gave the site a little face lift

[lindsayanng]

ANYWAYS, i made a few cosmetic changes to the site, and was wondering if anyone wanted to comment on it.. I am definitely a LOT more happy with the banner.. and the new images on the main page are better.. i am still fighting with him regarding the "clutterness" of it.. I want more images on WHITE background.. more negative space.. but i can argue with the site owner!! Well, i CAN because hes my husband.. but i shouldnt

 

Anyways.. i'm rambling.. heres my link

Visit My Website

 

The things i KNOW i still need to add

SEARCH ENGINE STUFF

Simplify Checkout

A few more image headers instead of the text ones (like on the bridal registry page)

 

I am also thinking of making over my product_info page.. suggestions are welcomed!!

[Guest]

Hey hon,

 

The photos in the main area are stretching the site again. I have to scroll side to side to see the right menu.

I don't know about the eyes in the logo banner. The person looks scared to me...not quite what I would picture to be a good logo banner pic.

 

The other stuff seems to be working just fine...but I haven't really tested. I'm uploading loads of images at the moment and am limited as to what I can do.

[Guest]

Oh, I think you need to add a lightbox as well.

[lindsayanng]

I will be doing lightbox as soon as i figure it out.. I am SWAMPED with work!! i said the same about the eyes.. but thats what he wanted.. Again, he has ultimate control.

 

You have to scroll left to right on ALL of the pages, but just the industry ones.. there is ONE category that has huge images.. it was just temp. cause we didnt want them clicking on every image to see them.. it was a special kinda job..

[Guest]

I will be doing lightbox as soon as i figure it out.. I am SWAMPED with work!! i said the same about the eyes.. but thats what he wanted.. Again, he has ultimate control.

 

You have to scroll left to right on ALL of the pages, but just the industry ones.. there is ONE category that has huge images.. it was just temp. cause we didnt want them clicking on every image to see them.. it was a special kinda job..

 

Gotcha!

Tell the hubby I need to talk to him about them eyes... :rolleyes:

[Guest]

Lindsay, I love your site, but it looked better before.... The pictures all seem to be a little more commonplace than they were before now, like the wedding one with the girl laughing was waaay better than the current smooch one, just because it looked so fun and different. Everyone has a kissing pic, but a laughing out loud chick?! Very nice. Show off the stuff that is different, instead of the mainstream wedding photo stuff and you will make way more money. Your images are brilliant, so roll with it!

[lindsayanng]

thanks for the comments. i will definitely bring that up with my husband.. well, i'm not the photogr. my hubby is.. i just do the coding.. He is always deal SET on the images, but i can USUALLY change his mind.

 

Right now we are working on some serious back linking. We are making blogs and posting to directories with our links and such.. we NEED our site to come up on page 1 of google when someone searches connecticut wedding photographer.. We are also putting alt tags on ALL images, and will have all the SEO stuff installed this weekend probably..

 

i DEFINITELY like the header better than the other one though.. Its cleaner and more organized..

[burt]

The menu you are using is one of the worst looking clunkiest menu's available. If you have to use it, at least give it a more "integrated" style.

 

Too wide on 1024 resolution. This is a major mistake.

 

Do something with the pageHeading class in your stylesheet.

[lindsayanng]

Burt, do you mean the css menu?? I can probably change it, i just havent found a better one yet! I am open the suggestions.. Or are you talking about the top navigation, because that was done by hand, no contribution.

 

and what about the page heading class? I removed the little links on the right with my account, ect.. and just centered the bread crumb. The reason it is centered because people when i asked for feedback from my customers, they wanted a way to link back to where they were.. at that point, i had the bread crumb at the way top, they just didnt see it..

 

OR are you saying that i need to give it more style? I am definitely interested in doing that, i'm just not sure WHAT to do with it, since it is a very simply thing, I cant give it an image or anything like that

[Guest]

I think Burt is also saying that your site is too wide (something I've been saying for a few weeks now). The scrolling from left to right is a turn-off. You really shouldn't make any part of the site wider than 1000px. I keep thinking its the width of the objects you have in the main area that keeps breaking the width rules you've got.

 

It's a nono for any site to make a browser scroll from left to right. I'll keep whackin' atcha till you fix it....with all due respect and hugs to go along with the whack! :P

[lindsayanng]

I THOUGHT that was fixed

[PESI]

here are some things I think need improvement:

 

- navigation: Why separate portfolio and store? If you want to separate them make the cut clearer. I clicked on 'bmx' and looked at nice pics with no purchase option... but with the shopping cart link up top.

 

- css menu - why not display the first level of subs visible at all time - saves on click

 

- I also find that all pics are to big and simply 'hammer' the visitor.

 

- 'you are only one click away' - I clicked and nothing happened?

 

- I would make the buttons 'bridal reg. and free shipping look like buttons - will make them stand out more and separate them from the photos.

 

 

What might help to are some borders and frames.

 

Again this is just my own opinion. (based on 7+ years of designing and coding experience)

[lindsayanng]

they are separate because of a few reasons.. The MAIN reason is that it is an industry standard to have a portfolio and a print shop.. The other reason is that the photographer doesnt sell his own personal images, he doesn't sell stock photography or art photography. He is an event photographer, so the store is specifically for people who comission a photo shoot to go on and view the images from their photo shoot.. The portfolio is separate simply because the photos on there are not for sale, and we want them laid out as a portfolio and not in a product listing style. We did, however, want to keep the theme and look consistent which is one thing that LOADS of photographer sites dont do.. they have their beautiful portfolio site and then a cheesey cart or order fullfillment. We wanted our site to be nice and well connected between the two even though they are the same.

 

There is no click because the css menu is a flyout. I COULD offer all of them open at once, but that list is going to get HUGE! If he works every weekend for the rest of the year (which is the plan) there will be too many subcategories to deal with, and we offer the online galleries for 1 year. I am considering changing this though per your and burts comments.

 

I am adding the hotspots to those graphics so they are clickable. I'm debating between linking them to the store categories or the html pages with the info/images on them.

 

The images HAVE to be big. When the customers look at the product listing, we want SOME details to be seeen on the images because that is what makes them click on them to see purchase.. Again, if you go to a photographers site that sells their photoshoot images, you will see images of that size because you are selling the image, and not an actual product.. With retail, the image is only 1/3 of what makes the customer want to buy, the other is the price, and description. We dont have the price and description, so the image is IT~ PLUS, seeing the images larger avoids a click if the client is someone who cant see the smaller images, if they had to click on everyone that they MIGHT want to see, it could get frustrating.

 

I do want to put a bunch of borders and frames around the content, HOWEVER i mucked up the css so much that i have to go back and look at the stock one. I want ALL of the borders back around just the main content in the cart area especially.

 

THANKS SO MUCH for your feedback..

[devadave]

Great Site.. and work.:0 How did you go about setting up the background?

Dave R

 

ANYWAYS, i made a few cosmetic changes to the site, and was wondering if anyone wanted to comment on it.. I am definitely a LOT more happy with the banner.. and the new images on the main page are better.. i am still fighting with him regarding the "clutterness" of it.. I want more images on WHITE background.. more negative space.. but i can argue with the site owner!! Well, i CAN because hes my husband.. but i shouldnt

 

Anyways.. i'm rambling.. heres my link

Visit My Website

 

The things i KNOW i still need to add

SEARCH ENGINE STUFF

Simplify Checkout

A few more image headers instead of the text ones (like on the bridal registry page)

 

I am also thinking of making over my product_info page.. suggestions are welcomed!!

[Guest]

they are separate because of a few reasons.. The MAIN reason is that it is an industry standard to have a portfolio and a print shop.. The other reason is that the photographer doesnt sell his own personal images, he doesn't sell stock photography or art photography. He is an event photographer, so the store is specifically for people who comission a photo shoot to go on and view the images from their photo shoot.. The portfolio is separate simply because the photos on there are not for sale, and we want them laid out as a portfolio and not in a product listing style. We did, however, want to keep the theme and look consistent which is one thing that LOADS of photographer sites dont do.. they have their beautiful portfolio site and then a cheesey cart or order fullfillment. We wanted our site to be nice and well connected between the two even though they are the same.

 

There is no click because the css menu is a flyout. I COULD offer all of them open at once, but that list is going to get HUGE! If he works every weekend for the rest of the year (which is the plan) there will be too many subcategories to deal with, and we offer the online galleries for 1 year. I am considering changing this though per your and burts comments.

 

I am adding the hotspots to those graphics so they are clickable. I'm debating between linking them to the store categories or the html pages with the info/images on them.

 

The images HAVE to be big. When the customers look at the product listing, we want SOME details to be seeen on the images because that is what makes them click on them to see purchase.. Again, if you go to a photographers site that sells their photoshoot images, you will see images of that size because you are selling the image, and not an actual product.. With retail, the image is only 1/3 of what makes the customer want to buy, the other is the price, and description. We dont have the price and description, so the image is IT~ PLUS, seeing the images larger avoids a click if the client is someone who cant see the smaller images, if they had to click on everyone that they MIGHT want to see, it could get frustrating.

 

I do want to put a bunch of borders and frames around the content, HOWEVER i mucked up the css so much that i have to go back and look at the stock one. I want ALL of the borders back around just the main content in the cart area especially.

 

THANKS SO MUCH for your feedback..

Lindsay,

 

It's those images on the main pages (categories) that are breaking the table. I think if you just knock them down 150px per row, the width problem will be fixed. There won't be much reduction in quality, and you may keep people on the website. I can't see the shopping cart when I'm in sections.

 

EDITED to add: I just looked at your page source and you have a 100% width rather than a fixed width, which you should have. Take your two side columns, add their width, minus that to the overall page width, and thats what your middle table should be. ....Now that I look again, you redid your table to 100% instead of fixed width, so you'll need to set that to the length of your header image + a few pixels. It should stop the left/right scroll issue.

[burt]

Sorry I was in a real rush to get out to the pub, hence the quick comments earlier.

 

The menu you are using is square, plain, lifeless and boring - everytime I see that menu box on any site I cringe. Ugh. I'll try to dig out a good one that I coded up sometime back which is collapsible without any page refreshes - so it does what your flyout does, but a bit more intuitively.

 

The site is too wide, by a good 2 or 3 inches.

[lindsayanng]

thanks burt. i would really appreciate that.. I did search some other menus, but have issues integrating some of the css stuff with oscommerce.

 

On the note of the tables..

The "main table" is 100% but i used a <div id="content"> to center the site to a fixed width in the following css

#content {

width: 900px; margin: auto;

text-align:center;

}

*this is spooks center site contribution...

NOW, teh way you were viewing it, it was 100% main table with a DIV set to 1050.. HOWEVER, now , when i changed it to 900px it gets REALLY squirrly.. I am changing the size of the banners in the center to make the the overall width -144x2

[lindsayanng]

Oh yea.. which sections in particular does the shopping cart go away???

[lindsayanng]

made the thing smaller and now it is definitely out of whack

[cotswoldweb]

made the thing smaller and now it is definitely out of whack

 

Hi Lindsay,

 

Like your site!

 

I am new to osCommerce and attempting to do the same thing (password protect categories for a photography site), and wondered if you would explain how you did it or list contributions?

 

Many thanks,

Richard

[jhande]

Hey Lindsay,

 

Cool, how is East Haven doing? It's been years since I visited where I grew-up. The shop must be on the New Haven line, looks like a New Haven phone number (209)?

 

Anyways...

 

Please don't take my comments the wrong way.

 

I think the site needs to be better structured. I realize one needs a portfolio along with the print shop (where customers can log-in to place orders) but it's out of sorts as it is right now. I'll try to explain...

 

http://bscphoto.com/ opens fine to a nice start page. Except you need to fix the first word of your paragraph - "On" is to the right of of the wedding13.jpg instead of below it. Oh, I stumbled across a few more pages like that.

 

Clicking on the portfolio link refreshes the same page, no change of menus, nothing different (unless I am missing it).

Clicking on print shop doesn't really bring me to what I would expect as a shop or store. There's nothing to buy or order. No example price forms or order sheets.

 

I'm not sure I understand the purpose of the gallery links. At first I thought they were going to be just portfolio pictures again (hence gallery) until I came across the Burtch/Wrona Wedding. Looks like I can order photo's and such. I would think using something like that would be to show an example of how a customer could place orders once signed into there account. Oh, by the way... What happened to using thumbnail images? Looky at Branscombe Family Cats (left/right scroll).

 

bmx, landscapes, pet portraits, macro, etc... looks to be portfolio pictures. I would have expected to find those links after I clicked on portfolio. Oh, and that's a heck of a place to hide a price list - really small word link in amongst the pet portraits.

 

Too many thumbnails per page for us poor dialup users. Takes way too long for pages to load.

 

Six or seven different fonts used all on the same page. Limiting to one or two is recommended.

[grandmasterjack]

Hi Lindsay in general the site looks ok but like you said I would agree to cluttered. Pictures maybe too big.

I did not have any problem on any page having to see the whole page, I am using IE. Your link to write a reveiw doesn't work or there is no link and I don't like the font for the cart or the review, especially the first letters being darker.

Featured links no picture showing and the link to fashion is giving me a 404.

When I wanted to go back to the home page I got a bit confused because the home page is print shop.

I don't like the Oscom "Welcome guest would you.............."

I also agree with a few of the things Jim has said above.

 

Bear in mind that is only my opinion.

 

By the way I do love some of the pictures.

[lindsayanng]

Wow.. Jim, you grew up in East Haven? Are you ITALIAN?? because all the locals in east haven are italians... BEst pizza around, but the teenagers in this town are all punks.. I'm not from east haven, i grew up in stratford.. Anyways, its REALLY nice here, the leaves are changing and its beautiful this time of year

 

anyways.. on to my site..

 

I'm a little confused about your confusion ;)

The portfolio link and print shop link that are in the header are just there so that if people get lost, they can make it back to where they started.. I guess the "portfolio" can be lost because it really is just the HOME page of the portfolio. The links beneath it (BMX, Landscape, Macro, ECT) are the pages for the portfolios.

 

The paragraphs for the all the portfolio pages have been fixed. no overlapping.

 

Clicking on Print Shop brings you to the oscommerce side of the website. That basically will be ONLY for people who commission a photo shoot. We do not sell stock photography/ The Galleries are the photo shoots that we did. I guess I can change the wording on that.. Any suggestions?

 

There also USED to be a HIRE ME page, which had all the price lists on it.. I guess myhusband did away with it. I will make him bring it back! I liked it.

 

THANKS for pointing out the branscombe family cats!! i completely forgot about that category. It was actually a test category who's pictures i added before the thumbnail enhancement Those are my kitties

[lindsayanng]

Oh yea.. i forgot to mention.. the featured links.. and links section on a whole was JUST installed and we need to create graphics and such for it.. THanks.

[jhande]

Hey Lindsay,

 

Yep, my parents moved us into East Haven when I was 4 years old (from West Haven). I left when I joined the U.S. Army after graduating High School. My parents still live their, they are some what away from the punks, up off of North High Street in High Ridge area behind IGA. Oh, I think I know about where N. Atwater might be... Down in the Momauguin area (Silver Sands, Coe Ave, Cosey Beach), that's always been a well... rough area! No, I was a minority as I am not Italian. Loved the pizza from Tollis on Main St and there was another one down the hill on RT 80 (Foxen Blv), think it changed names or is gone now. When I came home from the service I moved to Milford, then Ansonia until finally in 2000 my wife and I decided to move our family up here to NH with my business. Oh, I'm finally getting more serious into photography. My wife just bought me a Nikon D300 and a bunch of goodies to go along with it. I'm still waiting on a 150-500mm zoom lens to come in so I don't have to get so close to the bears (actually the moose are worse and they can run really fast too). :blink:

 

I'll try to explain better my confussion with the site navigation along with a few issues.

• When first visiting the site at http://bscphoto.com/index.html I think it would serve better to combine the bio on that page. That way right away everyone gets an idea of and feel for the business\photographer; make that a Home link. Loose the - bmx, landscapes, pet portraits, etc... links along the top.
  
• Clicking on the portfolio link, load a page similar to http://bscphoto.com/catalog/ with the Galleries menu (something like portraits.html). Under the galleries menu have the bmx, landscapes, pet portraits, etc... links.
  
• Clicking on the print shop link, should bring me to a sample page with the info found here - http://bscphoto.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=612 and add some images of the products.
  
• Why not have a pricing page in HTML? You have a PDF for pet photo prices (seems like an overly large file for the amount of info, 1,087KB. I optimized, reduced file size and saved with Acrobat 8, now it's 56KB).
  
• I'm not sure how you will accomplish it, but once a client logs in hopefully they only get to view their photo shoot. But as a visitor I should be able to find different information such as pricing besides tons of portfolio images.
  
• I'm using IE7 on a PC and you still have paragraph\image problems. http://bscphoto.com/index.html On is still to the right of wedding13.jpg. A few ways to solve such issues: Utilize 4 table cells and 2 rows, merge 2 on the left from each row. Or try a <br /> or <p> after wedding13.jpg. The most current way of doing it would be to float the images and wrap the text.
  Another page with the same text problem - http://bscphoto.com/bikes/bikes_trails.html Bmx next to trails_strip.jpg.
  
• Free Shipping image is a pointless link.
  
• Bridal Registry image takes me to FAG, I would have expected an account sign-up page. Maybe then add FAQ to the image.
  
• Oh, oh... the password for the wedding gallery is the brides first name! Hope 2 or more Linda's don't get married and hire your husband in the same month. Actually I would probably use the brides maiden name, not post that info on the site and only have it mentioned on the vouchers.
  
• Have a consistant footer through out the site. The shop and portfolio areas seem to be formated differently. I'd probably bring the black bar with the date above the copyright message.
  

Hope that helps a little. ;)