Six Challenges with Most Photographer’s Websites

Intro by Chamira Young

When you first decided to take the leap into professional photography, I doubt the task of creating a cohesive website had you jumping up and down in anticipation. Taking great photos? Sure. Creating a portfolio of unique, authentic images? Absolutely. But putting together a spiffy website? For most folks, not so much.

However, your website is an asset to your business that can't be ignored. In fact, a well-designed site will enhance your work, while a poorly-designed one will detract from it.

Check out the post below from the Photodex blog, in which Skip Cohen discusses six challenges -- and solutions -- with most photographer's websites. Even if you think your own website is rock-solid, it's worth taking a look because one or two of these challenges may apply to you. And with the thousands of websites Skip has reviewed in his career, you're in for a real treat! Be ready to take notes and learn how you can make your website better than ever.

Don't let your website be an afterthought. Let's get to it.​

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By Skip Cohen

Today starts with a terrific post, Marketing Basics for Photographers by my buddy Scott Bourne. Your website is one of the tools in that marketing toolbox Scott refers to, but sadly, so many of you have websites that are far from doing what you originally intended.

Here are the six most common mistakes I’ve found in my website reviews to date:

Galleries: Just too many images and often not enough with the “wow” factor. Your work has to be outstanding and you need to ask yourself with every image, “If this was the only image I could show, is it good enough that I’d hire me?” If the answer is “yes” then it’s a keeper, but if not, don’t put it on your site.

About Sections: People hire you because of your passion and the why you’re a photographer NOT because of what you do, your awards or your gear. Over and over again I read bios that simply weren’t relevant. Nobody cares how you got started in photography. They don’t care what gear you shoot with and they care even less about awards from associations they don’t even know about. What they do care about is looking into your heart. They want to know they can trust you to understand the importance of your family and friends. They want to know you love people, capturing memories and being part of the human experience.

Lack of Continuity: If your target audience is bridal then show wedding images. If you’re a children and family photographer then show images of children and family sittings. What I saw over and over again were too many photographers trying to be all things to all people. There’s nothing wrong with your passion for landscape photography for example, but it doesn’t belong in your galleries if your target is brides.

Know Your Demographics: Women make 98% of the purchase decisions to hire a photographer in the portrait/social category. So, think about your target audience. So often I reviewed sites that were too masculine for the target audience. Or, they just lacked a little sex appeal. Pay attention to the graphic elements on your site.

Functionality: Over and over again I reviewed sites that were difficult to navigate. I couldn’t find some of the most important information about the photographer. I was buried in add-on clicks leading me to multiple steps when all I wanted was to look at images. You’ve got to focus on simplicity and make it easy for your target audience to find those things most important.

Oops – What happened to the design of the site?: If you were building the house or studio of your dreams, you’d pay attention to every detail. From colors, to window placement and even which wall light switches were going to be on, but so many photographers have thrown together their websites with total disregard to design. They knew they needed a website so they got one and that’s about it! Well, today your website is the equivalent of your storefront. It’s your business – your place on Main St. USA with the potential to have thousands of people walking by every day, but instead of something inviting that draws people in, they’re going elsewhere. Scott put it best – are you trying to attract the Motel 6 target or Ritz Carlton?

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