AXIOM 1: Don’t break the mold. It’s there for a reason.
Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I friggin LOVE breaking the mold. And yes, I tell you to make your brand uniquely you. Every single day. I know.
But dammit, call the info section the ‘info’ section, not ‘FQQ’ which stands for Frequently Queried Queries. Your potential clients aren’t mind readers, and no one knows that your ‘Hit the Highway’ sessions are really just outdoor engagement sessions. You made it up. Don’t expect the rest of us to know about it.
AXIOM 2: Just because you CAN wear those bell bottoms with that glittery shirt and those platform shoes doesn’t mean you should.
When it comes to Flash, well hell, we all went nuts in the Nineties, and most of us never returned. The flashier you can make it, with more bells and whistles and doodads, the better, right? WRONG. Just because you CAN get all your text to fly in, blink, and dissolve into glittery bits doesn’t mean you should. If a graphic or Flash element isn’t helping to sell your products or services, it’s distracting from them.
AXIOM 3: D.I.Y. is not the answer.
STOP. DESIGNING. YOUR. OWN. WEBSITE.
Stop. Really. You think it’s badass, but if you can’t afford or don’t enjoy working with a professional web designer, you’d best stick with a template. In trying to reinvent web navigation, you’ve messed with your search engine optimization, your brand, and your appeal to potential clients. ::raises hand, is in the thick of this issue at the moment::
Buy a template. Or hire a professional.
The problems with the rise of ease-of-use in creating your own drag and drop website: they often look TOTALLY AND UTTERLY different on other browsers and at other screen resolutions. Elements of your website that are downright badass on Firefox may be lame ducks in Internet Explorer. A professional will spot any issues and optimize your website for all browsers.
Oh, and the temptation to add oooooone last bit of stuff flying in, because you can? It’s too great a temptation to bear. (And it looks like poo.)
OK, I was with you until you started recommending templates!!!
I’m tired of seeing the same old templates for every photography site! You might even know the one I’m thinking about….white with orange accents, gray menu links on the bottom that pull out to the right? Maybe if there was a larger range of ones available or something, but I’d rather see a slightly flawed but original DIY site than the same old boring template!
Though, if you’re hosting on Geocities that might be another story! haha
I totally had a Geocities website in 1998 — sweet!!
Oh I did too. SunsetStrip! lol. Yahoo is doing away with it, that's what made me think of them…oh nostalgia!
This article is right on. To people that tire of seeing the same templates…do you really think your clients see websites and think “OMG I can’t believe it…another template! No way in heck I’m gonna hire this company.” Heck no. I’ve asked my clients…they have no idea what a template even is. And if templates from you know who look better than many custom designs anyway, then who cares. I was looking at a bunch of websites from photographers using build your own solutions….they all look like junk. Even the featured work of this company…they look amateur. I totally agree — invest in a custom if you’re worried about being original. And if it’s more important at this point in time to feed the kids, get one of those $100 templates that looks like a 2k custom design.
Kyle: I think I love you.
If clients are searching for a photographer and look at 5 sites, 4 using the same template, which stands out the most? Unless the photographs are terrible, the odd man out is going to stick in someone's head more, no?
Not all templates are bad. I just think people should at least do their homework if they're going to be using templates. See what's being used by all the photographers in your area, and then make sure you're not using the same exact thing!
Agreed. There are roughly a bajillion infinitely-tweakable templates available, and using the same one as your competitor a few doors down = bad!
I def see your point to not have the same template as the other photogs in your town. It's a point well taken and ideally, sure, I'd try to have a different template than the other dude/ettes in town.
But what if someone copies mine? Well, I say, no big deal at all. If I may… Clients will still book based on (1) where they heard about you (referral) and (2) if they like you when they meet you. And that's about it. I mean, shoot enough events and you soon find out people don't have the darnest clue about what a good picture is. It's a sad realization (at first). But if you lay aside your own biases (I had to at one point), you'll soon realize this is the case. Look in your own town…most photogs that suck butt but they're booked solid. Why? They might be great to work with / give great service. They might know how to market. Bottom line, they get referrals. For further evidence, just look at the images actually being ordered from your work. If people say you produce great work, usually it's because you've built a brand around that. Branding, people, is sooo dang important. It matter way more than the actual work you produce (if your goal is to have a profitable biz anyway). To people first considering this, it's sad. But don't worry, you can still do great work nontheless
Anyway, MY POINT: if even half of this is true, then I'm going to venture out and say that you can have the exact same template as the guy down the street, and it won't give you the leg down. The average person (and average has the majority) just doesn't care. They're booking you, again, because they've heard about you from a friend, and they like you when they meet you. I mean, say they hear about you, meet you, and like you, then find out jill n bob photo also have the same website as you. "sonuva-b we're not gonna book Kyle now" is NOT what's going to come out of their mouth. They could care less. Especially now that they like you.
Okay last point of this novel. Say I'm COMPLETELY wrong and average people out there have great taste and know what a good picture is. It's not true
, but say it absolutely is the case. Well, then everyone can have the exact same template and it doesn't matter one bit, because everyone is basing their decision on the content (the quality of the photographs) and not the presentation.
PS: I'm not trying to be an ass and disagree with Erika
(of course). Just trying to take this thought a step further into what I think is the truth. In the end, Erika is right. Differentiating should take the tiniest of effort (even in template world). And since it'll make you feel better as an artist, you should do it.
Agreed and well said. I don't think the average person would even notice that the templates are the same – at least not the people I know.
I just recently purchased a template just to start out with something not that expensive… the thing is that there is still some creativity to be had with a template (at least with the one I purchased). You can upload a background, have the background change colors, do whatever you want…. My website resembles the template because some basic things are the same but my site has a totally different feel, totally different music playing, totally different photos… So it's really not that bad in my opinion.
i just broke down and purchased a template after 2 years of googling every piece of code i needed when i wanted to adjust my site. omg, the $ has been worth it already – so. much. less. work. now it’s just the fun, creative design part without the busy work. i definitely want my design to look more like “me” and less like every other photographer’s blog out there….but i seriously doubt my potential clients are seeing all the blogs that i see.