Re developed website testing required by you guys

Hi all

I have just been re-designing my website and added slide showshow/music etc.. Its still a simple website. I want you guys to tell me how its loading etc.. Please try the following on the site PORTRAITS LANDSCAPE and BLACK AND WHITE. The Pet one is not working yet. The link below is only a temporary address.

Most the music is temporary untill I find more suitable options

Let me know what you think and how its working. If you have broadband it should be fine. I also suggest the highest screen resolutions as possible for optimum quality.

http://www.petedavisphotography.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
Cheers Pete

It loads Ok. The slide shows work Ok.

Now for the 'etc'...

I had the music turned off, since if I want to look at pictures, I just want to look, not have to listen to someone else's choice of music.

I couldn't find any way of seeing the pictures bigger than the ones in the slide shows. Am I missing something?

I don't particularly like the fade effect, since it makes pausing on one shot a bit fiddly.

Personally, I prefer no fancy effects (like the fade). I also don't like being forced to see all the pictures, in order - so I'd rather have thumbnails that I can just click on to see a larger version, in the order I want.

You'll also probably get a ton of spam, having your email address as a simple link like that - email addresses in plain view are harvested by spammers.

Thanks Chris

I think Ill be adding thumbs and larger pics (stills when I figure out how to) as I said its still being developed. I just wanted to test the loading for now

Cheers Pete

Not too bad.....
on the landscape section it kept stalling, and rebuffering...I'm not sure why, it didn't happen anywhere else.
using Safari on a mac.
I noticed that your menu bar changes with each selection...may I suggest that you add a graphic or title to each slideshow to remind the viewer which section they're in.
one final suggestion....Branding...It's a marketing term. Suggest that you choose a logo, or graphic, or image that you use on your main page, and carry it through to your business cards, stationary, packaging materials, and slideshows.
royalty free music? copyright issues do apply!

Pete,

Your site is out of focus.

The intention is presumably to show your pictures (which are good). Concentrate on that. Everything you add, whether dubious graphical effects or neanderthal noise, can only dilute the impact of the pictures.

G

It doesn't work in Opera
I can see the start page but none of the albums work. tried it quicky in IE to comfirm it is only Opera that has a problem. Please fix it, I never look at websites that don't work in Opera, except for my bank's site.

Qwyn, do you have flash disabled? opera should play it just fine!

Flash is enabled, but it doesn't work.

Hi George

Try changing your resolution temporary see if that solves it. My monitor is set to 1440 x 900 I recommend 1152 x 768 is the absolute minimum. Higher is better

If this does not work let me know and I will make some changes my end

I think I designed the site at 1440 x 900 may I should design it at a lower res. I will have a go and upload again tomorrow

Pete

Pete, I'm with Chris on this one.

I spent two minutes on the website and then closed the window why? because I can only get a 256Kbps broadband connection and I got tired of waiting for the darn thing to load, not everyone has a supersonic internet connection, you have to tailor your website for the tortoises as well as the hares

Thumbnails would be much better, as for the music, I never got that far so dont know whats on there.

Point taken

I am still developing the site so all these problems are useful. I need to make some amendments ie: loading time, resolution etc..

Cheers Pete

I was speaking metaphorically. By "out of focus", I meant that you were not focussing on the important thing, which is showing your pictures. Just show the pictures; anything and everything else is just a distraction.

Your pictures deserve better than flashy graphics and primitive muzak.

G

Just out of interest, is there anyone at all that actually prefers Flash-based animations (such as this slide show) to simple clickable thumbnails?

less chance of somebody copying your images, and most potential customers like it.
It seems that mostly other photographers want time to study the images in fine detail.
I find other photographers seldom hire me. Maybe they can't afford me....
As the old saying goes:
Q: What's the difference between a large pizza and a pro photographer?
A: A large pizza can feed a family of four.....

Amazing.

G