This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
10 inventive ideas for photography website development
An amazing design ideas which you can provide your website designer while developing your photography website.
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
A website that is developed to represent photography is slightly different from the run of the mill websites that are hosted on the internet.
The reason they are the difference is due to their excessive focus on the visual part of the design and contents. As the subject of photography is generally a visual medium, it is but natural that any website that primarily focuses on this subject must have attractive photographs that can explain the subject in much detail.
If you are a photographer and wish to build a website to sell your photos online then follow the following trends that will make your website both alluring as well as easy to operate.
1). The Homepage
This is the most important page of your website that the viewer will first see when he clicks on your website link.
Think of what you want to do with this page; should the pictures be presented in a certain way, should there be a music playing in the background and so on. You should also design the website in such a way that it forces the viewer to make a choice. Like if you are a wedding photographer, then try to let them make a conscious choice by putting two alternatives on the screen - engagement and wedding photography.
This type of design will ensure that the viewer gets more engaged in your website resulting in a higher conversion.
2). Elegance
While planning for photography website development does not lose sight over this important feature. If you put too many features in your website then not only will it look crowded but will also hinder in smooth navigation. Always try to adopt the minimalistic approach wherein the entire focus should be on the photographs displayed.
If you have a lot of content that you want to put up on your website, then you should place them under different categories like wedding photography, wildlife photography, adventure sports and so on.
In short, a viewer should not be confused when he clicks on your website. He should find the image of his choice quickly under specific categories and do not have to browse through the entire portfolio to get a particular piece of photo.
Additionally, the website should provide easy access to contact numbers, fax, emails as well as easy to see a call to action buttons.
3). Stick to a particular field
People who wish to hire the services of a photographer always look out for a specialist.
Like a person looking for a wedding photographer will always find a photographer who only shoots wedding photos more reliable compared to one who takes all kinds of assignments.
It is kind of a hard decision to make as most photographers love to undertake various projects. But this will help you create your own niche market. So, while in the process of photography website development focus on one particular category about which you are passionate about and which has a lot of market demand.
If you want, you can put other subjects under categories tab, but make sure that the main focus should be on your specialty only.
4). Include a blogging account
If you want to stay connected with the wider audience who you wish to target, then integrating a blogging account on the website will be important.
A blogging account will help you to showcase your new products as well as get important feedback from your customers about the shots that you have displayed on your website.
A blogging account beside helping you stay connected with your targeted audience also helps you in other important ways.
• It helps in improving your reputation online
• It helps in improving your SEO strategy
5). Integrating analytics
When you launch a website and put contents on it, then it is natural that you will want to know how effective your website is in attracting users as well as in the conversion department.
To do this accurately, you have to integrate web analytics into your website. Web analytics can tell you the traffic pattern on your website, what are the photos that are attracting a larger view, conversion rate, viewer demographics and so on.
Through this, you get a comprehensive picture of what are the subjects that the viewers are finding interesting and what are the categories that are not attracting any viewer. After getting this information, you can put more focus on the ones that are giving you more revenue for a better ROI.
6). A great bio page
When an individual is looking to hire a photographer, then not only he looks through his portfolio but also the ‘About’ page of the website.
The About page or Bio page has all the information about the photographer/studio. The About page is the second most visited page after the Home page. Therefore, take your time and create a well designed About page with an integrated video of yourself and few important information that is written in a clear and concise manner.
7). Layout
If you have a big, bright and attractive picture in your portfolio, then make sure that it fills the entire home screen. You can put your main menu put in the top right corner of a horizontal bar that can have categories like video, About page, Contact page and Instagram feed.
You can also put a secondary menu designed vertically, that will show the different categories of your service, like Wedding photography, Corporate advertising, Portrait design and so on. You can design the website in such a way that when a viewer points the cursor to any of these categories, the full-screen picture changes to that category. Like if it a wedding photography tab, then the screen image should show a beautiful couple in their wedding finery.
8). Arrangement and quality of the photographs
As you are developing a website to display photographs, it is essential that you put in pictures in high resolution in your online portfolio.
The reason being that many mobile phones nowadays are blessed with a high-resolution display. And if the pictures in the websites are of low resolution, then they will appear jaded on the screen.
You can also use thumbnails to depict all the photos when you choose any one categories. This will give the viewer a quick view of the entire portfolio under that category. Clicking any of these thumbnails should bring the picture in the full-screen form.
9). Make the website mobile friendly
As the majority of the people on the go love to access their work online, it is important to make your website mobile friendly.
Do not use flash support on your website otherwise, a big chunk of the people who access websites through their smartphones will find it impossible to access the website.
10). Email Newsletter
Email marketing will help you to promote a more focused campaign to attract a targeted audience by promoting new products and services.
This highly personalized form of advertising is highly effective to bring your work to the notice of your targeted audiences.
So, think about above points when you decide to make your photography portfolio online.
Helpful Resources to Know more:
1. https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/35-beautiful-photography-websites/
2. https://www.gurutechnolabs.com/photography-website-designs-for-portfolio/
3. https://www.awwwards.com/websites/photography-sites/