The Blog Library
How To Design A Website That Makes You Happy
I know how you feel.
No, I’m not saying that like some overbearing aunt offering unsolicited advice. I know because I asked, and you told me.
You told me that you are excited about creating a website, but actually getting it going is just…..ugh.
Frustrating. Exhausting. Head-banging-on-the-desk, curse-you-HTML, what-the-heck-I’m-not-a-webmaster irritation. Makes you wonder why you’re bothering to do it at all. But here’s the good news: We’re gonna fight back. Starting today.
I’m working furiously to create something that will address the #1 website problem you guys brought up. When it’s done, I’ll send it to anyone who wants it for f-r-e-e.
(And while you’re at it, you can nab 13 Things No One Tells You About Photographing Children right now, in one fell swoop. Oh, how I love efficiency.)
All you have to do is tell me where to send it:
(Don’t worry, your email will stay safe. It won’t be shared.)
(TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED WHILE I SWITCH MAILING SERVICES – BE RIGHT BACK!)
**Oh, and if by chance you’ve already signed up to get the 13 Things e-book, it’ll just say “hey, you’re already on this list, but you can update your email preferences.” And you just clickity-click to update your preferences. That way I can make sure the only people who get the new e-book are the ones who want it.**
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While I’m working away at creating some problem-solving awesomeness, I thought I’d give out some Official Survey Awards to my brilliant responders, high school style:
Words that cracked me up the most:
“BLERGH is how I feel right now. Blergh.”
Words that choked me up the most:
“Thank you (in anticipation) for your advice… feels like its a big scary world out there and all I want is to take beautiful pictures.”
The response that was in the biggest minority:
Only ONE person said “I’m actually pretty happy with my website.” Bouquet and a gold cup to that person! Free e-book for the rest of us…. 🙂
Responder who I thought was crazy until I realized they were absolutely right:
“One thing that has been bugging me about it though is your name is nowhere obvious, but think I saw it once buried in a post or comment somewhere? I’ve looked and looked…. Minor minor concern, it’s otherwise A++++”
I was all “Dude, did you even check the “About” page?” But then I went and realized that yeah, my name actually isn’t there. Ha! Sorry! I linked to my photography website and reply to almost all comments as Jenika, but…..just so everyone knows, my name is JENIKA. Pronounced Jen – ih – kah. The “i” sounds like the “i” in the word “sit.” I’m not Jeneeeeeeka!
Most unexpected, frequently-mentioned issue:
SEO. Did that send shudders through your spine? Never fear. Right now I’m wrangling us up an SEO expert to come guest post on this blog – you’ll be SEOing away very soon.
The only voiced objection to the questions:
Some of you jokingly grumbled about the age categories. Trust me, there’s no way to group people by age without upsetting someone. 😉 In case you’re wondering, here are percentages in each age group:
Oh, and darn near everyone who responded was female. What’s up with that, guys? 😉
Most unanticipated side effect of this survey:
I felt GREAT after reading hundreds – yes, hundreds – of very kind, positive comments about the blog. Thanks guys. I spend about 10-15 hours a week working on this blog, writing posts, doing admin stuff, replying to emails, etc – all on top of my regular work and responsibilities. I worried when I launched this that people wouldn’t appreciate the time I put into it (let’s face it – people can be ridiculous where the internet is concerned). I didn’t expect to be met with such an overwhelmingly supportive, happy, solidarity-filled response. I’m making friends all over the world, and I love it.
Other big news:
I’m hosting a live Q&A session tomorrow, Thursday February 16th, at 1:00pm Central Standard Time, USA. Come introduce yourself and hang out with me for a bit! You will find me here:
http://www.spreecast.com/events/live-qa-about-photography-biz-clients
Thanks!
I must have been one of the few guys! Good stuff Jenika!
Thanks Ryan!! I appreciate it 🙂
Me too :). One of those few guys who enjoyed your few posts. I am also a new reader of your blog. Have you heard the saying “Being In the right place at the right time”? I am about to redesign my website, which is WordPress based (self-hosted). The current design is designed by me but after few months of it I am not very happy. Not sure if it’s the design or the SEO part but looking forward to your posts to figure out the real issue.
Dharmesh, I’m so glad you found me! We’re gonna make a great team, I can feel it 🙂 Thanks for responding to the survey. I know I have a lot of guy *readers*, I just don’t know why the survey scared ’em all off! haha.
my hubby is an SEO guru if you are looking for a guest blogger. It’s kinda what he does for a living and THANK HEAVENS for that because that stuff makes me break out in sweat, tears and head-banging frustration. We make a great team 😉
I did get someone lined up, but I’ll shoot you an email!
So very thankful to have come across your blog and informational way of chatting with us!!
Thanks so much and keep it coming, I am hooked!
Thanks Jenika. Oh! and I was amused at how you taught to pronounce your name. 🙂 I liked it.
@Marcie I loved your website..
I am very much looking forward to your information. I was one of the few who is very happy with my site, but I’m always open to improvements – whether little tweaks or major redesigns. I enjoy visiting other photographers’ sites from around the country/world. But I do have to say that one of my pet peeves is: having to SEARCH to find out where this photographer is located! The average client isn’t going to do this – MAYBE 2 clicks of searching, then they are gone. While a lot of us drive traffic to our site by handing out hundreds of business cards, we are loosing the on-line photographer shopper (or loosing converting the web-surfer into a client) by not having our location easy to see. SEO is one of my strong points, but I am always learning more in that respect, too!
Hello! I’ve never been hooked to a blog before but whoa, girl! You know how to speak to me! Where can I get this e-book about being happy with my website?
Right now, I am absolutely lost when it comes to creating a website. L-O-S-T. I would love to read your thoughts on the subject.
Thanks for the wonderful blog and keeping me up past my bedtime!
🙂
–Kimberly
Why thank you! I’m in between mailing lists setups right now, so the signup forms have been taken down. Do stay tuned, there’s a LOT of good stuff coming your way on this topic though, including a free resource and also an opportunity to get a seat in a course for advanced study. Take care Kimberly!
I will be graduating with my BA in Psychology from the University of Illinois in May. I really only started indulging in photography about a year ago (but from what I hear I’m a quick study). This blog is a fusion of two fields I’m very passionate about and I’m really ecstatic that I stumbled upon it. I should probably get back to my studies, but one more article shouldn’t hurt… 🙂 Honestly though, this is impressive. The only real issue I have with it is… that I didn’t think of it first 🙂