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Building A Photography Website
Pt 3 -
Living In The Present Tense
By Jeremy Cuff
In the Parts 1 and 2 of this "Building a Photography Website" series, published in the last two editions of "In Focus", we looked firstly at the internet as a media, the reasons why a photographer might want a website, and some general issues that will need consideration. We then focused on the issues surrounding the actual creation of a website, such as overall concept, choosing content and working with a designer. Now, we look at managing the site in terms of content and updates...
A few years back, businesses were threatened with stark predictions such as "be online in two years or die". In response, many businesses took the threats seriously and literally, thinking that by simply having a website, their future was assured.
Although there was probably some long term truth in those apocalyptic prophecies, what wasn't widely understood was that websites also needed managing. And it's by this process of "management" that the credibility of a website is maintained. It must live in the present tense.
Previously, we discussed what constitutes a "good website" in terms of design and functionality only to conclude that it's difficult to define "good" in absolute terms. This is because design and concept is to some degree a matter of personal taste. However, one thing is for sure is that a website must be up to date. Remember, a good website inspires confidence. It's a first impression, and first impressions count.
Thus the "first impression" isn't just about what the site looks like, but what it actually contains; a website that is aesthetically pleasing can therefore be let down by out of date content.
Content management of websites can be achieved in different ways and might include fresh homepages, news sections, blogs, new galleries, links pages and so on. When building your website, you could specify that your web design company creates a series of content management menus that allows you to post images and text to designated areas of the site whenever you wish. This is a good solution for many websites as it's very easy and quick to use, but it may be expensive to set up, and will probably require the services of a programmer.
To be more self sufficient, you could learn to update the site yourself using programmes such as Dreamweaver. It's a method that's quite commonplace today as the web gets demystified by user friendly programmes, helpful websites and online forums full of valuable tips and hints. Numerous computing and internet magazines are also full of information useful to managing websites, so it's worth visiting the local newsagent too.
For those of you that are too busy, or lack the inclination to add the content yourself, you can always come to an arrangement with your designer or web design company who would probably be happy to handle updates for you. Don't forget, content management isn't just about adding more to the site, it might be just as important to take items off; perhaps old images that compare unfavourably with your latest work.
To begin with, a "today’s date" gives the site a "present tense" feel about it and can be driven by a bit of programming. You get the impression that the site is updated each day, even if it isn't.
To get into the "real" content, a good discipline is to change the homepage fairly regularly. You want visitors to the site to notice a change each time they visit. If the site remains unchanged for long periods of time, visitors will quickly recognise this and not return as they perceive that there's nothing new to see, even if there is.
A "Latest News" page is a good section to have. My preference is for the latest news to appear at the top of the page. Eventually, old news can be deleted from the site or archived in sections i.e. 2005, 2006, provided it's still relevant. Personally, I think that retaining a bank of well organised archive information creates a "depth" to the site. It is, however, down to personal taste.
Adding new galleries can be one of the most labour intensive aspects to content management and also one of the most rewarding. Showing your latest work must always be a photographer's priority but remember to be discerning for "quality control" reasons.
As websites have become easier to update, we've seen a huge growth in "blogging" which is basically the posting of comments, feedback and opinions on a webpage for others to view and respond to. On my own site, I have a section called "Field Notes" where I write a short set of notes about any photography trips that I've undertaken. Your own blogs could be about anything you wish.
A good way to get into the mindset of managing your website is to diarise a modest amount of changes each month, perhaps an "image of the month" or a news story. Before long, the routine of working with the site will become second nature. I find that keeping a file structure of the site with its entire content on my computer works for me. Also, I recommend that you don't let your updates build up - I've been there and it doesn't work. Much better to add little and often rather than once and a lot.
In the next edition, we'll look at web optimisation and how to be found on the internet.
March 2007
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