View Full Version : Working on a website - looking for input
Hi all,
I'm working on a website that will primarily display my photos of native reptiles and amphibians I encounter in the field. Since the site is geared towards a specific niche, I figured I'd ask you all.
First, for the home page of the website, do you think it should open up to the gallery with all of my photos? Or do you think there should be a more general home page (maybe with a few teaser pictures), and you would have to navigate to the gallery on the menu.
Second, what are your thoughts on a blog about my herping experiences? It wouldn't be a journal of every outing, but of more significant outings and experiences. Possibly summaries of my month or my past few outings. I'd also include plans for herping trips, target species, etc. It would likely include pictures within blog. Would YOU be interested in reading that? I know that my instagram followers are interested in my herping adventures and seeing photos of my finds, but I'm not sure people would want to read about it.
On a final note, I know that ultimately this stuff may come down to the quality/style of my photos, writing skills, and website design. However, I'm more concerned with thoughts on the overall content for now.
ClockwerkBonnet
11-16-18, 07:05 PM
Rendering; please wait...
I talked with a relative about this just now. He says that whatever is the most important part of the site to you should be what comes up when anyone first opens up the website. If the gallery is most important, put that in the home page; if it's the blog, that goes in the home page. It's all a matter of your tastes in the design of a site.
Furthermore, a blog would be an interesting addition to this project. I don't go out herping very often, but I would like to whenever I get the chance, so it would be great to hear from an experienced person.
Thank you for your input. The site is mainly focused on photos, so I guess I will leave that as the starting point. And I'm glad to hear that you'd be interested in reading about my herping experiences. I will give the whole blogging thing a shot.
If you are interested in checking it out, I will post the url below. Please let me know what you think. Any advice is welcomed as it's still in the early stages and I'm sure it could use some improvements.
https://louisianareptiles.pb.gallery/
ClockwerkBonnet
11-17-18, 11:38 AM
I'm having a lot of trouble trying to describe how impressive it looks at the moment. The effects are an astounding touch, and the gallery is off to a good start. The intro was interesting to read as well.
Thanks! Again, I still have a lot to add. I'd like to touch up the "About Me" page some, and I have plenty of photos to add to the gallery.
I'd like to get all of that set up before starting the blog.
Again, I really do appreciate the feedback!
ClockwerkBonnet
11-17-18, 04:59 PM
No problem, Bandit. Please keep us updated on your progress.
Will do. I'm hoping to really make some progress on it this week. I've asked a few friends to check it out and give me some feedback as well. So there may be some changes coming.
pet_snake_78
11-18-18, 09:37 PM
I would definitely include your herping stories in the blog. Anything interesting about where and how you have found certain animals and such would be good. Also a good way to get interest is to throw some vidoes on youtube with a link back to your site.
I'm glad to hear that! Thank you for the input! I asked a few friends of mine, and there seems to be overall support for a blog. I'm going to go for it, and hopefully have my first post up this week.
I've thought about doing a youtube channel, but I don't know. I agree with you that I think it would be a hit, but I have a hard time doing all of that while I'm actually out herping. I may give it a try though. Just like anyone else, I always enjoy watching videos from the field. I've just never made the jump onto the other side of the camera before.
I'll also be adding some descriptions/captions to the photos this week. While it will contain some sort of basic descriptions of the species, it won't be like your typical field guide descriptions. It will be more so based on my personal experiences with that species.
Alright, so I added my first blog post - more of an introductory post than anything else.
I also added some descriptions next to the photos. Go check it out and let me know what ya'll think!
ClockwerkBonnet
11-19-18, 08:58 PM
Not bad at all! I can't wait to hear the first story.
I'm thinking of eventually making blog posts weekly. However, I may accelerate the first few just to get some content up.
ClockwerkBonnet
11-21-18, 11:34 AM
I just checked out the new website again today. The new design for the home page is interesting.
I just checked out the new website again today. The new design for the home page is interesting.Better? Worse?
Scubadiver59
11-21-18, 02:20 PM
Website looks good for a start...not too flashy, no ads, etc. Thumbs up from me!
Website looks good for a start...not too flashy, no ads, etc. Thumbs up from me!Thank you! I've still got more to add, and I'm sure I'll think of more as I go.
ClockwerkBonnet
11-21-18, 09:23 PM
Better? Worse?
It's not my personal favorite, but if you want it to look like that, I'll accept it. :)
It's not my personal favorite, but if you want it to look like that, I'll accept it. :)Well what's your reasoning? This is new to me, so I want as much feedback/criticism as I can get. Is it
less easy to use? A bad look?
I'm new to this forum and to the reptile world in general, so I am no expert. I think your site is off to a great start, the pictures are great. The only comment I have is your blog post's font is a bit smaller than I would like. Also wondering if you will be planning on using videos from your herping adventures?
I'm new to this forum and to the reptile world in general, so I am no expert. I think your site is off to a great start, the pictures are great. The only comment I have is your blog post's font is a bit smaller than I would like. Also wondering if you will be planning on using videos from your herping adventures?Thank you for your input!
For the font, I will increase the size. I had actually thought about that and debated with myself on whether it was too small or not.
For the videos: I have thought about it. Since starting the site, several people have asked me about that, so it's on my mind. The reason I had never done it before is because of how much time it can take shoot a decent video of a wild animal, and then go back and edit all of the different clips and put together something decent. And also, it cuts into more of my time of actual herping (if I'm trying to get some good video, on top of already trying to get some good photos, then I'm covering less ground, and finding less things). I occasionally post very short video clips on my instagram, such as me releasing a snake. They do generally get more attention than photos, now that I think about it.
I'm thinking I may give it a try and see how it goes. Maybe it won't be as bad as I'm thinking it will be. Again, thank you for the input. It's much appreciated!
ClockwerkBonnet
11-22-18, 02:58 PM
Well what's your reasoning? This is new to me, so I want as much feedback/criticism as I can get. Is it
less easy to use? A bad look?
It looks just fine, really. The sudden change of the home page design just took me by surprise.
I understand. Thank you again for all the input. I'll be adding a few more photos soon. I'm thinking that once I get the photos off of my external hard drive (which is being problematic right now) I may create separate pages for snake photos, lizard photos, etc.
I'll also be adding a new blog post this weekend, probably Sunday, regarding my trip to the Everglades from this past Spring. Saw some really cool herps down there, and I'll be including some photos.
Also, for anyone who is interested, I just added a blog post regarding my trip to the Everglades/South Florida earlier this year. It was an awesome experience, and I figured other enthusiasts would enjoy reading about it.
ClockwerkBonnet
11-25-18, 05:14 PM
That was a pretty interesting story. It meandered just a little bit, but I liked it.
Glad you liked it. And thank you for taking the time to read it.
That was a pretty interesting story. It meandered just a little bit, but I liked it.
I agree, nice blog and good pictures.
Thanks Boz. Glad you enjoyed.
Anyone have suggestions for specific topics that you'd be interested in reading about? Just trying to get a feel for what people are interested in reading about. If course I will be talking about individual outings as they happen, but since its cooler, that will be a little slow for the next couple of months (although not non-existent).
I finally was able to get out and so some proper herping over the weekend, which also means I finally got to make a current herping post, rather than just reminiscing about the past. That's sort of what I was going for with the blog. I'll hopefully be able to get out enough throughout the winter to keep the posts coming with some regularity.
ClockwerkBonnet
12-04-18, 06:40 PM
"Love bites" is the weirdest word combination I have ever heard to date. I can certainly understand the meaning, and you don't have to change it; it's just my opinion.
onlysnake
12-05-18, 11:05 PM
I like what you are trying to do.
I think it needs little work though, let's think what could be improved.
The background is nice, but it's a little bit hard to read the text as it blends in with the background. Maybe you could try to give the container some background?
If it was me, I would probably give the header some background color too since it kinda splits the page into logical sections.
I'll provide an example (far from perfect, but hopefully may give you some inspiration? :) )
https://cdn.pbrd.co/images/HQqrz0V.png
"Love bites" is the weirdest word combination I have ever heard to date. I can certainly understand the meaning, and you don't have to change it; it's just my opinion.Ha! Although I can't exactly remember where I picked up that phrase, it was definitely from a snake keeper. I've heard it thrown around by people from time to time.
I like what you are trying to do.
I think it needs little work though, let's think what could be improved.
The background is nice, but it's a little bit hard to read the text as it blends in with the background. Maybe you could try to give the container some background?
If it was me, I would probably give the header some background color too since it kinda splits the page into logical sections.
I'll provide an example (far from perfect, but hopefully may give you some inspiration? :) )
https://cdn.pbrd.co/images/HQqrz0V.pngThank you for the input! I see what you mean. I will look into how to do that. As I've stated, I'm new to the whole concept of designing a website. It's definitely something I will look into though.
It's been a while since I've posted about this, but I figured I'd share some future plans for the website for those of you who have kept up with it. The focus has sort of shifted towards the blog rather than the photos. This is mainly because I am only allowed so many photos on the site before I have to start paying for it.
So, I am leaning more and more towards paying for an actual web hosting service so that I have a lot more room to do what I want. Particularly, I should have more control over the design and will be allowed to post unlimited photos with no size limits. Here are some things that I will probably do once that happens:
1) Keep the blog, but incorporate a better format for viewing and include more photos with each post. I'll probably incorporate some kind of Q&A section in here as well.
2) A more expansive photo gallery. My goal is to have photos of as many species as I can. I'll probably have one page for Louisiana, and a separate page for reptiles and amphibians that I've seen in other states. I'm thinking of adding videos to this.
3) A page for snake identification. I'd like to make this a quick reference for people unfamiliar with snakes to rule out if the snake is venomous or not. I'd also have a link to send in photos if they don't see that particular species elsewhere on the site (like I have on the current site).
4) A page geared towards captive herps. As you all know, I keep reptiles, although not many. I originally just wanted my site to focus on wild herps, but I have been wanting to show some more love to the reptile keeper community. This page would occasionally feature my pets. I'm thinking of doing a "featured pet" section where people can send in photos/descriptions of their reptiles/amphibians for a chance to be featured on the website. I'm also thinking of writing on common pet topics. This is also a section I would probably have guest writers to speak on topics I may not be as familiar with.
5) Associated social media accounts. Not sure about this one yet, but I'm considering making an instagram account to link to the website. This would be the last thing I do. I'd like to get the website running at its best before focusing on expansion like that.
Let me know what you all think. I'm always appreciative of your ideas and feedback. I'm not planning on putting this into action just yet, but I do plan on making some moves within the next few months. Thanks!
ClockwerkBonnet
04-25-19, 02:00 PM
...
A Q&A SECTION???
What sort of questions would you put in it?
It would be for readers to send in questions, and I'll post them along with my answers. Could be about whatever . . . favorite time of year to herp, how to find rattlesnakes, what go me interested in reptiles, etc. It would be very open ended.
ClockwerkBonnet
04-25-19, 02:15 PM
Oh, OK. That makes perfect sense.
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