Posted by Jim DeWitt on December 7, 2011 at 2:50 PM
I'm trying to choose a photo display/marketing package. There are a bewildering number of options.
A friend suggested JAlbum. Has anyone on NPN used it? My goal is to host the system myself, with a strong hook to a shopping cart service in case any one, you know, actually bought something.
Any feedback appreciated...
Posted by Jim Bullard on December 8, 2011 at 8:58 AM
I looked at it several years ago but found it too complicated. I ran my own B&W site years ago but got sick of fussing with HTML. Dreamweaver helped but I still spent way too many hours tweaking my website. JAlbum seemed too much like a continuation of that to me.
I have taken courses in usability, web programming, etc. and will offer a couple of tips for those inclined to to self-flagellation...Opps! I mean those willing to devote time to creating their own unique site:
Menus: Have a full menu on every page. Users shouldn't have to back up or puzzle over how to get from here to there. Skip "image mapping". Users have better things to do than moving the cursor around looking for links. KISS
Look: Skip the fancy sliding, flashing, "look what I know how to program a website to do" stuff. Your photos should be the main attraction not your latest whiz-bang programming tricks. KISS again. In good taste, elegant even, but simple.
Freshness: Be prepared to update the site at least several times a year. The more often, the better. Stale sites fall to the bottom of search results fairly quickly. Incorporating a blog that you post to regularly will help.
Sound: Just don't do it. Your taste in music is not universal. You can turn off a visitor with musical accompaniment you think suits your images. Sites that have an automatic narration, whether informational or an overt sales pitch, make me cringe and I leave as fast as possible. If you feel an overwhelming need to have sound make it optional with the user opting in rather than out.
Aside from that I wish you website bliss. Even my son (who makes his living as a programmer) uses Square Space and templates for his personal site so that he avoids most the hassles of hosting and solo management of his site. I may get the urge to try it again someday. Right now I'd rather spend my time on my photography and let NPN, Zenfolio, Flickr, etc. handle the nitty gritty of running the places I put my photos to be seen.
Posted by Jim Bullard on December 8, 2011 at 9:11 AM
P.S. To the above.
Remember that when you host your own site, separate from groups like NPN, Flickr, Picasa, 500px, etc. you are totally on your own for marketing the site. Get a Google Analytics account and set it up to track your site. A minor pain in the ^&& but it only needs to be done once. Most traffic to my blog comes from places that I post responses to other sites/blogs, sites like NPN that have links to my blog and/or Zenfolio and lately well over a third of my referrals come from Blurb where I have just one small book of B&Ws that hasn't sold on Blurb (yet) although I've sold several locally. IOW you need to be active in many places in order to drive traffic to your main site. Just handing out business cards won't do it.
Posted by Joe Becker on December 9, 2011 at 3:29 PM
I also looked at it briefly a couple years ago, and being web programing novice, found it too complicated. I eventually set up my website using Lightroom templates I purchased from the Turning Gate. Still had to do a bit of html within the template, but it wasn't too hard. The templates I used include a shopping cart option. I have mine connected to my Paypal account, but there were other options available. You can check out my website for an example of what can be with these Turning Gate templates. Also, they seemed reasonably priced to me.
Posted by Jim Bullard on December 10, 2011 at 3:32 PM
That's a good looking site Joe. I hadn't heard of Turning Gate. Thanks for posting that. If I get the urge to try self hosting again I'll try their templates.
Discussion
4 repliesA friend suggested JAlbum. Has anyone on NPN used it? My goal is to host the system myself, with a strong hook to a shopping cart service in case any one, you know, actually bought something.
Any feedback appreciated...
I have taken courses in usability, web programming, etc. and will offer a couple of tips for those inclined to to self-flagellation...Opps! I mean those willing to devote time to creating their own unique site:
Menus: Have a full menu on every page. Users shouldn't have to back up or puzzle over how to get from here to there. Skip "image mapping". Users have better things to do than moving the cursor around looking for links. KISS
Look: Skip the fancy sliding, flashing, "look what I know how to program a website to do" stuff. Your photos should be the main attraction not your latest whiz-bang programming tricks. KISS again. In good taste, elegant even, but simple.
Freshness: Be prepared to update the site at least several times a year. The more often, the better. Stale sites fall to the bottom of search results fairly quickly. Incorporating a blog that you post to regularly will help.
Sound: Just don't do it. Your taste in music is not universal. You can turn off a visitor with musical accompaniment you think suits your images. Sites that have an automatic narration, whether informational or an overt sales pitch, make me cringe and I leave as fast as possible. If you feel an overwhelming need to have sound make it optional with the user opting in rather than out.
Aside from that I wish you website bliss. Even my son (who makes his living as a programmer) uses Square Space and templates for his personal site so that he avoids most the hassles of hosting and solo management of his site. I may get the urge to try it again someday. Right now I'd rather spend my time on my photography and let NPN, Zenfolio, Flickr, etc. handle the nitty gritty of running the places I put my photos to be seen.
Remember that when you host your own site, separate from groups like NPN, Flickr, Picasa, 500px, etc. you are totally on your own for marketing the site. Get a Google Analytics account and set it up to track your site. A minor pain in the ^&& but it only needs to be done once. Most traffic to my blog comes from places that I post responses to other sites/blogs, sites like NPN that have links to my blog and/or Zenfolio and lately well over a third of my referrals come from Blurb where I have just one small book of B&Ws that hasn't sold on Blurb (yet) although I've sold several locally. IOW you need to be active in many places in order to drive traffic to your main site. Just handing out business cards won't do it.