So I’ve been busy not posting since I’m redesigning my photography website. I want my site to be set up with room to grow.  I wanted a “smart phone”, not just a phone booth of a site.  Here are my thoughts on the topic.

If you view any of the better business sites out there they have the following features in common:

1. fast upload to viewers computer – don’t forget the 14.4kb set-ups out there!

2. clean, simple design with a reasonable number of places to click – little distractions are another possibility that someone will loose their interest in your site.  keep the audience firmly planted at your site.

3. easy access to the most used pages right from the start – for example, its easy to get to the portfolio or blog with only one click from the homepage

4. easy to update with new material – not only on the blog, but also on the actual website so you can circulate out photos that don’t meet your standards/taste as you change and improve as a professional

5. content is king – your photos should be prominent and display your skill, style and dedication to the art and business

These 5 guiding principles are the cornerstone for my design.  I’ll let you decide how it turned out for yourself when I publish the site!

Here are a couple of sites I visit regularly:

See local Oakland photography Maurice Ramirez’s site.  He’s got a slick eye and presents as well as anyone.

I really like the Strobist blog for current posts, but man, does that mother get busied with information and too many distraction.  This was something I was hoping to not duplicate (other than the amazing technical information).  I know this is a “blog” and not a portfolio – but I think the key principles should apply – e.g. how long will it take you to find David’s contact?  More than 2-3 clicks and you might get distracted!

Dan Winters – simple, amazing, awesome. Um, perfect… (can you tell I’m a fan)

I decided to set up my site with Wix.com, which had some nice templates and lots of room to grow.  I must admit that the online interface is decent at best, very buggy often.  I’m still working out some of those issues and hoping to finalize the site soon.

Oh yeah, I also did a little logo for the business – It was fun!