It's very slow-loading, first of all, and I'm working off a cable modem. I like the design and color scheme, but the actual interface where your portfolio loads is initially very slow-going. It's only on the first load of each page, but it can be a deterrent to new visitors who think there is no content at first glance.
Secondly, I always think it's a bad idea to not set your website with separate pages. It's all loading via JavaScript, and that in of itself is typically a bad idea. For instance, if I disable JavaScript on my browser, all I see are your background images. This means both search engines and people with JavaScript disabled for whatever reason can't see your website and content.
I would suggest setting up your website with a more compatible, speedier interface. You can do a lot of nice things without JavaScript, and if you're stuck on all of the flashy flying pictures, you might consider a Flash design, but that might not be any more compatible (or faster) than the current design.
Like I said, I love the actual design, but it's practicality is a little low.
Good luck with your website; you have a lot of great content in your portfolio.
I agree with what kazimmerman said, and with the speed issue, it is confusing as to what is going on.
As there is an inconsistent time delay between each image being loaded, I didn't know if more images were being loaded due to my mouse hovering over an already present image, the menu or the top page area.
Ok, that wasn't too bad I figured it out after a few seconds, but giving visitors an IMMEDIATE negative thought or confusion is a bad start to their visit.
This load time is perhaps due to the remote listing of the images. Perhaps they should be within your own servers directory.
Also, a lot of people like to quickly click though a site to see what it has, with the page load times, selecting the next page on the menu is a little tricky.
The way I can click on the images and then back off is quite neat, although you should allow the mouse pointer to change with anything on a website that has an action so it's obvious to the visitor.
The menu background colour is quite neat, and seems to work really well, and the site design is really smart. Looks like some time and effort has gone into the designing of it.
When you site gets indexed and listed/linked around the internet, you might find the need to remove your email LINK and replace it with a form, as spam may be an issue.
Although, it doesn't happen to everyone, so only do that if you need to.
In all, the site looks really smart and works well, but needs some careful consideration for SEO and speed.
teammatt3 posted this at 17:15 — 24th January 2009.
Unlike the other two, it was loading fine for me. Did you do something?
I usually like your designs, but I'm not a huge fan of this one. I can't quite put my finger on it though. It could be the logo typeface, or the background. I don't know. (Yeah, I know that doesn't really help)
I think you should spruce up the about and contact pages, they don't seem to match the rest of the site. They're too plain.
Knowing you, you'll probably redo it in a few months anyway
You and your fancy javascript effects This was slow loading for me as well (on our home wireless network). One of the problems with this is that my cursor never changes from the loading icon, and I don't see my cursor change to a hand when I'm over a link.
The site is high on images and low on text content. This, combined with the JavaScript interface is going to cause major problems for SEO. Which might be fin if you plan to promote the site in other ways.
I do like the layout and the colour scheme. The glow around the logo is really nice. The top photos are cutting off on my laptop. The whole concept of the flying logos and enlargements is interesting (as a concept - the usability of this isn't the best).
On the About Us page, you should consider writing this in the first person. As it is it seems kind of distant.
The biggest problem I have with this site is that I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do here. Just look at photos? What are you trying to accomplish with this site? Do you want people to hire you? The gallery format doesn't do much to sell your services, if that's what you're intending.
As said before, it loads very slowly and I have DSL. The combination of colours is great and so is your portfolio. Perhaps adding some content would help you with the SEO and also help visitors to better know your work. Maybe you can add a title and description to each photo.
I really like this site. It is amazing actually. The photo enlargement feature is awesome. I think the colors go well together, and I like the blue / purple gradient mixing. The images should not have that purple border around them - it looks clunky. Instead, put a drop shadow behind them - it will look crisp. The text on the other pages looks dull compared to your image navigation feature. You should make the headers bigger, or better yet, turn them into images with some cool swirly art around them. Also, I know that you probably made the main text that yellowish hue so as to not be overly bright to the eyes, but it needs to be a little brighter or even white. It just looks like vomit right now.
I had no real problem speed wise loading. At first it looks quite stunning, but as you the pictures load you wonder other than obviously knowing the site is about a photographer, what is it about what, what is the thrust. Perhaps some more explanation text wise would help.
Dantara.
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kazimmerman posted this at 15:10 — 24th January 2009.
He has: 698 posts
Joined: Jul 2005
It's very slow-loading, first of all, and I'm working off a cable modem. I like the design and color scheme, but the actual interface where your portfolio loads is initially very slow-going. It's only on the first load of each page, but it can be a deterrent to new visitors who think there is no content at first glance.
Secondly, I always think it's a bad idea to not set your website with separate pages. It's all loading via JavaScript, and that in of itself is typically a bad idea. For instance, if I disable JavaScript on my browser, all I see are your background images. This means both search engines and people with JavaScript disabled for whatever reason can't see your website and content.
I would suggest setting up your website with a more compatible, speedier interface. You can do a lot of nice things without JavaScript, and if you're stuck on all of the flashy flying pictures, you might consider a Flash design, but that might not be any more compatible (or faster) than the current design.
Like I said, I love the actual design, but it's practicality is a little low.
Good luck with your website; you have a lot of great content in your portfolio.
Kurtis
greg posted this at 15:28 — 24th January 2009.
He has: 1,581 posts
Joined: Nov 2005
I agree with what kazimmerman said, and with the speed issue, it is confusing as to what is going on.
As there is an inconsistent time delay between each image being loaded, I didn't know if more images were being loaded due to my mouse hovering over an already present image, the menu or the top page area.
Ok, that wasn't too bad I figured it out after a few seconds, but giving visitors an IMMEDIATE negative thought or confusion is a bad start to their visit.
This load time is perhaps due to the remote listing of the images. Perhaps they should be within your own servers directory.
Also, a lot of people like to quickly click though a site to see what it has, with the page load times, selecting the next page on the menu is a little tricky.
The way I can click on the images and then back off is quite neat, although you should allow the mouse pointer to change with anything on a website that has an action so it's obvious to the visitor.
The menu background colour is quite neat, and seems to work really well, and the site design is really smart. Looks like some time and effort has gone into the designing of it.
When you site gets indexed and listed/linked around the internet, you might find the need to remove your email LINK and replace it with a form, as spam may be an issue.
Although, it doesn't happen to everyone, so only do that if you need to.
In all, the site looks really smart and works well, but needs some careful consideration for SEO and speed.
teammatt3 posted this at 17:15 — 24th January 2009.
He has: 2,102 posts
Joined: Sep 2003
Unlike the other two, it was loading fine for me. Did you do something?
I usually like your designs, but I'm not a huge fan of this one. I can't quite put my finger on it though. It could be the logo typeface, or the background. I don't know. (Yeah, I know that doesn't really help)
I think you should spruce up the about and contact pages, they don't seem to match the rest of the site. They're too plain.
Knowing you, you'll probably redo it in a few months anyway
Megan posted this at 21:08 — 24th January 2009.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
You and your fancy javascript effects
This was slow loading for me as well (on our home wireless network). One of the problems with this is that my cursor never changes from the loading icon, and I don't see my cursor change to a hand when I'm over a link.
The site is high on images and low on text content. This, combined with the JavaScript interface is going to cause major problems for SEO. Which might be fin if you plan to promote the site in other ways.
I do like the layout and the colour scheme. The glow around the logo is really nice. The top photos are cutting off on my laptop. The whole concept of the flying logos and enlargements is interesting (as a concept - the usability of this isn't the best).
On the About Us page, you should consider writing this in the first person. As it is it seems kind of distant.
The biggest problem I have with this site is that I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do here. Just look at photos? What are you trying to accomplish with this site? Do you want people to hire you? The gallery format doesn't do much to sell your services, if that's what you're intending.
Megan
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Iulian posted this at 22:07 — 24th January 2009.
They have: 4 posts
Joined: Jan 2009
As said before, it loads very slowly and I have DSL. The combination of colours is great and so is your portfolio. Perhaps adding some content would help you with the SEO and also help visitors to better know your work. Maybe you can add a title and description to each photo.
Best of luck with your site.
tox0tes posted this at 20:47 — 29th January 2009.
They have: 14 posts
Joined: Jan 2009
I really like this site. It is amazing actually. The photo enlargement feature is awesome. I think the colors go well together, and I like the blue / purple gradient mixing. The images should not have that purple border around them - it looks clunky. Instead, put a drop shadow behind them - it will look crisp. The text on the other pages looks dull compared to your image navigation feature. You should make the headers bigger, or better yet, turn them into images with some cool swirly art around them. Also, I know that you probably made the main text that yellowish hue so as to not be overly bright to the eyes, but it needs to be a little brighter or even white. It just looks like vomit right now.
Dantara posted this at 11:40 — 8th February 2009.
They have: 4 posts
Joined: Feb 2009
I had no real problem speed wise loading. At first it looks quite stunning, but as you the pictures load you wonder other than obviously knowing the site is about a photographer, what is it about what, what is the thrust. Perhaps some more explanation text wise would help.
Dantara.
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