What a Website Can and Can’t Do – Gary Cole
In past blogs, we’ve discussed the importance of your website. However, as many of you already realize, a website, even a good website, can only take your business so far.
Think of your website as a necessary extension of your business card. It provides the information people need in order to connect to you and allows you to present a quick portfolio or look at your work. However, it seldom “sells” you as a photographer. In fact, if your website is not well designed and professional in appearance, it is more likely to turn a prospective client off rather than on.
If your website is not well designed and professional in appearance, it is more likely to turn a prospective client off rather than on.How many times have you backed out of a seller’s web site when it looked sloppy or homemade? It happened on a photographer’s website earlier today and I was immediately turned off by the lack of thought, the lack of organization. The photographer had some nice photos on display but also a couple which were so ordinary as to make me wonder about his sense of style and taste.
Your website is simply a reference point as to who you are. If you think of yourself as a professional, then make sure your website projects the same. And that means never, ever should it make sounds without asking the viewer first. No mood music, no auto-play videos. The best way to sell yourself is face-to-face, by example, by getting a good reference from a client. Your website is the thing your client probably will examine more closely after he’s met you or heard about you.
About Gary Cole
I cribbed much of the above information from my friend and former Playboy associate Jay Boersma. It will make him blush but Jay is, in my opinion, one of the best web designers on the planet. He designed Playboy’s first entry into digital media and then redesigned the site time after time. Management often intervened in not always helpful ways. And, as most companies do, they often overlooked the talent they had in house in favor of lesser talent who we all know are referred to as “consultants.” In the end, they always came back to Jay to straighten out a mess someone else had made. His designs were always practical, intelligent and great to look at. Jay now teaches web design at Columbia College in Chicago.
~ Gary Cole
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