Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Wow that`s a really cool site.  I love how you can twist the page and pull it from the top/bottom/middle.  It loads quickly.

Did you do the programming yourself?

Thanks!


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Daniel the Denim Doctor

actually I didnt do it  myself.. well ok.. sorta I did. ;c) I got the template from here: http://www.entheosweb.com/Flash/flipping_book_photo_album/in dex.asp I stayed up late trying to figure out how to edit it to add more pages, and ended up emailing the owner of the site and she responded right away, and was wonderful!  They h ave a lot of cool stuff for designers too.

 

Yvette

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Going slow is for weenies!

Hi Yvette,

I understand why you are using this Flash "page turning" element, it looks cool and behaves as if you are actually turning the pages of a portfolio, book, etc. 

With that said, don`t use it. 

On the web, simplicity is the best road to travel.  I`d like for you take a step back and think about the goal of the page (and your site for that matter), which I`m assuming would be to show-off your great photography (and get people to purchase your services). 

Now, let`s take the first step towards the tactics used to best show-off your photography (which I think is wonderful, btw).  You have opted to include photographs on your site to show examples of your work.  It sounds obvious, but this is a logical and smart first step. 

As we move to the next step...this is where the trouble arises.  The method to deliver your examples are causing confusion and forcing people to "learn" the interface.  One key rule online is "Don`t make people think!" (I`d recommend the book, Don`t make people think!, to anyone with a website).  What this means is that you need to make it as simple as possible for people to achieve their goal, which in this case is to browse and view your photos.  I know that there were mentions of adding some instructions on the page, but one other important web rule of thumb is, "people don`t read directions".

What I recommend to make your "image gallery" more usable and effective...is to display it as an actual image gallery.  Web users are accustomed to viewing thumbnail images and clicking on them to see the larger photo.  In keeping with this convention, visitors will jump right into your photography instead of trying to figure out how to turn virtual pages.  

Don`t worry, you can still have the flashy, cutting edge look and feel.  Check out a site I found through Google, CoffeeCup Flash Photo Gallery.  If you look at some of the examples, you can see that their galleries look great, while being really easy to use.  There are probably many other inexpensive flash photo galleries like this out there.  This one is only $39, and I`m sure this pricing is typical of others.

You`re a great photographer and should have a great website to show-off your photos.  To best achieve your web goals...employ the best tactics.

Best of luck to you.

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Brian Cleveland,
Web Producer,
StartupNation

Thanks Brian.  Im taking your word for it and its been scrapped... my pile of trials is getting so big Im going to have to rent out a room to store it in.  Back to the drawing board.. I`ll show you what I come up with!

Thanks for the links.. Ive used coffeecup stuff before.. a GIF animator a long time ago.. good to see em again!

Thanks for your time...

Yvette

 

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Going slow is for weenies!