You should definitely read this article if you:
Don’t plan to create an ordinary website;
Take care of your users;
Want to stand out among competitors.
Tips for designing an amazing photography website
The ability to create beautiful photos doesn’t guarantee that you can create a website with a high-quality design.
You can be a great photographer but it doesn’t mean you can be a cool developer at the same time without any serious preparation. Web designers and photographers work in different areas, although they both create an aesthetically attractive product.
Because of this, photographers often make the same mistakes when creating a website. And this can be especially bad if your website’s goal is to attract a commercial client.
In this article, you will learn how to avoid the most common mistakes that you could make without even knowing about it.
After reading, your potential website will become better and more professional. You will feel a huge difference, and this understanding will be your advantage.
Answer this question before you even read this article
You need this answer to start moving. Answer it before you will begin the website creating process. You need it because there are a lot of different types of photography websites. Each type has a difference. And you must know this difference to create your own website.
A wedding website will be built differently than a fashion photography website.
- Which type of photography genres are you in?
- Maybe it is fine art or product photography?
- Do you want to create sports photography or are you a corporate photographer?
- Do you want to get just a portfolio or something more?
Figure out with it and then learn the difference of building website for photography genre you need. This will be the first step. This will be the basis of your future.
So, the question is why do you need a photography website?
Figure out what you can and what you can’t do
If you never coded a website (and especially photography one) before, better choose another way to get a website for your photos. There are a lot of failed websites on the Internet.
All of them are exist only because to learn how to create a website you should create at least a dozen broken websites. Every business takes time. And creating websites isn’t an exception.
Have realistic expectations. If it is going to be your first website don’t expect it will be perfect.
So, if you want to be a photographer but not a developer, there is a better way to get a website.
Platforms for creating websites
Fortunately, the time when you need to pay a developer a lot of money for creating a website has passed. Now you just need to choose a template and…
Yes, website builders have been criticized so long. But times are changing. Now they are improved. Their cost isn’t that big as it used to be. They are convenient to use. Just google them.
PhotoFolio, Squarespace, and Photoshelter offer many different website options. You can change whatever you want and how you want. And it doesn’t require you to understand the code. These platforms are intuitive, but if you stumble upon complexity, video tutorials will help you.
Each site builder has its pros and cons. Therefore, first of all, you need to familiarize yourself with their characteristics. And this applies not only to prices but also to the technical capabilities of these platforms.
Recently, site templates have become so reliable. Taking the template as a basis, you get not only a base for design but also a perfectly working site on any resolutions with excellent SEO. Such websites are usually easy for your clients to navigate. You won’t have any trouble to update it with your newest photographs. What is the reason to risk and pay more if there are a lot of beautiful templates?
Find your niche
When a user gets to your website, then from the very beginning he wants to know what your forte is. But if he fails to determinate it quickly, he leaves. This means that you need to find your style, your niche and stick to it.
Sometimes it can be hard to find your niche. It can be hard even if you are a good photographer. Anyway, you have to figure out what is your direction and follow it. And users should get some basic answers to their questions about you.
- Who are you?
- What are your advantages as a photographer?
- Why do your pictures better than pictures of others?
Answer these questions on your website. Let your pictures tell this story to your audience. Your merits should be evident, and your unique style should be reflected in the design of your website. Check out some examples of famous photographers’ sites. It will inspire you. And know that you can afford the same website, and maybe much better.
But if you are not confident in your own abilities, our experts are ready at any time to advise you a better way to get to your dream.
One of the most common mistakes is to want to be everything at once. If you are a photographer, then do portrait photography or conceptual series only. There is no need to mix them. Only beginners mix it and their portfolio reflects that. You can become a professional in one area, but not at all. Remember about it when you will be in the process of creating your commercial website. Let your portfolio benefit you.
Create an excellent gallery
Remember that your website should be beautiful, but if it’s inconvenient, then no one will use it for longer than a couple of minutes. Therefore, take care to view the photos was easy. And it’s not even about the slider. It’s about your gallery.
Choose the right gallery title. Make sure your navigation is comfortable, understandable and simple. When you create it, imagine yourself in the place of a person who came to your site for the first time. Could you figure out your own navigation? How much time would it take for you? Each element of the site should help the user, and not complicate his time spent on your site. It is important to comply. Then both you and your users will be satisfied.
Show your audience only best photos
It is very important to remember the golden rule that sounds like this: show your audience only the best photos. Many photographers show pictures of average quality, but don’t even realize it. They agree with this rule, but don’t always follow it. Why is that so?
Sometimes photographers do a lot of work, but it remains behind the scene. Sometimes photographers feel an emotional connection with the photo they took. It happens that they like the image for some irrational reasons. And then they show these photos to a potential audience.
Photos may not be of the highest quality. But because of the emotional connection, these photos are popular with photographers, and they simply don’t notice obvious flaws in them. That’s why it happens.
For this reason, photographers can agree with the rule to show only the best work, but not comply with it. And since you now know why this is happening, it will be easier for you to follow this.
Make sure your website is an example of what you can do when you are in a good mood. The work that was left behind the scenes will be assessed only if it is something that users like in the frame.
Therefore, you need to become a strict critic for yourself.
Forget about the existence of watermarks
Watermark is a reliable protection for any photo. Alas, this is not true.
They are no longer effective. Firstly, because they are easy to remove in Photoshop. Secondly, they spoil a photo. It makes it dirty. And since they still don’t protect a photo from being stolen, then why spoil it?
A great introduction means more than you think
On your website, the opportunity to introduce yourself to a potential client is your About page. A lot depends on how you fill this page.
Unfortunately, photographers often don’t pay enough attention to this page. But in vain, because in this way they lose customers.
The goal of this page isn’t just to tell you that you are a photographer and can take good pictures. The real purpose of this page is to convince the client that you are the best photographer and your proposal is the most profitable for him. If you succeed in doing this, then the client will trust you. If you fail to achieve this goal, then a client will have doubts and he will simply find another site of another photographer. What a pity.
But how do you achieve this goal? How to make a client believe that you are the best in your niche, and your offer is the best for him? The answer is simple. Be humane. Your audience won’t be loyal to you if they don’t see a simple person with a camera whom they can trust.
On this page, you need to talk about what skills you have, but at the same time tell about it in a simple language that most people can understand.
Don’t forget that not many people know about specific terms. Explain everything in simple words. If the client doesn’t understand what you are offering, how will he then buy it from you?
Follow these rules when filling out this page:
- Use simple language;
- Avoid long sentences;
- Show yourself as a person whom people can trust;
- Specify the location of your work;
- Give the client a reason why he should work with you.
Make contacting you easy
Of course, it is great to put your contact information at the bottom of your About page. But the better way to make it obvious is to create a page titled Contact. Put there all your addresses, your email, and phone number. Maybe except for the main office, you have a studio. Your customers should know where to find this information. Help them create a good website and they will necessarily appreciate it.
Sometimes the best solutions is the paid solutions
Often paid features scare users. But maybe we should get it?
In every field, there is a huge competition. And you need to do something to stand out among competitors. Sometimes the solution can be paid functions. They can be your hallmark. No matter how it works, you should think about it.
Website designers work in a similar way. If you want to make your website unique, you will have to try hard.
But nothing is impossible. Despite the fact that all have the same tools, everyone has different goals. And because the sites differ in many principles. And yet, the surest way to achieve a good result is to do something that most don’t.
As a photographer, you probably don’t like mediocrity. At least it will set you apart from the competition.
Photographer and his website
Now you know enough to create your photography website.
Nowadays, every good photographer needs a modern, stylish website. The number of orders depends on the quality of the website, which means that the earnings of a particular photographer also depend on it. Is it possible to risk this?
Creating a photography website is a very crucial step. And special, if you are not a professional developer, but a photographer.
It is important for a photo gallery to have a good website also because the photographer shows his work to the whole world through the website. And if the method he chooses to show photos of the world fails, then no one will pay attention to his work.
There is something unfair about this, but life is life. And every photographer knows it.
After all, the goal of any photographer is to capture life.
