First impressions matter and this has never been more important for your business than with your website. With over 1 billion websites on the internet, standing out among competitors can be difficult.

With so many photography websites all over the Internet, how do you build a website design that helps you rise above the competition? It all starts with a well-designed website, the forefront of your business and the first point of contact for prospective clients. An excellently designed website is a major factor to success in your photography business.

 

To make a great first impression, here are 12 must-have website features:

 

1. Minimalist Design

 

Give emphasis to the essentials and remove the excess. Websites designed with white space allow the viewer to focus on the site’s content and leads to more interaction. Whitespace is the fundamental base to a functioning web design.

 

2. Easy Navigation

 


Menu design is one of the most important design features on a website and is oftentimes one of the most overlooked. More than 80% of users leave a site if it’s too complicated to find the information they’re looking for. Keep main navigation menu items to a maximum of 7, and place it in a highly visible location. Simple and effective menu design also leads to better site rankings for Google and SEO.

 

3. Images

 

Visual content is important and even more so for photographers. Image galleries should focus on quality over quantity and showcase your best photographs, not every picture taken. Portfolio galleries should have clean presentation and easy to use controls for simple gallery browsing.

 

4. Brand Voice

 

One of the biggest mistakes photographers make on their website is insufficient brand voice. Who are you? What do you offer? What makes you better than your competition? These are all questions you should ask yourself when designing your website and building your brand as part of your digital marketing strategy.

 

5. Amazing About Us Page

 

One of the most visited pages on any website is the about you page. Writing the perfect pitch is difficult and will involve some serious time. When writing the copy, showcase your personality. About you pages that show humor, engage readers longer and lead to more bookings. Don’t forget to include any awards or notable projects you’ve worked on.

 

6. Effective Contact Us Page

 

No matter what industry you’re in, having an effective contact page is important. Create an easy to use form and avoid having too many fields for users to fill out. Other information to include on your contact page: street address, phone number, email, and social media links.

 

7. Blog

 

As social media continues to change blogging has become more important than ever. Regularly publishing blog posts not only helps you in increasing your SEO ranking but it also showcases your projects and creates a more personal connection between you and your audience. It's an important part of your content marketing strategy.

 

8. Branding

 

To have a brand that stands out you need a website with cohesive branding. Branding goes beyond just creating a logo to identify your business. Showcase images that reflect your brand and are consistent intones. Before starting your website, define your business’s branding.

 

9. Customized Site Design

 

A customized website sets you apart from the competition and creates a unique website user experience, needed to stand out. With website designs advancing, designers continue to push the envelope building a more exciting and engaging web experience. FolioWebsites can create a customized website for your business in days. Ask us how to get started!

 

10. Fast Load Speed

 

Fast and error-free loading is important. Monitor your site performance, invest in a quality hosting provider, and remove any broken links.

 

Test your websites mobile speed.

 

11. Mobile-responsive design

 

As mobile browsing becomes more mainstream, it’s important that your website properly adjusts to any screen size. With Folio Websites, you can use dedicated settings to control the look and design of your website to match your brand’s voice on both mobile and desktop appearance. Having a website that doesn’t have mobile capabilities will lower your websites Google ranking.

 

Check to see if your website is mobile friendly.

 

12. Effective SEO

 

The first part of websites is the design. Next you need people to find your business, and how are you going to do that? With Search Engine Optimization or in short - SEO. Most photographers tend to not understand the basics of SEO and therefore don’t do anything. To rank on the first page for Google, you will need to work on both your on-site (e.g. keywords, image captions, headers, etc.) and off-site (e.g. backlink strategy, social media, etc.) SEO.

 

Here are 4 easy steps to start SEO on your website.

 

Having a well-designed website is crucial for scaling up your business. It’s important to continually stand out and review your site to make sure it’s up-to-date and has the latest industry features. Don’t have a website yet? Then check out FolioWebsites. We have attractive themes, fully customized templates, powerful SEO tools, and more!