some info specifically about the photographer, maybe on the contact page. It's a chance to share why you do this type of photography and explain your style or philosophy. I think that and the quality of your work is what is going to make people pick up the phone.

achammar Loc: Idaho

Thank you Dr Rae,
I appreciate this a LOT! Thanks for your nice comments too! This is very helpful for me. You know, you may be spot on about the heading. It's good to know what others see, and how the page works for them, hence the reason for this posting. I used to have an "About me" section, but was told by someone else that bride's have no interest in that and that was just a wasted page, so I removed it. Maybe I will put it back on there now.

Thank you soooo much for your time and thoughts!

You must not have gotten any "Do you want to allow" messages...or did you?...also, do you know what your connection speed is?
I should have put those questions in my original post so you wouldn't of had to take the time to post twice...
Thanks! Your help is awesome!
achammar

Dr Rae Loc: Sarasota Florida

You're welcome. I like when people give me very specific feedback so I try to do the same. I had no error messages and have high speed cable internet, not sure of exact speed.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Well....You spelled "professional" incorrectly. I have to tell you that would stop me right there. If I were looking for a photographer and the attention to detail is such that a word is misspelled, I am moving on before I read any more of the page. The same goes for grammar, usage, and punctuation.

The wording on your page is a bit pushy...or something. It is like you don't trust the images to speak for themselves, but you have to TELL me.

Music...It is annoying. I don't know why so many think they need music on a website. Now I agree this is a personal thing, but I find music to be a real turn-off. I often have my own music playing and then some website thinks is has something I will like better?? If that is commercial music, you may be violating the artists copyright. If you bought it as royalty-free, then you are fine. I still find it annoying, but at least you are legal.

Having to watch a video of samples instead of being able to click on images to see them is not conducive to browsing.

I did download one video. Find one or two transitions that you like and just use that. It looks like you used every transition known to man in one video. Use one. You do that with the gallery videos too.

colo43 Loc: Eastern Plains of Colorado

I also went into your site, all worked well, but i have to admit the Music was a turn off to me.
The coloring or the whole of your layout just did not strike me as being professional. I am not trying to nit pick but it lacks the appeal for first time customers.

achammar Loc: Idaho

Thank you Captain C and colo43!
Captain C:
Unbelievable...how embarassing. I can't beleive I've had that misspelled this whole time. Thanks for catching that. So that's 2 comments about the wording now, so that's pretty much a defineate change going to happen. I have wondered about the video's in place of images to click on, so I may change that too, but most people don't even go that far, as is my first problem to begin with and what my original post is about.
I'm not sure why you suggest I shouldn't use as many transitions though. Do you think that reduces the attractiveness of the video?

colo43:
I do not consider your comment nit picking at all. I need to find out all I can from as many other peoples eyes that I can, and this is what is helpful for me.
As far as the layout in general, that could be an issue. I'm not sure how to go about changing that though...I'm a photographer, not a web page builder, so I don't doubt that it's not completely professional (I spelled it right this time)...I do mostly small time weddings on the side, and don't have money to have one professionally made. I just keep improving it a little at a time as I get ideas and time. You should have seen it when I first put it up...it was horrible compared to what it is now. I think maybe changing the entire top half of the page to something different and more professional looking and attractive might help. I may experiment with that.

Thanks to both of you for taking some of your time to do this! Every comment will help me construct a conclusion and help me with what I am going to fix or change.

I'm going to go fix my mispelled word right now though...

Thanks!
achammar

colo43 Loc: Eastern Plains of Colorado

LOL
Thanks for understanding and keep us posted.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Because using multiple transitions is the mark of an amateur. Not unlike using multiple fonts in a brochure or ad. The transitions need to be so subtle that you hardly realize they are even there. I kept waiting to see NOW what is he going to use and I ignored the images. A nice fade through works great. All the circles and squares, and swipes and sweeps, and circle-in and cirlcle-out and OMG-what's next, is even more annoying than the music.

achammar Loc: Idaho

ahhh...I see what you mean. Ok, that's another thing I may have to work on. Thanks for that!
achammar

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

1 - You need a new host provider as the page took too long to open. If I was a 'shopper' I would have moved on
2 - The music isn't my thing, but luckily stops after the first song
3 - Mostly the page is Too Dark. You are selling Weddings right? So how does a black page sell that?
4- And, the font at the top looks like it is from the 60's.
- I can't look anymore...

Try this - Google Wedding Photographers and get a feel for how they present themselves. Last but not least, remember that a website is not about what you want, but rather what will attract your audience.

Your photos are cute, but you've wrapped them in cactus.
- I hope that helps!

MWAC Loc: Somewhere East Of Crazy

everyone has mentioned the font and the colour of the font, to me it looks like a webpage from the early 90's. It's just not up to par.

other things I noticed:
#1 - you don't have the area you service on the front page easy to find, are you in Seattle? Dallas? Vegas? I did find it, Ontario, Oregon and Boise, Idaho
#2 - any webpage that says "If you are asked to allow any content, please allow. Active X components and Java are used to show the best possible images." is going to raise a couple of flags to some people.
#3 - music... Captain C has already said it. Just don't do it.

here are some local photographers in your area that do weddings, take a look at the quality of their website and then yours. You'll quickly see why people open you home page and move on. (I just took the top 3 after a google search for wedding photography Boise, Idaho

http://tanaphotography.com/

http://avalanchephotography.com/

http://avalanchephotography.com/

and three for Ontario, Oregon

http://www.robertowenphotography.com/

http://randidavies.com

http://www.doubletakeportraits.com/

I don't what to sound mean, but first impressions are everything, you have about 5 seconds to wow the viewer before they hit the back button. You aren't doing yourself any favors with a lack luster website.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Boy - did MWAC ever do YOU a favor! Look at your competition's website and the images and compare those to yours.

MLMH Loc: LaGrange, KY

Not a professional photographer just a dabbler but I do work in publishing and advertising.
-Black and yellow is the number one color combination to grab attention but is a bit abrupt for a wedding photographer.
-I would add your logo at the top along with your name, address and phone. People don't like to search for that information.
-I'm not a fan of music on websites.
-You should post 4-6 larger samples of your work on your home page.
-Change the font and do not use all capital letters.
-Also, change your copy sounds a little negative or like you are slamming others in your area. Make your message positive and don't apologize for your pricing. Pricing integrity is important. "Quality Portraits at Affordable Prices" or something like that may work better.
-I'm not sold on posting pricing for this product online. You miss the opportunity to sell yourself. I would post some of the package information, limited and put something like, "Call For Complete Package and Pricing Information"
-"One thing you can never recover is a moment after it's gone..." is a good tag line but I would get rid of "NO SECOND CHANCES! Sounds bossy and using all capital letters and underlining adds to that.
-I don't like watching video's on the computer. If I were looking for a photographer I would want to view a few pages of their finest work showcasing different scenarios, places, poses, etc.
-You may want to contact your local schools both high school and technical schools and see if they have programs for web creation, they may create a web page for you for free or low cost for a project or grade.

Hope this didn't sound too opinionated. Good luck!

hlmichel Loc: New Hope, Minnesota

I hate to be the one to say this, but the images are only so-so.

Not saying that they are bad--they are not. But they, for me, are lacking something.