Topic: My New Website

[Late Developer]

I've just built a new website using Squarespace: www.fototour.biz

I'd be grateful for feedback / constructive comments on suggested improvements.

Thanks, Paul.

[02Pilot]

Only had a quick look, but I like the overall cleanliness of the presentation. I've been thinking about something vaguely similar myself - how did you find the process of building it through Squarespace?

[Late Developer]

Only had a quick look, but I like the overall cleanliness of the presentation. I've been thinking about something vaguely similar myself - how did you find the process of building it through Squarespace?

Thank you for having a look.  A simple and clean look is what I am after.  Squarespace really couldn't be simpler and the fact that I've been able to "build" the site is the only proof necessary.  I've looked at Wordpress options which, I'm sure, are equally as good and maybe have even greater potential.  However, Squarespace requires no coding knowledge and is literally a matter of adding pages / galleries and then drag / drop your photos into place, rearrange by drag/drop and finalise the order of your pages by the same method.  YouTube has a number of videos which show how easy it is to build a basic site inside half an hour.

There's loads of business and blog options - so the site can be as flexible and powerful as you need - but I just want a straightforward website.  There's also quite a few templates from which to choose. Mine's on "Momentum" (one of the portfolio options).  Each template has loads of design options.  So far, I've left mine as pretty-much asstandard.  However, I'm thinking about adding a logo.

It's a paid-for site but I reckon it's worth it as it's meant I can do my own changes and I won't have to rely on Tumblr - which is okay but, speaking personally, I prefer the look and feel of a website.

[Domingo A. Siliceo]

I think your site relies too much in JavaScript - this is neither good or bad, is just my opinion.

If you log in with JavaScript disabled in your browser, you see nothing but a minimal text based menu on the left side. I know we are few who don't use JavaScript and I'm sure we are not important, so maybe you can forget us. Current trends are to use javascript to adjust how contents are shown to the user and to stock (too much) information about us (this is another history), but if the site has been mine, I would have prepared a basic entry page for those of us who don't use JavaScript.

For the site itself, I'd like to see some information about the shown image.

[Fluminian]

Congratulations, Paul! Well done. I especially liked Andalusia set.

[Late Developer]

I think your site relies too much in JavaScript - this is neither good or bad, is just my opinion.

If you log in with JavaScript disabled in your browser, you see nothing but a minimal text based menu on the left side. I know we are few who don't use JavaScript and I'm sure we are not important, so maybe you can forget us. Current trends are to use javascript to adjust how contents are shown to the user and to stock (too much) information about us (this is another history), but if the site has been mine, I would have prepared a basic entry page for those of us who don't use JavaScript.

For the site itself, I'd like to see some information about the shown image.

Hi Domingo.

Thank you for your note.

You'll have to forgive my ignorance as, although I have heard of Javascript, I have absolutely no idea what it is, what it does or the relative benefits / disadvantages of using / not using it.  I have very limited IT knowledge / skills - hence the reason I needed to avail myself of a website that I could literally pick a pre-formatted template and drag / drop the photos into place. 

As for showing some detail about the photos, I can and will add this.  Where it is present,  - a little button appears in the top right corner of each photo page.  When pressed, it flashes up the detail I input.  Most are film shots, so I'm not sure how much in-depth detail I have other than location, camera and lens.  That said, I don't want this detail to be visible permanently as I like the clean look and I'm hoping viewers will be more interested in the photo than whether it was a Nikon, Canon, Hasselblad, etc - but I will incorporate some of this where I have the information so that viewers have the option.

Regards, Paul.

[jharr]

Paul, the site looks good. I like that the Hassy shots have a border. I think the 35mm shots would benefit from a stroke around them to bring them off of the white background a bit. A dark grey background might even work better. Other than that, the layout and navigation are intuitive and it makes it easy to concentrate on the photos and not a bunch of fancy decorations on the page.

[zapsnaps]

Hi

Really like this site, but for me, the best shots are the Shingle Street one. The way the light catches the water is fantastic. If you could take a few more in a similar way, I'm sure there is a calendar in that  theme.

[kentish cob]

Very nice work LD.
Elegant simplicity... no unnecessary content... Dare I say, distilled (like the best things in life).

[Terry]

Well done Paul.  I too like the cleanliness of the design.  The absence of explanatory text is a big plus for me: I feel that art should'nt need text to explain it.  You photos are strong enough to stand on their own.

[gothamtomato]

I like the simple, clean layout. It lets the photographs speak.

[John]

I also like the cleanliness of the design. The simple layout allows the photos to stand out. Well done you!

[Late Developer]

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.  I've started adding some basic text - which stays hidden unless you want to press the little "i" button at the top right corner and, even then, I intend only including basic details on kit and anything that I don't believe is obvious, as I tend to agree with Terry's point about the photos standing on their own.  Whether I'd call my photographs "art" is another thing...

[Paul Mitchell]

Great site and images Paul and as you say 'something to build on'. I too went for a Squarespace site as I just wanted something clean and simple. I'm also not very tech savvy and the one thing that has been holding me back with mine was learning another skill before I could even start. I sometimes equate it to having to learn how to build a car before you can use it... I just want to jump in and drive! 

[Chalky]

Hi Paul and Paul!
Lovely looking sites - clean and clear which is how I like them... and of course some great shots which is to be expected.

Only techy point is there could well be a few things you could both do to improve visibility for search engines, if you care about that... drop me a line if you want some pointers...

do you have any usage analytics set up? again you may not be worried about that...

best of luck with it, I really like them both! :-)

[charles binns]

Very nice indeed Paul.

[rpmdrd]

I like white background to show photographs. Certainly like looking at a space on the wall with photo frames hanging. Why though it has .biz as the domain? Where there any other alternatives?

Biz is closer to business from my POV.

[Late Developer]

I like white background to show photographs. Certainly like looking at a space on the wall with photo frames hanging. Why though it has .biz as the domain? Where there any other alternatives?

Biz is closer to business from my POV.

Thanks and glad you like it.

Squarespace offered a number of domains but some were quite expensive.  This one was free.  Although I don't currently use it as a business, I wouldn't rule it out in the longer term.  However, I've recently acquired pauljenkin.com and now need to work out how to replace the name and put the ".biz" one into mothballs.

[rpmdrd]

i take inspiration from my fellow filmwasters.

good one mate. you'll eventually figure it out. let us know when the domain is changed. a bookmark is in order.

[Late Developer]

After a bit of head-scratching and some invaluable input from a chap at Squarespace yesterday evening (via their excellent live chat thingy), I've finally managed to get the domain name I bought independently of Squarespace up and running.  Therefore, from today, my website address is now:

www.pauljenkin.com

I'm working on a couple of mini projects that should be added in next month or two but just really chuffed that it works. 

As mentioned previously, the intention is to keep the website as clean and minimalist-looking as possible.  I've "recently" added a blog and I'm going to add a links page as well.  If you have any constructive criticism or ideas, please let me know via the "Contact" page.

[gregor]

Paul - As far as portfolio sites I think it a nice and clean interface.  the navigation is on the bottom, which may be unusual for some users however it's not a brain twister. Regarding the navigation I would suggest improving the contrast.  I would make the default color #444444 and the hover state as is: color:#000000, text-decoration:underline.

In fact in would recommend your CSS for the navigation to looks like this:

a
{
    font-family: "proxima-nova";
    font-size: 15px;
    text-transform: none;
    letter-spacing: .5px;
    font-weight: 300;
    font-style: normal;
    cursor: pointer;
    color:#444444:
    outline: none;
    text-decoration:none;
}

a:hover
{
    font-family: "proxima-nova";
    font-size: 15px;
    text-transform: none;
    letter-spacing: .5px;
    font-weight: 300;
    font-style: normal;
    cursor: pointer;
    color:#000000:
    outline: none;
    text-decoration:underline;
}

a:focus
{
    font-family: "proxima-nova";
    font-size: 15px;
    text-transform: none;
    letter-spacing: .5px;
    font-weight: 300;
    font-style: normal;
    cursor: pointer;
    color:#000000:
    outline: none;
    text-decoration:underline;
}

I would also suggest making the default one page image clickable - take me to that series.  My 1st instinct is to click that image so I really want something to happen!

[Late Developer]

Thanks for the detailed response, Gregor.

The template has a lot of potential for change options and I'll have a look at what can be achieved.  I must admit, though, that I'm utterly clueless when it comes to HTML (or whatever language the code you provided is in).  In fact, I don't even know what CSS is!

I like the idea of the main page photo being clickable and taking the viewer to the series.  I hope that can be done.  Again, I'll check what customisation I can do and, if push comes to shove, I'll have a word with Squarespace as they may be able to either do it for me or give me a suitable pointer.

Paul.

[Francois]

CSS starts for cascading style sheets. It's usually a separate file from the HTML files that is called to ensure easy uniformity between every page on a site.
Looks complicated but once you figure it out, it can be quite a time saver.

[Chalky]

I find it interesting that on a forum about analogue photography, there are so many technical people who work on these digital kind of things like websites (me included). I wonder if one drives people to the other?

[Indofunk]

It's all somehow related. I've noticed that a lot of us here (and also other non-analogue photographers and videographers  I know) are also musicians. And independently, I've noticed that a lot of the musicians I know in NYC are also into technical stuff like web design, desktop support, and general geeking out over computers. Now I get the photography-music connection (all in the art world after all), but that both these groups are also into tech geek stuff? Interesting.

[Late Developer]

I find it interesting that on a forum about analogue photography, there are so many technical people who work on these digital kind of things like websites (me included). I wonder if one drives people to the other?

Matt, you may be right but, as a "person of a certain age" who, although he has and enjoys using his digital camera is rooted securely in the film era, I don't feel remotely inclined to learn any computer language or coding skills.  This is probably because what's left of my life feels like it's not enough for such distractions.  As Paul Mitchell put it so eloquently, why would I want to learn to build a car when all I want to do is get in and drive one?

Thankfully, the folks at Squarespace have, to-date, proven to be very helpful and I'm sure they'll know how to effect any changes I want to make.  I actually chose them because a complete numpty like me could work out how to select a template, add pages / galleries and populate them - without knowing how to do a single piece of coding.  The only "problem" I had was one (sort of) of my own making - wanting to use a domain name I bought from another source on the Squarespace platform.  Even that would have been a doddle if the Herbert at the third party domain site had copied over the DNS info I sent him correctly.  I mean, how difficult is "copy and paste"?  Even I can do that much.....

Still, I must admit to being glad there are so many technically gifted souls on this site, and so many that can be bothered to offer their constructive thoughts and advice.  I suspect I will learn more about website building - even if it's only by the cyber equivalent of osmosis.  What I really need to do now, I suspect, is get to work on the couple of ideas I've had for mini projects.....

[Francois]

I mean, how difficult is "copy and paste"?  Even I can do that much.....

Cut and paste doesn't work on all computers, and it surely doesn't work between terminals when you have two computers on your desk...
I've yet discovered how to do it on a UNIX box that doesn't have a graphical user interface.

[gregor]

I find it interesting that on a forum about analogue photography, there are so many technical people who work on these digital kind of things like websites (me included). I wonder if one drives people to the other?

I think a lot of us are in that in-between generation: computers and such came after we entered into the work world. As art of any kind has always been a difficult way to sustain oneself (not to mention a family) computer and web technologies evolved and it offered a way to make a decent salary while still being somewhat creative.  My years in art school benefit my design work, but I still see design only as work - a way to make a living...

However the upside is I have always been able to help friends who are an artist of any type get their work online

[gregor]

Cut and paste doesn't work on all computers, and it surely doesn't work between terminals when you have two computers on your desk...
I've yet discovered how to do it on a UNIX box that doesn't have a graphical user interface.

Francois, being a unix user you are the geekiest of the geeks here 

I am searching my memory from when I worked at amazon in the early days and we we're all on Unix boxes....  I don't think Unix has a clipboard to carry info from one terminal to another on the same box.  The work around I used was to make snippets of frequently used text, whether code or sentences, that I could insert when needed.

[gregor]

Paul:

I would also add that clicking on the info icon you show the gear.  That may be interesting for camera buffs, but are they your target audience?

If you are trying to sell prints and/or sell the images as stock, I would put pricing information instead of the gear.

Just a suggestion of course.  As we both know you can take a fabulous photo with most any camera.  Content is King, not the means to get there.

[Late Developer]

Paul:

I would also add that clicking on the info icon you show the gear.  That may be interesting for camera buffs, but are they your target audience?

If you are trying to sell prints and/or sell the images as stock, I would put pricing information instead of the gear.

Just a suggestion of course.  As we both know you can take a fabulous photo with most any camera.  Content is King, not the means to get there.

Gregor, that is a very astute observation. 

Some of the photos are a few years old and the first thing that came to my mind when I was posting them was "what the hell did I shoot this on?".  Consequently, that's the detail I entered.  However, although the website isn't aimed at selling the photos, viewers are probably more interested in where the photo was taken and any interesting / appropriate anecdotes.  I'll do some work on this.....

I haven't even thought about pricing as sales isn't the motivator - certainly not yet, anyway.  In fact, naïve as this may sound, it never occurred to me that anyone might want to buy my photos.  Maybe I should see how much they'd cost to have printed and what profit margin I'd need (and tax implications  )

[Chalky]

I once read a very interesting article about selling prints and how you should value them and then quadruple the value to get a true cost to include your time, mounting, framing and so on.

If I ever get a request to sell one of mine I will also struggle to value it! good luck with your site.

[Francois]

Cut and paste doesn't work on all computers, and it surely doesn't work between terminals when you have two computers on your desk...
I've yet discovered how to do it on a UNIX box that doesn't have a graphical user interface.

Francois, being a unix user you are the geekiest of the geeks here 

I haven't used a pure Unix box in years. But I do have Linux on my netbook and have tried BSD a while ago.
I used to love tweaking stuff on the university server. We first had a machine that used hpux then they upgraded the whole system to system V.
Back in the days, i only had a terminal connection to the internet... Well, it was 1992, so i figured out how to compile the Slirp SLIP emulator(they used to compete with the PPP protocol) so I would get full graphical web access on my computer through dialup... Just imagine the thing calling in to the server at 14400 bauds, sending a bunch of strings to get the emulator started before connecting... And then using NCSA Mosaic to go places. All this using Windows 3.11
Those were the days... You could still feel like a pioneer at something. Nowadays, there's so many regulations and security protocols that you can't do much...

[astrobeck]

Just had a look and now I want to go to Brecon Beacons, and Amsterdam.
Nice and clean, very nice Paul!!!

Site is easy to navigate, and I share the idea of making the contrast a tad more contrasty and a bit easier to read as Gregor mentioned up the line.
I should mention I have "experienced" eyes, not old mind you....

Good stuff.
thanks for posting and I look forward to seeing more.
Beck

[Urban Hafner]

I think this thread hasn't been policed correctly! Francois what were you thinking?!? 


Poppies by Urban Hafner, on Flickr

[Francois]

 
You know, I do take pride in my geekiness!