Lessons

Lesson Info

Website Design with Promise Tangeman

I'm incredibly honored and proud to be working with such over talented pierre and friend, and I'm proud to introduce promised him german e o like you showed I'm just happy to have you here I have a door, a door, her as a person in a door, her as a professional and as a female entrepreneur, we have worked on exposed magazine together. We worked on my magazine, I mean, on my website together, and we have a few other projects like in the work, so we're really through with what's going to come out. She is a amazing, graphic designer and not just first in her cell, but actually helping photographers of voice find their voices throughout the process. I'm especially excited because promise and her team from sight house design or signed up to be helping all of you guys today. Today they are going to help you guys everything, your website, she has an amazing team, a graphic designer, so you guys are gonna be working on working with somebody now, I want to clarify that this process is not just f...

or you because promise has a team of graphic designers that works as an added as an added ad on benefits bonus to cite house, you can choose to work with a graphic designer. So what you guys are doing here in the next thirty days? Anybody at home can do two, so this is not exclusive to just you guys. I wanted to clarify on that note, I wanted to know what a promise really thought of your websites, so no punches like so kind enough to set up a camera in her office and her opinions she didn't know you were, so we're going to get into your website on your website critiques right about now, give a short little video hurt reactions right at the scene. Nikki, we're gonna start with you, all right? Nikki has a very shabby chic vibe, so she's a lot of personality going, although what she needs a designer's health because she has a few things that just aren't working. Things are not lined up correctly. The text is really large. Usually when you have really large text that can tend to look a young, almost like a child's website, nicky needs to create a more professional logo, the camera and the text those different those have different design aesthetics that are mixing well together. I love the photos, she has a good variety of things that she loves and she looks beautiful. The copy right down the bottom is very cluttered with the text from her about section she needs to move a block to the very end of the navigation, so we've seen the entire site, so I'm going to skip over and go to weddings. The photos do not philip the entire space that we have available, and I would like to experience her work over all of the colors and like the shabby chic vibe, she's really needs to refine it a bit and create a more consistent experience with spacing and the funds used in the way of the tape is true. I think this is really great promises gonna tracking through just a few more tips that even if you decided no here's one thing I want to clarify if you ought not to work with sight house designers and promises team that's okay, you guys can do it on your own, which is not for a little bit of feedback. Teo, you guys started on your own if that's what you guys decide to do for people who are watching online as you walked through nicky sight if you're seeing rim if you're saying correlations between your side, if you feel like your sight is too cluttered, what promises going talk to mickey are changes that you can make at home on your own as well, so how are you feeling about what I said and everything is so even in my audition video, I said in my website, I think it represents my personality, but it's not polished, it needs help. I mean, I have no clue what I was doing, so yeah, when I love that, I love that you have a lot of personality. I think so many websites are missing that and so that's, the one thing that we've got going. So I think it's really, really important. So I just honestly like what I said in the critique video. I think it just needs to be cleaned up a bit, and I'm going to talk in a few minutes about some simple ways that you could do that just right off the bat. Like I said, some of the spacing needs to be realigned. Something's, like I noticed a frame was like off from the edges, and they're just noticing the details, and I'll talk a little bit about that. Just that glance, I notice that you use your logo funt. As in other places on the site and that's ok, if you really know what you're doing but just as a general rule of thumb, you don't wantto overuse your logo font because you wanted to be a very special tear logo you want you want people to recognize and no that's her logo and it's not all over the place so we have the right and kind of all over the place but that could be fixed up so I suggest getting a new logo in some ways too cute see like I said it's so cute seat I don't want to be cute, okay five year old woman I know, but I love the vibe and I think you've nailed it on the vibe it's just the refinement that needs to happen in the site so the camera needs to be adjusted a little bit with a text so you know I'm from together do you want to still hold on to the camera? Is not the questions that you want with a graphic designer and people at home are wondering, is she going to should I do you want to hang on to the camera? You know not a lot of people have said to me I love your logo I love your logo so I think that's what just like stuck with lame lame laymen people leaving me oh first I was like, oh my lover is so good but the more I'm learning it's I don't know I'm not holding on I don't need to hold on to anything that might really yeah just that glance I don't think it necessarily matches the beiber going for but I can so finally I was looking at your vlog and your website and I notice that the background sizing is off and so that's just something you want to keep consistent if you use it one size here you want to use the same size on the site so thinking blawg has smaller and then website is larger so just that needs to be cleaned up good tonight. Thank you. Okay, so are you potentially saying that when we come back next month you could have a new web site new bog and new logo wait ready promise you believe that they can do that? Oh yeah yeah yeah perfect totally way are going to move into ryan's website review we're going to get the video cued up and again for those of you watching at home promise is going to be reviewing ryan's website as well a showings screen captures of what's going on if you see remnants of your site where yourself in that website promises going offer insight that is both applicable to ryan and to you so I'm going to video now ryan greenlee dot com let's see what we got so this does not draw me in I would probably go on to the next website honestly so logo itself boring and just looks like text of the leaf we have a lot to work with because the name is ryan greenlee so that could be really really cool easily done in a different way it looks very temple ity to me what this is telling me is that I just need a website one put his images up but maybe doesn't necessarily care about his whole brand experience so it makes me wonder how he relates with his clients and what that playing experiences like outside of the actual photographs and a picture of him with his camera but we don't see a face so like see his face to really know what's going on here he looks pretty clean and sleep but the images are small and no personality so I really need to bump up the brands and uh grander experience for the potential clients showing images larger and also having photos of lying on the website it actually shows his face how do you feel about that? Thank you trying to say straight to the point no I appreciate your criticism definitely cool and meeting you I feel like there's so much going on you know personality and I'd say everything's gotta go teo okay and I know I mentioned that your logo was just plain text and let me rephrase that bit because there are really strong brands that just use really simple typography like people like j crew and they've been around forever and that's a very timeless statement that's why they're making that statement? But in your case, it's just not working that's s o that needs to be redone. The leaf looks a little bit of clip our dish. Ok. Do you want to know how I got that? Leave so don't tell me it was cliff are no, it wasn't the part I actually scanned. I took a picture of an ironing board. Okay, that had the leaf on it. Okay? And then I scanned that in two photo shop and I colored a green and like I clipped it out of it. Yeah, so that's always create new wish I could have that, like described on the website people like wow, now that people are weighed you want to tell your minds like I told my mom that that's so funny. So yes, we need something my critics were you really simple? Need a new website? You love on the way over and just wrap it up. We need a new web I just want to interrupt you for a second please forgive me. Sure, promise if I had had speaking about this yesterday, we are going to be balling a lot because I think it's gonna be important for her to speak from a graphic design perspective as well as from photographic perspective, but I'm going to step outside and as a friend perspective, I see you taking promises, criticism so well. So I just want to commend you for that because it's very hard to put yourself out like this and then too, put yourself out online isn't much bigger deals using, so I wait. So do we covered everything we want to cover for ryan for riches? Basically, so start over way, buddy, for the next everything's going to be, but I feel really good about it because jazz and I have talked, and I think you have a really solid direction just with who you are. And I think I I think you just haven't put in the time to really get there yet. And so it's, not that you've failed before or that you try and you haven't done it. I just think you done it yet. Yeah, just struggle with the whole design. Yes, I think so is template I think we have a lot of potential for you. Well, I'm excited to move into melissa's website we're gonna get the video cued up in the tennessee promises opinion and then get you some direct feedback again those of you online if you're saying the list of sight in nursing, why can't I say that word correlation thank you, thank you. My other side on my right everything correlations between your sights promises feedback will be applicable to you as well. What's the children that kind let's see what she asked for us. Oh, very good grid I like that we see her work crap that we know what say we're on. Lissa kilner melissa that's your logo I think we need to bump it up there is really no personality to it just looks like text scrolling over these photos and it is sunny with paige. I go teo, I like that we're not giving the viewer a ton of information is going to be about section you see the pictures, the pictures looked lovely very professional. Listen, I feel like I just don't know too much about you. So I need to see more of a description of who melissa is. I need to see that graphically played out very visually when a client sees website they're going to see other photographers websites as well and I want them to come away and think of melissa kilner and have in image associated with your name and right now although it's very clean and prestigious and very pretty I don't have a clear theme or vice attached to your name it's good no no no I feel like I feel like e oh no way I was like I don't think this is bad I was I was to say for no no no that that is my biggest complaint in my website is I feel like I like the design part of it I love like how clean it is but I hate that I feel like I have a huge personality and it shows it isn't showing their all and I think I'm missing like a huge part of who I am on my website so hee like about appreciate your sight that was very clean everything lined up right all the details are together in there and I feel like you really spent time crafting that area it's just the personality and it was they didn't job orchestrating the website it looks very professional and break put together like I said so I think for you adding more personality and I would do that through your logo through number one is I think that is an easy way to really bump up the vibe of who melissa is on your site so I'm having a new logo and I could just have a little more personality thrown into it I don't think there's a ton we need to do with your website. Um, adding another font to the website, I noticed there was one font used through the whole entire website and just adding another funt as the titles or the body copy or something is gonna add a little bit more personality. So just adding that one thing in and then finally the about section I feel is a bit repetitive. You have items listed in your about paragraph, and then you have items listed again in your favour section. I really like to see that graphically played out, so we get to know who melissa is because I mean, I like in this whole ghetto wear bright colors and you really have a zest for life and that's just what we're lacking on site. So not that I would do for melissa, good she's rocking it. Yes, and so just so that we're completely forthcoming and promise can attest to this, I have not fed her anything about your personalities about who you are about my opinions. You know, I really wanted her to have an unbiased opinion and how she dissect your sight, so just take it, promise more information, even though I'm pretty sure she can guess this by looking at it. I don't want you to get into specifics and just so that we can clarify today we're not going to be talking about specifics in regards to websites and specifics in regards to blocks we're gonna be talking about the content and not the commodity of it so big ideas so ryan you have your your website through a template nicky you have your website design on your own pretty much pretty much okay with the help of a friend actually okay, great and melissa you had yours professional professionally designed yeah, it was a template that I customized for me perfect so that's so now that promise knows all of these backgrounds she's gonna be talking a little bit more into that but before we get into into that, I just wanted to reiterate that promise and I have been working together for close to three years we've developed open communication and this usually happens with a lot of honesty and this is the hardest part when you're working with a graphic designer especially if you're working the graphic designer you do not know because you're always just like can I say this? Am I going to be offensive? How is this going to work? You must be honest be honest that the honest with class this'll keep the relationship healthy and it will keep the relationship moving now this what I'm showing now on the screen is a list of changes that I sent to promise after seeing the first draft of my website. Now, when we talk about specificity, take jay star logo out from the top of the home page need a bio section thing out? The graying vertical lines in the navigation menu morning this is in the topography and the words of the pictures. Then I moved and note myself, scan samples and send them to her. So as you're going through the process with your graphic designer, I don't need you to say like, I don't know it's just not there again, they're not mind readers, you must say with specificity what you do not like about it, and be open and be free to express your opinion. Now speaking about these ideas and effective communication promise is going to take us into the next section of three ways a photographer can improve his or her on line presence. So taking what you have right now and improving it, yeah, so design is all about visually executing strategy. So my first tip is to think, strategic and I know before we get all caught up in like the graphics and the colors and the images and all the images that just screamed you. We have tio developed the meat of the site which is the content and the site map of your website so I'm also time we just want to skip past that and it has the boring stuff and move on to the fun stuff because that's what we really love but if we do that then we have no real meat toa work within the design and you're kind of leaving the designer hanging in a way and that's the whole reason you even have a website is to showcase your work and then to show the most important information to your clients so they know exactly what to expect from you that's really, really important if you don't put any thought into the strategy and the content ahead of time, then your sight and you're content is going to be an afterthought and if you're content is an afterthought, then you're gonna end up with what page is that any other website has and look like everybody else's website, right? And so each of you are gonna have unique pages and unique information displayed in your sight, and if you don't think that at a time just like everybody else, I think it's really, really important so content is king and content really gives the designer somethingto work around enough a theme to develop and all that so really take your brand to the next level so my tips are you need thio define the distinct roadmap for your sight by clearly thinking through the goals you would like to achieve through your clients experience so just off the top they are right out all your page is needed so that's just a basic thing right on their pages client reviews featured in all of you're going to have different pages some of them might overlap and that's fine but some of your being sorry not to stop using on the flow of loving you talking to know you're not going to mean she's you're busting the mic like kryptonite what you're doing right now way I'm seeing one out of three people writing notes so I think promises moving because she's speaking graph thick right and we're speaking photographer like pictures while she just felt right now is what I want you guys writing on your pages because starting tomorrow you're going to be working with a graphic designer you must list all the pages you want on your website starting with home page ending with blogged if so applicable in the middle you must fill in those sections great promise taken away teo you totally I love it from this is great this is great I'm part interpreter to know I love it weighs like this what you want no doubt about it all okay so number to even decide what pages you want your client visiting first second third because you want to take your client through an experience and you can actually control that by thinking through what might they click next? What do I want them to click next? Yes what would you recommend for a home page like there's just like all the kind of stuff wade for a home page I think it depends on what your personality is, what your goals you want achieve with your clients that you're working with um and we could talk a little bit about that too something at my seat for that boom okay, write out all your content word for word and that's in to give the designer something to design the content around I think that's really important because you don't you don't want your website designed teo I'm certainly rephrase that you don't want your content designed around your website you want your website designed around your content if that makes sense that's way, way deep I know you just dropped I think we just dropped a bomb right now because people will have the design and then they will write according to what fits in the design and that's not really represent who you are no, no, no so write out all the content I feel like I'm running free you know how you feel about moving? I guess you never for showcase the attributes that make you different and I think this one is really important, and I think jasmine is awesome in the fact that she talks a lot about identifying your strengths and then using them to your advantage. One of my very, very favorite quotes in her exposed magazine is I have come to believe beyond all doubt that brides are choosing photographer is not photographs, so stop focusing on the very thing that makes you the same. I think that it's, so important for all you tweeters out there, I couldn't agree more, and if everyone was doing this, there would be so many different style brands and websites that represent their unique personalities and their unique businesses that's so important, and the one thing I notice is that people will take the time to develop what their strengths are like, oh, I know my strength is this, but they don't do anything about it, and we need to do something with it, and that it gives a designer somethingto work around to is oh, can I design around that strength? What can I showcase visually on your website that represents your strength? And so I think that's really, really important? Um so for jasmine's example, she came to the minute pause you right there because little this promise realised I've been having conversations with them about their straight, okay? So I have been emailing with them and explained to them the way that explain to everybody online earlier that my strings weren't traditional. I like to write my name and my personality, right? I was like not working for me, but I told them you have the freedom to list all your strange right now let me know, let your mind think wild, and we're going to see if there's maybe one or two that we can leverage and or incorporate. So I heard, and I want to get promises me back on this because maybe maybe I'm just selling, you know, hot area. One of the things that I thought I picked up from ryan, he listed in his as his strength was that he's good at giving directions and he's good at getting directions, and I thought, hey, I can clearly see this leverage as a photographer. How then? Can we incorporate this? Maybe and it might work, I don't know into a sight. Yeah, well, that's great, I think, with the ryan greenleaf, I love that leave and I don't want to be cheesy with it because I think there's a way, but I love the natural aesthetic of that, and I think you can really tied that in with giving directions and getting directions and maybe even land on something really visually peeling that will tie those two together like maybe you're really good at directing your clients and instead of just posing them or something like that that you could tie in with the natural aesthetic of ryan green leaf so maybe not, but it's like a travel or like an outdoorsy thing but maybe I love you so his inspiration board was very outdoor. Okay, yeah, there we go. And and I love you the idea that you like giving directions in getting directions in doing all thing with directions because it's just different, you know, like people would have looked a jasmine said oh, jasmine you're really gonna really gonna make something without writing ability with photography that's completely unrelated, right? And I think you could look at that and say the same thing I give directions are I love direction, okay? And this could be, like, totally absolutely cheesy. And this is why I'm not a graphic center, okay? And you guys can laugh your way through it and it's fine, but if we wanted teo visually showcase giving directions are getting directions. Okay, this is a terrible, terrible terror idea and it's not gonna happen. Okay, but think this way if you're good at getting directions and giving directions, how then can you show that without coming out and saying I give good directions could you use a map could use a compass just a small little tiny tidbits to visually show and subliminally let people know that that's what you're good at, how can they incorporate initial of his things together? And that goes of the outdoorsy theme? Absolutely, absolutely. And I actually think that could be done in a really cool like in the way and not cheesy but we're not here to tell you when it's going teo idea. Ok, but one thing too I mean, I don't want to, like keep I want to focus a little bit of each year starts. Nikki told me that one of her strange was personal connections in staying in contact with people. You have a lot of friends who have had for a very long time, and then you know how to foster those relationships. So I thought that's good. Okay, especially in, like, today society go, go, go, go, go and that's really memorable if you can stay in contact with people, that is a special gift. Wait that's good. So that's cool. And I think that can go with the shabby chic idea really easily just think maybe incorporating some of your personal handwriting, mason personal postcards or something that you're sending and that we'll have a real personal yeah, postcards might not be the thing great travel we could but see here's the thing the's air, all maybe terrible ideas that will never come to life, but we're programming our brains to think differently now where I feel like there's, maybe a little bit more growth potential for nikki and ryan in the web component, melissa, I think has a stronger put together a package, and yet melissa sent me her strains, and then the one that just popped off to me is that you're a kick ass dancer. Wait, okay, I'm not going, but I'm going to be honest, I think that you listed all your other streams and that was the one that popped up to me because I said, what a shame that I go through this girl's pretty website and I would never think that you would dance in the streets of paris. What can we do? Forget the strains now, let's, just start at the basics. Let's just put more of who you are out and that knowing that visually promise and her team khun dua lot with that. I mean right now we have a good starting place now we just need to find ways to personalize, and I think she'd already mentioned breaking up the bio section when you like, because you have it all in one page and it's like I like everything three pages and show those pretty pictures of you in the boat and then show and not so attractive picture of you dancing with your kids, brilliant ideas, ideas making us just think differently. So that's good. Well, uh, so we've kind of bad about that. So those are just ideas. Like what jasmine said, but going back to jazz's example, you know, she it landed on that writing was her going to be her straight? And people would have thought she was crazy, maybe a little bit. And so she took her writing ability. She matched it with her photography profession, and she created a magazine themed brand and that is really memorable for people. It sticks. She has a magazine layout on her blogged she has a website navigation with a table of contents on dh. Then instead of writing a book like she could have, you know, publish a pdf book something, turn it into a magazine format. I mean that's just so jasmine's brand and so that's. Why I think it's really cool if we can think outside of the box and take our strength and represent them graphically to showcase them so people can see them, and I think that would really make you stand out on the web you're sure you're hearing it from someone else because I would never think to think about this stuff if I was just doing it, but remember what I said to slides ago why you should work with a graphic designer because they see things that we don't see this right here is a perfect embodiment of what we bring to the table as artists and what they do is artist, and it should be a perfect hybrid and working together and helping you see your brand differently. And I like to that jasmine comes the table with ideas with her brand thought through and all that. So I have something to work with, I think that's so helpful when the designer has on meet to work with and they are you guys haven't, I believe that's what you're doing there, prepare oh, yeah, I believe you prepared that conversation so that kind of reasoning to my next point, which is you want to decide the right path for creating your website and as we've heard there's, all three different represented here of how they've created their sight and so there's two main ones, right? There's one you wanna work with a custom graphic designer to do build a custom website, and the second is to customize a website theme or something, and both are great. Choices but you really have to decide which is best for you so I'm just gonna briefly touch on the pros and cons of both seeking eyes can decide what is really going to work good for me so the benefit of having a custom design is obviously that you get a website that's we custom to you and no one else will have it unless people copy it but no one else will have that and you get to work specifically with that designer to really customize different features and different strengths and doing all that kind of work so that's the benefit of one of the downsides is that you'll most likely pay a premium cost and it's such a huge risk because you don't even know if they're gonna like it in the end and that communication might be tough or something might go wrong and if you just put you put out a lot of money and a lot of time and something just didn't go right and so that's a risk that is involved and then with that risk if you spend a lot of money kind of feel chained to it in some ways like I have to have this for years or something like that so a lot of people I've talked to I have had those so that's just something to keep in mind but if you know exactly what you want in your website like jasmine she knows boom, boom, boom! You know she has the issuance if you want to have your website for a few years and you have the money to invest in that way, I think it's a really good option for you. The second one is customizing website, and this is a great option if you don't really know exactly how to articulate what you want or you're kind of an artsy fartsy that's like I like everything, I'm eclectic and you know, and you can't articulate exactly what you want, but you know what? When you see it and I think that's really important and that is a safe bet, because you know what you're getting, you know what you're getting for your money and that way you don't feel has changed to it because your brand is your solid and titi it's, not the layout of the website, so you can change you're late on your website, often just to freshen it up and really keep a cohesive brand, so that is an option. The downside to that is if you don't put in the time to customize it or have a designer customize it for you, you can run the risk of having website that looks like somebody else's so downside to run like I can just see that everybody's on the same page up until this point promises company site has designed and her team of designers, what they're going to do is she provides website seems so what she's offering for you guys? If you guys want teo is for you to choose your own website face, and then you will work with a graphic designer to customize a thing. So that's, what she's talking about right now? So you're going to go through the themes that she has available on her store and then work with somebody to customize that the process? The goal for you, wendy, would be to choose the theme closest to your aesthetic now, but I'm really proud, and I believe that you know what your aesthetic is now. Having gone through this process, I do I totally believe that for you guys too. So that's really cool? Um, so and I, the fame's, really serve as a jumping off point. They don't serve as the final results. So so I do recommend working with a designer when you're working with a theme to really customize it, make it your own and really nail it and it's really important, so expected so, eh? So I'm going to talk about my third tip, which is noticed the details, and I think this is a huge one, but it's a small and he has nobody. People that don't know how to look for it won't and so it's really specific so this will really discredit your professionalism in some ways because when people visit your website that kind of tilt their head and think I think something is a little off but I can't really put my finger on what it is and that's something that I've noticed with nicky's web site and so I'm gonna use nicky's web site as an example okay okay so so this is nikki's about paige so took your about paige and I love the layout of it and that's so much talk about there's two different components to design there's the main layout and then there's the details so you have nailed the main layout and when I'm talking about the main layout when you squint your eyes and look at the site there's going to be blocks that stand out to you that's going to be the main layout so nicky has the logo up top the navigation her photo bar and some text and then her photo on the right so those air the main elements and I'm going to show you what I've put together that looks like her main elements on her site and this is what it is now yes yes oh that's the beginning that's the swords and rodders life shall wait when you squint your eyes this kind of formation should stand out when you look at nikki's website so what I have done now is I have highlighted some of the areas of the details that I feel like our missing on the site, and the details are really cohesive spacing between the columns in the elements breathing room around the edges of text, proper spacing around the logo, consistent use of sizing in different spacing of typography. So the details are really the small intricacies that pulled us together and give it that polished look, but you need to know how to look for that, right? So I put next slide. I put together some areas that need somewhere. So just as a basic example, if you look on the column on the right, you noticed that that circle is very large compared to the circle on the far left, and so those are not matching up. And so that is an example of just missed details and that's totally fine, because, I mean, you have been trained to look for the details, you know, that's what the designers are doing more. Yeah. So and that's, what I'm showing you is you have a great solid foundation, a great main layout, but just the details that needs and pulling together. So now I'm gonna show you what I have done by keeping the main layout and just adjusting the details to this page, okay, so here is that one so as you can tell all the main elements are there and the only meaning limits are there in the same order to logo navigation photo bar tex and in the photo is on the right so and in this next site I show you where I've lined things up so you can see so that's the polish look that I'm talking about really bringing it all together we spoke about how clients prefer the cleaner navigation to the busy and this right here is still one hundred percent mickey at least nikki do you feel like okay I looked that and I'm like that's one hundred percent nicky and it's still you but it's just a clean straight forward photos you chose teo so so so all I'm suggesting is to go through your website and look for those details and remain consistent with those details and so here's a small check list consistent spacing between the components of your sight consistent take a little bit breather so people at home can get this right because I didn't check this earlier today and now they have another check we're getting some checklist what's the first one so the first one is do you have consistent spacing between the components of your site so make sure that the main elements are consistently spaced consistent spacing she's an abbreviated three items lined up properly so for instance if you have two photos are they lined up to the top or if they're over like this are they kind of lined up on left justified soon make sure all the lines are evenly spaced I think those people are home doing pretty good I think they think they're pregnant although when you said left justified it reminded me of justin timberlake which remind me of a new cd which reminding me we probably I should have a dance party at lunch hey ah ee like how theo checklist let's get to the point where the colors consistently used and I usually recommend just as a general rule of thumb unless you like really brilliant you know what you're doing and you want to break the rules in some way like three or four colors and I suggest a pop of color a neutral color, a light color and then a dark color if you want to do something like that so I don't break that down slower sorry okay no no, no problem four colors for colors or three okay three or four color three four cars a dark color and that's my that's my fourth actually so I start with the first start with the first four colors starting with the first a pop of color, a light color, a neutral color and my fourth one is a dark color some people don't want dark, they went in all light site but so those are just some basics but I suggest and this should really be I have a question so insistent over the site yeah sorry sorry to cut you off when I have a question finish your thought because all this is going right I think it's okay when you say the first color what was that what was the first color of color and then you said neutral color yeah these don't need to go in necessarily a particular order okay it's just I didn't want my fourth one to be my first one right I got it so easy to put a percentage because if you say a pop of color what percentage on the site is a popular because when I look at nikki I notice to me that the pop of color is the red in my correct yeah the okay no no no it would be the red okay the red the red is a public alert is there a certain percentage that that no longer qualifies it as a pop of color too then all of a sudden it looks like it's half of the color like I haven't thought about this before but maybe twenty percent is okay pop of color okay to me like that I think that what I think I think maybe I will say I'm kind of shocked when it comes to design I've been really spoiled with promise so I am also very remember how I said I was home schooled I want to know the process I want to understand that when I'm talking to other photographers and helping them when I look at the site and I'm thinking something's off about this site I can think you're using too much of your public color here there's just and when I see melissa cite just one photographer I don't see four colors I see two main colors you might have used other cars but the percentages in which he used the blue and the green so much I don't see anything else sure so pop of color would be fifteen to twenty percent yeah I think that's okay, so number four have seven here theo before on nothing the details got it? Yeah can you bring us two? One, two and three? Well, quick kiss number one is you have consistent spacing between all the elements in the components of your site. Number two is our all your items lined up properly and this is a big one too see so many sights and everything's wicky wonky and all over the places even lined up unless you're purposely doing like nikki's up here we have overlapped photos and that was a purposeful oh um but they were still lined up um yeah, still lined up in relation to the margins? Yes. Okay, number three is are the colors consistently use on your site and the number four are your fonts and typography used consistently. So for example, if you use, ah header title on one page, I want you to use that same header font on the other pages, not just on one, and they're changing on the other unless if you're getting really serious with what, you know what you're doing unless it's a really strategic move that you're doing that you're designers like breaking the rules that says the general rule of thumb is toe keep it consisted in that way, so and then maybe not using your logo frontal over our maybe not using one fun all over either one final over either. Wait a template, wait any points for that is I think I've given you guys enough to work on, and I think through and hold your graphic designer accountable, because if there are people at home, I knew that there was re starters within the group and who are working on redesign their sight in tandem with restored, but they probably started before to now you have a whole new perspective on what you should be doing and how you should be doing it. So what I want to do is just to clarify and explain, andi think promise for being here, she is part of sight house sight how's designs dot com I have explained it to you before it's going to be optional for you to employ her in her team's services. I don't want to force you into doing something you don't want to do, but the option is there, and I'm pretty darn sure that in thirty days, if you pedal to the metal, pick up your bootstraps run it will have before I didn't even know what that adage was, I was just like, wait, this is the problem having immigrant parents, I don't know how to use idioms, but she's with statehouse designs dot com if there were people online and they want to go through the process with us, check this out to see if you would like to, because if you guys do it in thirty days, we know that there are going to be other photographers who can do it in thirty days to have a quick question when you say right out content word for word, I'm like sweating when ok about that, because can you just give some examples so content, meaning let's? Just say all the words you're going right back out right now isn't going on your website, I want to know it all because then the design you'll say you were with the diner, right? They're going to customise each page with all the content that you weren't available and that's a way a better way to go then having the designer make up a bunch of stuff and then you filling it in so maybe start with a page so about me whatever and write out word for word what I want on about paige for investment what I want on that page and just let pedro yeah, I figure out what which pages you need ahead of time like I think I need this it some people don't need in a featured I don't need a feature page you know? Or maybe I don't need that this kind of page so you decide what you want in your brand and what you want to portray online what you want your potential clients to to see and then you write out all the content for the fame for instance, nikki because we're all about growing here you're gonna have a price I'm assuming you're gonna have a pricing page well, now that we've talked about wait what you write on your pricing page I don't need to put you on the spot now, right? But you could say, you know, packages starting at whatever or you can add a little bit of fish you could say that you know, pricing you know, photos that would last forever I don't know you can find out a little thing and then you could say collection packages starting at this price but your graphic designer would need to know how many sentences are you going to put their if for instance you really want to personally I believe that you are all about personalizing your web experience that to me something that I just keep on coming out to me if that is the case you also listed in one of your strengths that you like to write if that was the case maybe bad idea again if you go to your home page it's not just this big photo what if it's like a photo and then a little bit of your like a small little postcard and it's it's said with love you know I mean are we going here please? I would never places we're going places right? Okay, yeah so how can you find e o find ways to incorporate a strength you like to write and your personality and the way that you like to connect with people and if you had sally and john in there seattle wedding you loved selling in john's pink and purple wedding in seattle and then draw little heart little arrow or something valiant john if you need a wedding getting writing all that stuff out it's gonna be really helpful and that's totally the being strategic part thinking that through ahead of time or else it's gonna happen without you needing me like wait what I'm not in there, you know? And you know, I think that through first and really, really own your business in that way. Yeah, good, we're gonna toss it to the internet. This is so so, so exciting e I did put in the chat rooms, you know that I have yet to meet a photographer who says they absolutely loved their website. I don't know, it doesn't really happen that often. When I'm sitting with my graphic designer, I was for maybe star over here, I just put in the chat room and so many people I said, how many of you love your website and how many of you would like a new one? And I didn't get any responses? Teo, I love my website so it's a struggle for all of us, it's a really exp maybe the hardest part, so I'm just so excited about all of this. Miss lisa said, if you like a clean site, how do you keep it clean and simple without having it looked too plain? Where is that line when you are a minimalist? Who I love? The middle less idea, which I think brings us back teo melissa's website and making sure that everything is lined up is really clean but you can add in special features to really bring out your personality like me there's a particular page that's very lined up and very clean but you've thought through in what your personality is going to be displayed ana on that page in particular like maybe there's a mai likes page and you have you know little things and maybe there really gritted out so it's very clean and minimalist right? So it's just figuring out how you're gonna take that content and put it in a minimalist form but to keep it minimalist in straightforward is just the attention to details and keeping it clean making sure things are lined up I'm just I'm so excited to see people are like him promise have her own creative live there are so many questions coming in and this is just it is just like we said s o a question from fashion tv in singapore large love a good friend the singing for how large should our images be on our website to be effective what's too large to small what would be what sizes would be too loud or not how do you go about looking about sizing of images that's a tough question because it's really subjective I know that's weird I mean with design and art you know everything I've been saying appear describing designers at home they're like he had like, what is she saying? So a lot of it is really subjective, but I think you really have to test it on all different monitors just to make sure and really see the site as a client, you know if you're going to the site and you're pretending like you're coming with blames lake and it's late and you're pretending is this a site? Are the photo's big enough? Do I experience the photography enough? Do I see the details in the photos enough to want to hire that person? I think that's one thing that you know when I when I'm looking at sites, I like to see the details in the photo to see what their attention to details is sometimes if they're really too small like rain, sight too small, the photos you no way don't really get the full experience of the photo, so I you could do a bunch of different stuff you cannot full screen images but just nothing too small, so I'm going to basically sum up so many people's questions now they're into three questions ok, how do we go about searching for a designer? What are the things we should ask and look for in deciding who to hire? How much should we expect to invest for a good custom site and the basic guidelines guidelines when getting bids way this section questions and possible that's a really great question and haven't let's start with one by one because there's a lot there. So I think the first one was finding a graphic design. What are the things we should ask him look for in deciding who to hire and to say that's a good one? Um, one thing I would say to notice is what is their personal aesthetic like? Because every designer is goingto have just like a photographer he's going to have their own spin on their work. And so you better like what you see in their portfolio and the consistent thread that strung between the project because there is one there is one in my work, there is one in a lot of other designers, so you can't just go to a designer and think, oh, you know, whatever I asked for they can give me because that's not necessarily the case. People have different strengths in even what their knowledge is about the software, and they're just their approach to their art in itself is all very different. So notice the string between the projects and make sure you like that. Um, is the answer to that is a good answer, the next question was how much should we expect to invest for a site? And there's all I'm asking for tiger how much should I expect a bit for my wedding? You know it's so different I think you will have to decide when you view the work is it? What would you pay that for? The work you know and people charge a lot of different things for all different kinds of reasons and maybe okay timeout throw tio I don't think that's a question that anybody could answer I don't think I think that I'll personally that's the wrong approach approach first we're gonna get into pricing later but the approach is going to be how much do I have to spend? That is the question because you confined a graphic designer for twenty five a thousand dollars and you can find a graphic designer for two hundred fifty what you first need to do as an entrepreneur and as a business person is figure out your costs and where you could splurge and you may or may not be able to work with the graphic designer of your dreams now but you could if you run a profitable business in the future so first figure out your budget and then find graphic designers within that budget go into the facebook restart group and ask photographers I have eight hundred dollars where should I go with this money? How how your experience has been in the past and I've seen researchers doing this too great too great and yield great results so I think the perspective should be change. That's good. I like that a lot as a flowers is asking as I sit here sketching out my new storefront, I wonder how many links we should have from the home page. They're starting to think about about packages and pricing galleries, and you'll remind us again what else? That's great as a general rule of thumb, when someone's on your someone first lands on your website, you don't want them to click more than twice to see the information they're looking for. So that's something to really keep in mind. So, for instance, let's just say melissa has in about paige and she on her about paige. I feel completely fine if she want to say, click here to read more click here to see my faves of you know what? I love that's fine if people click twice to get there, I think that's ok, but they shouldn't click twice to get to her about section if that makes sense and I think you don't want to overwhelm people in the navigation. So keeping things very simple and there's a few pages that you want very clear, like you always want a home. Paige you want want to contact page so people know I'm used to seeing contact as the word to get to that, you know, to get to them I'm used to seeing you no photos or whatever words you're going to choose our about so just keeping things very simple like that and then not getting too deep with the important information in your sight when I say deep I mean layered into the site like click you have to click get to click to get into the imp formacion yeah, great! So you do recommend contact not people come up with all kinds of inquiry and I'm like, can I start contactar? I just I think keep it simple you don't people looking around on your site, there's other pages you get more creative with that aren't as important as a contact page, so a couple questions questions came up from pro photographer one was what's the best way to structure the contact? Paige, do you think it's better to give your email address or to display a form for clients to fill out? I think that all depends on the goals for your sight and what you want necessarily from them aesthetically as I'm a designer, I think you could do either or if you have a lot that you want to express on the contact page and maybe the e mail's fine, but yeah, I don't have a preference on that one they also asked what is the best way to structure our portfolio section? How can we best display our photos in this section? Um that's a variety again a possible answers so no I think it depends on what your business is to and what your galleries are and how you're structuring those I think a good you know button for that is just portfolio and then if people want to dive in deeper than they could do you know weddings or engagements or something like that that's totally fine you don't have to have them all up on the navigation like weddings, engagements or whatever. Um so as long as there's like one button you can click to know they're going to your portfolio section I think is important great thank you for that we have a lot of people still back on the logo discussion way teo so cool a couple of questions you've already discussed the usage of the logo but again, how important is it to the business and the graphic element of a logo versus a typographic logo? Just kind of talking about your sage just your abc photography as just a typographic. Okay, um well, first I want to say that I think branding in particular like you can't base a business is success on their branding necessarily like for instance, when we launched jasmine I got a lot of enquiries thinking that jasmine got to where she is because I designed the site I did for her e ther e's kidding, just kidding. But jasmine, I didn't get where she is today because I designed her website like she has worked hard to get where she is and so there's a lot of components that goes into success and relating you're branding with the success of your business, and so I don't necessarily correlate those two together because they're so different, I feel, but I think it really has the logo really has to match the aesthetic of of your brand itself. And if it's clean and it's timeless, I think choosing just a really basic type is appropriate. But if you want to show a little more personality than adding some type of graphical flare, I think can really add to yeah, your web presence can I can I have a time out look like one of the things I found most appealing about? Most interesting about your photo safaris was that each of you incorporated either intentionally or unintentionally, a reference to the typography that you liked. So ryan took a picture of this grid of all these cities, I believe around the world or something like that french towns. Nikki took a picture of a vespa and you said you liked the topography of the vest and melissa took a picture of a vanity fair cover all to give their graphic designers a really good idea of what it is. However, if you were to juxtapose the things that you were attracted to and what you liked your logo's look nothing like that. So how then can you get your logo and show your graphic designer the songs that you like? Because if I feel like I know you and then when I looked at the website, I'm just like that's, not you. So now we're talking about logo's because it could be everywhere. First, you need to take pictures of what you like and then send it to graphic designer and then that represent will find a way to create a hybrid of everything that makes it completely you yeah, for in them just piggyback off of that I think for you guys even just studying different typefaces and different funds is really important to even get in. I feel like, oh, this fun represents this emotion. Yes, one represents this emotion so you can understand which bonds which type represents which emotions and you can pick that's me that's not me that's so it's just tuning your eye and helping your I get used to seeing different ones and then on and then you again if it totally matches your your brandon, your vibe and just having a very simple, I guess is what I said in their critics types logo is fine as long as it matches your your brand, right? You don't have to have, like, swirly things going out, you know, and have, like an icon or something. I don't think that's necessary, but it adds to the to the brand in some ways. I like that. You said different fonts represent different emotions, and I feel like that can also apply to just different things that you want shoot all right? Like what emotion do you think shopping bag like a shopping cart, erred nature tree or teal? Are, you know, dancing kind of emotion? Good, I'm glad glad that your thinking and we're going to close with one more question, but before we do, nicky sent me a list of her strength email. This is what we're all talking about. And what if nikki strains was that she says that she refuses to be sad or you refused? She doesn't accept unhappiness that's very powerful to me in multiple ways, but here's the thing, how can you choose a I want you to choose a font that represents happiness. I don't want it to be moody or evocative or shy, and I think doing homework on typography in font is really going to home that in so when somebody looks at your typography, they're going to just immediately think there is a psychology and when we look at those things, how then without you having to say a word, can you convey that you refused to accept unhappiness? You know, it's funny because I found a fund that I love at urban outfitters, but it has the f bomb that's what e put it in my way you're saying and you're right with fun good? Yeah, good, good, good, good, we're going to close it with maybe one more questions and kenna okay, we have about seven more minutes. So the last question this is a big picture question from tracy how if you could talk about the difference between a graphic designer and a a web designer? So how do you know when you hire a designer? You think they're going to design your sight but it's very different and a graphic designers design websites, right? And I don't want to stereotype it all when because a lot of different people have different strengths that's why you just have to research because, ah lot of times most web designers are they really know the back end of of how you work a website and first, like search engine rankings and all that kind of stuff and that person, if that's all they've honed their skills in, they're not going to be very good at making something look pretty, and so I think it's really important to look at their portfolio and ask very strategic questions and seeing visual examples of what they've done I think is the most most important because and some web designers, though they would couple graphic design with web designers, I know a lot of awesome designers that they do both, and they've been trained in both in their awesome, so it just depends on what you're looking for if you're working with a graphic designer and you can hire what designer and they'll develop the site what you're designer develop so it's just it's it's really knowing what you're looking for and then doing your research and a graphic, designers typically build websites as well or no that's like a development, but you really have to learn that's like looking nerdy code stuff clearly does not know nihad stuff like the aesthetic of this before chemicals is out. I would just like to personally think promise and her lovely husband and partner brian who's sitting behind the scenes I'm great guy and they're good people and you guys deserve all the best that you guys have fingers away before a round of applause again, thank you on behalf of the internet as well promised. Where can people let's tell people again where they can find out more about you, your website and all that? Okay, statehouse designs. Dot com is where you find the website seems my personal portfolio. If you wanna look at that is promised. Tangeman dot com twitter at promised handymen t a n g e m a n it's. A kind of a mouthful on your facebook page. My facebook page is facebook. Dot com slash promised handymen created with my personal one, or do you want to do the site house one facebook, dot com slash site house and that's site. S t? Yes, for everyone out there. Lighthouse. Well, awesome, let's. Give promise a huge round.