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  • pilotdavepilotdave Registered Users Posts: 785 Major grins
    edited June 15, 2016
    Hello all,

    I have made a lot of updates to my site in the last few days so I would love feedback on the changes.

    http://www.liquidtravel.org/

    thanks so much.

    Layne

    I can only check your site on my phone at the moment, but one thing that stands out to me is that the homepage only has a collapsed menu, then I need to scroll to see the social icons. I'd recommend not collapsing the homepage menu on mobile since there's really no other content being pushed down by it.

    Dave
  • denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,220 moderator
    edited June 15, 2016
    yale1971 wrote: »
    After few hesitation, i decide to put a "Home" link inside my menu ... I use the "Browse" page to do it.

    http://www.yannicklefevre.com/browse

    My goal is to show you inside with ONE page all interesting things that i share with you inside my website
    it looks like a "Welcome to my Home and take a moment to Browse my website" if i can say like this :-)
    You already have your bio/contact and photo pages available from your menu. Hitting home and seeing the about information immediately doesn't pull viewers to your photos. I would remove the home entry from your menu leaving the other entries.

    --- Denise
  • denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,220 moderator
    edited June 15, 2016
    I find it quite confusing to click to a folder from galleries and be presented with a page of photos with no indication of what the photo represents. Why would you require that the viewer hover to see a gallery name?

    --- Denise
  • LiquidtravelLiquidtravel Registered Users Posts: 21 Big grins
    edited June 16, 2016
    pilotdave wrote: »
    I can only check your site on my phone at the moment, but one thing that stands out to me is that the homepage only has a collapsed menu, then I need to scroll to see the social icons. I'd recommend not collapsing the homepage menu on mobile since there's really no other content being pushed down by it.

    Dave

    Great suggestions. Done.

    thanks

    Layne
  • LiquidtravelLiquidtravel Registered Users Posts: 21 Big grins
    edited June 16, 2016
    I find it quite confusing to click to a folder from galleries and be presented with a page of photos with no indication of what the photo represents. Why would you require that the viewer hover to see a gallery name?

    --- Denise

    It gets displayed on hover state. I changed it to be permanent and under like your site but I can't say I like that so I changed it back.

    thanks for the suggestion though

    Layne
  • denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,220 moderator
    edited June 16, 2016
    ...don't collapse on mobile...
    Great suggestions. Done.
    Interesting - without collapsing on mobile, when I select a menu entry it looks to me like nothing happens. The menu takes the whole screen on my phone, when I clicked an entry I didn't realize at first that I needed to scroll past the menu to see anything.
    It gets displayed on hover state. I changed it to be permanent and under like your site but I can't say I like that so I changed it back.

    thanks for the suggestion though
    Yes, I understand it is displayed on hover. Will people hover, or will they assume they are already looking at the photos as opposed to a bunch of galleries?

    It's your site and your choice.

    --- Denise
  • LiquidtravelLiquidtravel Registered Users Posts: 21 Big grins
    edited June 16, 2016
    Interesting - without collapsing on mobile, when I select a menu entry it looks to me like nothing happens. The menu takes the whole screen on my phone, when I clicked an entry I didn't realize at first that I needed to scroll past the menu to see anything.


    Yes, I understand it is displayed on hover. Will people hover, or will they assume they are already looking at the photos as opposed to a bunch of galleries?

    It's your site and your choice.

    --- Denise

    Found a compromise where I don't have to have the label underneath the folder but can have it display on the folder without having to hover.

    thanks

    Layne
  • pilotdavepilotdave Registered Users Posts: 785 Major grins
    edited June 16, 2016
    Interesting - without collapsing on mobile, when I select a menu entry it looks to me like nothing happens. The menu takes the whole screen on my phone, when I clicked an entry I didn't realize at first that I needed to scroll past the menu to see anything.

    --- Denise

    Yep, I'd suggest only leaving the menu uncollapsed on the homepage. On the other pages with additional content, the menu is too big and pushes everything else down.

    Dave
  • pmbpropmbpro Registered Users Posts: 236 Major grins
    edited June 16, 2016
    I finally updated my site and general slideshow: http://www.pmbimages.com/

    I also added an extra section for Film Stills, and a specific slide show for that section too, below the thumbnails. I may end up changing that format; not sure yet.

    http://www.pmbimages.com/Film-Stills/Film-Stills-Home

    I tested the site with a mobile device (an Android tablet), but hopefully it works for others as well.
    Still not a fan of having the breadcrumb gallery name on a second line though, but I guess we're stuck with that.

    If anyone can check out my site and provide any feedback, I'd really appreciate it.

    Thanks! :)
    pmb images
    Film/TV Stills Photography
    "When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt." ~ Henry J. Kaiser
  • denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,220 moderator
    edited June 17, 2016
    pmbpro wrote: »
    I finally updated my site and general slideshow: http://www.pmbimages.com/

    I also added an extra section for Film Stills, and a specific slide show for that section too, below the thumbnails. I may end up changing that format; not sure yet.

    http://www.pmbimages.com/Film-Stills/Film-Stills-Home
    Your site looks good. I checked it on my phone in addition to computer, looks OK on both although on the phone the squares representing the galleries are shown with only one block on a line.

    The one suggestion I have is that you consider removing the title of the gallery from the gallery description (at least I think that's where it is) since with the title shown on a separate line in the breadcrumb it essentially duplicates the name. With the breadcrumb on one line it probably wasn't as obvious as it is now.

    --- Denise
  • pmbpropmbpro Registered Users Posts: 236 Major grins
    edited June 17, 2016
    Hi Denise!

    Thanks so much for checking my site, and providing your feedback and experience.
    Your site looks good. I checked it on my phone in addition to computer, looks OK on both although on the phone the squares representing the galleries are shown with only one block on a line.

    Ugh! Yes, that was exactly what I was afraid of that could happen, when viewed from a phone. I'd tried a tablet and that was okay.

    I hope the 'one block per line' won't be a huge problem for those who may be on phones (since I realize it's up to individual's tastes). I wanted to keep the original layout across from left to right above the slideshow as it works for per regular Desktop computers, laptop monitors and tablets.
    The one suggestion I have is that you consider removing the title of the gallery from the gallery description (at least I think that's where it is) since with the title shown on a separate line in the breadcrumb it essentially duplicates the name. With the breadcrumb on one line it probably wasn't as obvious as it is now.

    Another "Ugh!" moment, Laughing.gif! rolleyes1.gifYes, that was my gut feeling and it had been nagging me for a while too and I was still stuck on which to choose. It was one of the exact reasons why I wasn't a fan of that breadcrumb change, using up that extra line vertical height since I don't use a cover photo. I preferred all the project titles and descriptions to be together in one section of text too. Oh well.

    Nonetheless, I did decide to remove it in the description after all, as you'd highlighted, so it has been updated on all projects and will be so, for future ones. My 'stubbornness' on this, has disappeared now. :D

    http://www.pmbimages.com/Film-Stills/Portfolio/Recall-2015/

    Thanks so much Denise! I really appreciate your help on this.
    .
    pmb images
    Film/TV Stills Photography
    "When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt." ~ Henry J. Kaiser
  • LovelyBonesLovelyBones Registered Users Posts: 2 Beginner grinner
    edited July 10, 2016
    Please check my site
    So I am an aspiring photographer but I am not fond of altering my photos whatsoever, I was hoping some of you would be willing to go on SmugMug and check them out and let me know what you think.
    https://mackenziehetfield.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-QxQwrBX
  • David_S85David_S85 Administrators Posts: 13,167 moderator
    edited July 11, 2016
    So I am an aspiring photographer but I am not fond of altering my photos whatsoever, I was hoping some of you would be willing to go on SmugMug and check them out and let me know what you think.
    https://mackenziehetfield.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-QxQwrBX

    I don't know what level account you have or what permission options you have to choose from, but the number one 1st thing I would suggest changing is the big "PROOF" watermark that is over every photo and across the new Header. Replace that with a custom watermark, or turn the feature off altogether, and then people can look at the photos themselves and comment on them.
    My Smugmug
    "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
  • LovelyBonesLovelyBones Registered Users Posts: 2 Beginner grinner
    edited July 11, 2016
    David_S85 wrote: »
    I don't know what level account you have or what permission options you have to choose from, but the number one 1st thing I would suggest changing is the big "PROOF" watermark that is over every photo and across the new Header. Replace that with a custom watermark, or turn the feature off altogether, and then people can look at the photos themselves and comment on them.

    I just removed all the watermarks. So I hope you enjoy them now.
  • denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,220 moderator
    edited July 11, 2016
    So I am an aspiring photographer but I am not fond of altering my photos whatsoever, I was hoping some of you would be willing to go on SmugMug and check them out and let me know what you think.
    https://mackenziehetfield.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-QxQwrBX
    If you're serious about wanting feedback I'd suggest selecting one or two photos, placing them in a new thread in one of the "Shots" forums and asking for feedback on those photos. It's a lot to ask for feedback on an entire gallery full of photos.

    For help on posting photos directly in a thread, see How to Embed an Image in Your Post.

    It isn't required that you post-process your photos.

    I took a look at your gallery and I do have some overall feedback.

    Your G+ icon in your header takes the viewer to a google+ login screen. It should take the viewer to your G+ page; you should double check the link you have supplied and make sure it points to your G+.

    I'm surprised that you are showing the smugmug header. You can turn it off by going to Customize... Content and Design... Settings. I would also recommend adding your own header so your viewers can easily see that they are perusing your site.

    Why are you allowing access to the original images? The originals are always used for printing but usually are not made available for viewing. Set the largest size available for viewing to any size smaller than Original. Note that the help page How can I protect my images? includes this warning:
    FYI: SmugMug's right-click protection does not protect an image in non-gallery places such as forums, blogs, or Share emails. To keep your images out of forums and blogs, block external links (see above).

    Right-click protection is a deterrent for image theft, but it shouldn't be considered foolproof. To truly protect your images, lock galleries with a password or apply a watermark and disable your originals.
    I was a bit surprised that all of the photos that I looked at were shot at between f/4 and f/5.6. Why?

    Many of the photos don't have a defined subject. Some have a very tilted horizon. Some are totally out of focus, and some have areas that aren't in focus. Areas out of focus are perfect in some types of photos but when I see a landscape I generally expect the full shot to be in focus.

    One book that I found very helpful when I started working with my first DSLR was Understanding Exposure, by Bryan Peterson. I read it from cover to cover when it arrived, then I immediately started working through chapters with my camera.

    --- Denise
  • TallPhotoGuyTallPhotoGuy Registered Users Posts: 160 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2016
    Feedback on updated site welcome
    Could I get feed back on a few pages of my web site. This is not a commercial site..

    Top level (home) is at:

    https://hewitt.smugmug.com/Tinsley

    Next level down (main) is at:

    https://hewitt.smugmug.com/Tinsley/Tinsley-Main

    Folders are by year and should all be the same. I am using 2014 as a master at:

    https://hewitt.smugmug.com/Tinsley/Tinsley-Main/Tinsley-2014

    Like wise the galleries should all be the same. My master gallery is "Tinsley Aug 2014" at

    https://hewitt.smugmug.com/Tinsley/Tinsley-Main/Tinsley-2014/Tinsley-Aug-2014/

    I am looking for feedback on 4 pages (home, main, folder page, and a gallery) and the light box. Any suggestions and feedback would be much appreciated.
  • Cygnus StudiosCygnus Studios Registered Users Posts: 2,294 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2016
    Could I get feed back on a few pages of my web site. This is not a commercial site..

    I'm not quite getting the point of having a home page and a main page.

    Once the visitor chooses a gallery, they don't have the option of getting back. You force them to go back to either the home or main page.

    "Home" is what most people will hit, then they have to go to main, then to the gallery they want. It's not exactly intuitive.

    My suggestion would be choose either home or main and make that the default page. Then use the breadcrumb to allow visitors to return to the main gallery after viewing images.
    Steve

    Website
  • TallPhotoGuyTallPhotoGuy Registered Users Posts: 160 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2016
    Thanks. I am not a big fan of breadcrumbs. If I get rid of main then I have 20+ folders that get added to the menu on home and then that list gets to be long.
    My thinking was that home has a slideshow and main has all the folder/galleries. Back to top will take me to the top of the gallery. But yes there is no easy way to get back to the list of galleries in the particular folder you are in without having to go to main.
    Its like a book, home is the nice book cover and main is the table of contents at a folder level. You can go back to the table of contents. The thing that is missing is how to easily get back to the view that list the galleries available based on the folder or chapter you are in


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
  • TallPhotoGuyTallPhotoGuy Registered Users Posts: 160 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2016
    I just made a chance. I modified the Menu on the gallery from above and added a "Back" option. Total of 3 options, Home, Main and Back. I might freeze the header as my galleries can be quite large and it may not be obvious on the back to top button


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
  • Cygnus StudiosCygnus Studios Registered Users Posts: 2,294 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2016
    Sometimes those of us want our websites to look and work the way we like it, but sometimes you really need to think about it from the viewers standpoint. You stated that this isn't a commercial website and it seems that you're giving the images away, so maybe this setup works for you.

    If the people visiting your site can find their images, that is the most important thing.
    Steve

    Website
  • picomomentspicomoments Registered Users Posts: 34 Big grins
    edited July 27, 2016
    pmbpro wrote: »
    I finally updated my site and general slideshow: http://www.pmbimages.com/

    I also added an extra section for Film Stills, and a specific slide show for that section too, below the thumbnails. I may end up changing that format; not sure yet.

    http://www.pmbimages.com/Film-Stills/Film-Stills-Home

    I tested the site with a mobile device (an Android tablet), but hopefully it works for others as well.
    Still not a fan of having the breadcrumb gallery name on a second line though, but I guess we're stuck with that.

    If anyone can check out my site and provide any feedback, I'd really appreciate it.

    Thanks! :)

    Hi,

    Your site looks good but I would suggest changing the slideshow from a block to being full bleed. I think it will add more punch.
  • TallPhotoGuyTallPhotoGuy Registered Users Posts: 160 Major grins
    edited July 28, 2016
    Hi,

    Your site looks good but I would suggest changing the slideshow from a block to being full bleed. I think it will add more punch.

    Good feedback. How do I do that. I liken what you have, did you use any custom cos case
  • denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,220 moderator
    edited July 28, 2016
    Thanks. I am not a big fan of breadcrumbs. If I get rid of main then I have 20+ folders that get added to the menu on home and then that list gets to be long.
    My thinking was that home has a slideshow and main has all the folder/galleries. Back to top will take me to the top of the gallery. But yes there is no easy way to get back to the list of galleries in the particular folder you are in without having to go to main.
    I find navigation between the galleries on your site to be unwieldy. It's a shame that you don't like the breadcrumb since it provides an easy way to navigate if the folder and gallery structure of your site is reasonable.
    ...Your site looks good but I would suggest changing the slideshow from a block to being full bleed....
    Good feedback. How do I do that. I like what you have,
    You can change the behavior of your slideshow by changing the Transition setting on the Playback tab of the slideshow content block.

    --- Denise
  • TallPhotoGuyTallPhotoGuy Registered Users Posts: 160 Major grins
    edited July 28, 2016
    I find navigation between the galleries on your site to be unwieldy. It's a shame that you don't like the breadcrumb since it provides an easy way to navigate if the folder and gallery structure of your site is reasonable.

    You can change the behavior of your slideshow by changing the Transition setting on the Playback tab of the slideshow content block.

    --- Denise

    I am not totally against bread crumbs. 90+% of people viewing the galleries are family and friends. 80+% are in the photos and know what is there, i.e. a picture of me wake boarding for the last x years, etc. Keep the design clean, simple and functional. A title, menu and then photos (a folder or gallery) and a light box.

    At the gallery level you can only go 4 places, Home, Main, Folder or back to top. Or to the light box. One folder per year and only 3-5 galleries per folder. Minimize distractions and clutter. I would even get rid of the download option from photos in the gallery. Any downloading, sharing, etc is all done from within the light box.

    Breadcrumbs on my case start to add unnecessary clutter and starts to look like a file system. My 2 cents on the design

    I may be able to combine Home and Main. My 2 cents on my approach,
  • JWatsonJWatson Registered Users Posts: 55 Big grins
    edited August 4, 2016
    Menu and Breadcrumbs
    Hi there,

    I know that you've received lots of feedback already but I thought I'd add my 2 cents as well. As with the other comments, I find the menu navigation to be a bit confusing. If you're open to suggestion, I would use 1 menu for all pages on your site. This would be less confusing to the casual viewer. I would suggest instead of using the word "menu" and then have a drop down, that you simply create a menu bar. Based on what I saw on your site, I would do the following...

    Home | Galleries | Video | Contact | Search

    - The home page would obviously link back to your home page that has the slideshow.
    - Galleries. This could be a drop down link that takes you to the root folder of your galleries, or a specific gallery within the folder. People can drill down from there if need be.
    - Video, Contact and Search can take the user to those pages as well.

    By using this navigation system, people should be able to easily get from one area to another without having to return to the main or home page all the time.

    As well, I read that you're not fond of breadcrumbs. I'm with you on that one! I don't like the look of them at all. That being said, they do provide a quick visual to tell people where they are within your site. On my page, I use CSS to hide all but the current page on the breadcrumb path. This appears to give it more of a label appearance than an actual breadcrumb. Adding a simple line under the breadcumb and now you have a nice title for your page. I know some might not like what I've done, but it works for me. If you're interested you can check it out at www.jasonwatsonphotography.com. You'll need to go to navigate to a page other than the home screen to see it.

    The CSS coding used is:

    /* Change breadcrumb font size */
    .sm-breadcrumb {
    font-size: 50px;
    }

    /* Hide all but last section of breadcrumb */
    .sm-breadcrumb+.sm-breadcrumb::before,
    .sm-breadcrumb a,
    .sm-fonticon-Home:before {
    display: none;
    }

    Good luck with your site. Hope you have fun with it!
    Jason

    I am not totally against bread crumbs. 90+% of people viewing the galleries are family and friends. 80+% are in the photos and know what is there, i.e. a picture of me wake boarding for the last x years, etc. Keep the design clean, simple and functional. A title, menu and then photos (a folder or gallery) and a light box.

    At the gallery level you can only go 4 places, Home, Main, Folder or back to top. Or to the light box. One folder per year and only 3-5 galleries per folder. Minimize distractions and clutter. I would even get rid of the download option from photos in the gallery. Any downloading, sharing, etc is all done from within the light box.

    Breadcrumbs on my case start to add unnecessary clutter and starts to look like a file system. My 2 cents on the design

    I may be able to combine Home and Main. My 2 cents on my approach,
  • jjespjjesp Registered Users Posts: 21 Big grins
    edited August 4, 2016
    Ok, here is my take. Build on the Spartan theme.

    Is it too much with dimmed background images? (Wanted to make it a bit more personal, since many SmugMug sites actually looks the same to me).

    Done a little CSS changes, not much. The Lightbox has now a frame around the actually image. Hopefully this works ok.

    Thanks for looking!

    http://www.janjespersenphotography.dk/
    Jan Jespersen Photography
    http://www.janjespersenphotography.dk
  • denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,220 moderator
    edited August 4, 2016
    jjesp wrote: »
    Is it too much with dimmed background images? (Wanted to make it a bit more personal, since many SmugMug sites actually looks the same to me).

    http://www.janjespersenphotography.dk/
    Overall I like the look of your site. It's clean, and it does a nice job of highlighting your photos.

    I usually don't like background images. That said, the image behind your galleries is dimmed enough that it doesn't draw my eye away from the photos. The same is not true on your "About" page though. On that page I feel like the background image is fighting for my attention; it pulls my eyes away from the text.

    I don't like that opening your blog opens a new browser tab. If I want a new tab I can request it myself.
    The behavior is inconsistent. If I click to your blog from your galleries a new tab is opened. If I click to your galleries from your blog the galleries are opened in the same tab.

    --- Denise
  • jjespjjesp Registered Users Posts: 21 Big grins
    edited August 5, 2016
    Overall I like the look of your site. It's clean, and it does a nice job of highlighting your photos.

    I usually don't like background images. That said, the image behind your galleries is dimmed enough that it doesn't draw my eye away from the photos. The same is not true on your "About" page though. On that page I feel like the background image is fighting for my attention; it pulls my eyes away from the text.

    I don't like that opening your blog opens a new browser tab. If I want a new tab I can request it myself.
    The behavior is inconsistent. If I click to your blog from your galleries a new tab is opened. If I click to your galleries from your blog the galleries are opened in the same tab.

    --- Denise

    Thank you very much Denise! Much appreciated! :-)
    Jan Jespersen Photography
    http://www.janjespersenphotography.dk
  • pmbpropmbpro Registered Users Posts: 236 Major grins
    edited August 5, 2016
    Hi,

    Your site looks good but I would suggest changing the slideshow from a block to being full bleed. I think it will add more punch.


    Hi Picmoments,

    Thanks for your feedback! :)

    I'd initially had my slideshow as a full-screen when I'd changed my layout last year, but I'd found it too overwhelming for what I'd needed, and viewers felt the same (of course I didn't realize that until they told me it was better when I'd changed it back to what it is now). They preferred the Black background providing the contrast around the images.

    I like my menu and logo to show cleanly without any image or slideshow behind them, too.

    Also, not all my images are landscape/wide, so widescreen doesn't look as good with the vertical/portrait images I have to show. I'd made the images larger in size on the page, however. Full widescreen was just too much. If I change my design again, I may revisit the idea.

    Thanks again for your feedback though. Much appreciated. :)
    pmb images
    Film/TV Stills Photography
    "When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt." ~ Henry J. Kaiser
  • elsnabelsnab Registered Users Posts: 2 Beginner grinner
    edited August 9, 2016
    Just redesigned my website based on the Jasper theme: http://thomaselsnab.smugmug.com/

    Anyone know if it's possible to modify the carousel to go in a loop instead of "reversing" to the first image to start over?

    I'd love your input :)

    Thanks,
    Thomas
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