Index design... critique me puhleaze!

YvetteMarie

Im having the hardest time.
(( remembering the rant section where ppl named their peeves for sites and more than once it was mentioned that one huge graphic with hotspots was about as annoying as elevator muzak and getting a sharp stick to the eye)) and I went and built it that way anyways.. its the only way I know!
Anyways.. I dont have contact info on it yet.. but I will.. and the graphics on the front page will act as links to the diff portfolios as well.
Go ahead and rip it apart.. Im pretty thick skinned!  Thanks in advance!  Free cheetoes and rootbeer to anyone who will help!
Yvette
http://yvettemarie.net/kismetweb.htm</A>

Christina

I like the colors and the clean simplicity of it. The pictures as
navigation make me curious to see what other photos you`ve done. I like
them. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the site!

Just when you do the text on the other pages, don`t make it a big
image. That`d be terrible for your search engine rankings and it`d make
it impossible for people with vision problems to be able to increase
the size of the font, so they can read it easier.

davenny

Well first, I have seen about several dozen photographers websites that look just like yours...I know if looks clean and professional but it doesn`t give me that feeling of THIS IS THE PERSON I WANT TO WORK WITH!!!Which is pretty much the only reason you have a website....to generate more business....I think you should look around and find a site that excites you or look at the website of the top photographer in the country and see how you can "one-up" them in professionalize and style.You first page right now doesn`t tell me anything about....all it says to me is "one man shop"I know this is a rather harsh post but...I know you are going to be spend a lot a time and money on this sit and I want you to get the return on your investment.Good Luck, I hope this Helped

YvetteMarie

Sorry guys.. It was just the concept I wanted input on.. I dont have it all linked up yet.  I`ve revamped it and moved stuff around and will post soon, the changes.
Brian, Thanks for the input!  I did just as you said.. and moved it to the left and added contact info as well.  I`ve redone it using tables and hope that it will suffice for now.  I`d love to hire someone to do it for me, or to even buy a template, but can`t afford either right now.. and besides.. Im bound and determined to get this right.. I know I can do this!  It`s only time and lotsa reading, right?  As a single mom of 4 kids.. you`d think time would be in short supply, but not as short as money!  I`ll get it.. just watch and see!
Erik.  Nope, don`t mind the harsh post.  I frequent photography forums all the time and harsh posts work best for getting the point across!  I asked... I expected an honest critique.  Funny that my other site www.yvettemarie.net</A> was more personable, I thought, but fellow photographers said it wasn`t clean and professional enough... so I did it this way, and now, you have me thinking about redoing it all again! If you were to hire a photographer, you would want to feel how?  I AM a one man shop, but I dont want to look like one.... I felt that getting right the gist of matters, by displaying pictures right off the bat, and then working into the text on subsequent pages, would be the right angle?  I mean basically.. as a photpgrapher, my site is an online portfolio... am I missing something?  Please elaborate, if you have the time.. Id love to hear it!  And I DID base this on a site I liked.. LOL  ;c) 
Ill get it right... Ill be sure to let you guys see the end result!
Thanks so much!
YvetteYvetteMarie2006-10-18 19:57:24

inkwire

I would agree to move the logo to the upper left corner - it`s an accepted convention is one place people look at for site identification.Here`s my Picky Designer comment :  Why is the red bar so much wider than the images?  Will there be another image?  Will there be content as wide below the images?  My inclination would be to make the red bar extend a little wider than the images (ie if the images are 700px, make the red bar 720px or 740px), and have the menu items (Portfolio through Contact) flush with the edges of the images.

InactiveMember

Brilliant. Very focused. Utterly clear. Instantaneously communicates to me the purpose of your business. The colors and layout don`t necessarily matter when you communicate so quickly and so effortlessly.

inkwire

Of course they do.  A blank page with nothing but the words `Professional Photographer` would communicate the purpose of the business quite well, but it certainly wouldn`t give a clue as to the person behind the business or the quality of their work.  Why settle for Good Enough when you`re so close to Excellent?

InactiveMember

A blank page with the words "Professional Photographer" and a phone number would be a lot more effective than most web sites.

inkwire

Exactly - we should be trying our best, at minimum.  And the web has really changed things, allowing us to get in touch with people whose breadth of experience can help and complement our own.

leadstudios

Its a nice clean design. I agree with the other posters, look to use CSS and HTML rather than large images with image maps. Its not too difficult to pick up as you already have a handle on web design. There are tons of tutorials on the net. The benefits have already been mentioned (accessibility, flexible, SEO friendly, etc)Also consider using php pages rather than html. Doesn`t mean you need to start programming in php (use page named .php rather than .html) but it will give you the flexibility in the future if you do decide to implement some dynamic elements.  Your web hosting company should support the language. Also, there`s a great open source software called "gallery" that allows you to create photo gallerys and customize them. Something to consider.Good luck!Brandon