(Re)building Your Photography Website

Creating a website can be daunting, especially if it's an existing site that needs to be redesigned. As a photographer, your website is your online portfolio, a showcase for your art, but also and above all an essential tool for attracting customers. Let's take a look at some of the key elements that can make or break your photography website.

The crucial role of color

Who would dare marry brown with blue, or neon green with dark brown? Colors are more than just aesthetics; they must offer a visual balance, a harmony that will influence the perception of your visitors. What's more, a color palette can easily become a kind of visual signature and an integral part of your brand identity. So, when choosing the colors for your site, try to :

• Reflect your style

• Evoke emotions

• Enhance legibility

The power of images: much more than pretty pixels stitched together

As a photographer, you certainly understand the importance of images. However, it's essential to remember that the images on your website have a dual purpose: aesthetic appeal and SEO... I forgot, also to show off your work, but that's a whole other subject.

• Optimize image files: Compress images without compromising quality to improve loading speed. Search engines, Google included, favor websites with fast loading times.

• Descriptive file names: Use descriptive file names (for example, “wedding-photography-couple.jpg”) to help search engines understand the image content... Forget names like toto1.jpg and azerty.png.

• Alt text: Provide detailed alt text for each image. Not only does this help visually impaired users, it also helps search engines index your images and, at the same time, bring up your site.

SEO: Your website's unsung hero

You've got great photos, your site is worthy of being displayed in the Louvre, but you're missing the essential: SEO! Search engine optimization (SEO) is the key to getting your website discovered. By optimizing your site for search engines, you increase your chances of appearing at the top of the list in search results - and, between us, who doesn't like being at the top of the list?

• Keywords: Each page must have its own keywords, some recommend a maximum of 3 per page, that's what I do personally, choose relevant keywords, make them stand out in the text accompanying your site, in the header (h1) of your page but also in the meta description and... Keywords.

• Mobile optimization: Most Internet traffic is mobile, except for old dinosaurs like me. Make sure your website design is mobile-friendly. Google prioritizes mobile indexing, which is why responsive design is so important.

• Page speed: Optimize images. Frankly, having a 4000x3000 image at 300dpi on your home page is... suicidal.

• Internal links: Link related pages on your website to help search engines understand your site's structure.

Put action at the heart of your site:

It's vital to have calls to action, the primary purpose of your site is to land new clients, so whether you're a wedding photographer, corpo photographer or other, think about having a feedback form and invite your visitors to contact you!

Building a solid foundation

I've shared with you here a few basic elements that remain essential and are all too often forgotten. Remember, showcasing your talent is great, but selling it and getting the satisfaction of making beautiful things is even better! Take the time to think about your site's structure and content, and constantly analyze its performance. That way, you'll be well on your way to creating a stunning and successful online presence.