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Customer
Preparation
Below are some tips on preparing for
a new web site.
Digital Images of your work
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If you are providing images of
work to get the best results get a cheap tripod for your camera, slightly
zoom the lens and use the timer delay. This will ensure a shake free
picture. I will require .jpeg format. (The automatic default format
of most cameras) In an ideal world you rename the image file as the text you
want underneath each picture....but don't worry if you do not know how to
do this. You do not have to do all of the above, but it does produce
reasonable results even if you have a low specification digital camera.
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Take the photograph of the work
(before covering with glass) out of doors and in the shade with no direct
sunlight……preferably before varnishing if an oil painting.
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I would like you to crop
the images before sending them to me. However talk to me if this is a
problem.
Thinking about web site design
Below is a list of some of the
things I will want to discuss with you before building a web site. It is a joint
process and the site will change as it goes along, but good preparation will
give you better result.
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Look at other artist’s web
sites, and think about what appeals to you. How easy it was to use and did
it reflect the artists work?
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Decide on background colour,
font and other colours
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Work out what pages and headings
you would like. (This is a key decision for me to start with.) Especially
how you are going to subdivide your work.
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Font type…. But remember to pick
one that can be used on all computers. Having studied this subject with a
number of customers ‘Arial’ appears to have a lot going for it, easy to read
& looks good on a screen.
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Decide on what work you want
included that corresponds with a list of titles and sizes.
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The average time people visit a
web page is 6.5 seconds. So keep text concise and to the point.
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Decide on what contact
information you want…..I put e mail’s in ‘script’ so they can not be picked
up by ‘spaming’ search engines.
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On my web sites so far I have
put the copyright & image information as a link at the bottom left hand side
of the page. Decide what is right for you and what words you want.
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Pick the images you want and
decide how many small images you want on a row and what sort of ‘white
space’ you want around them. Also the size of the enlarged image, there are
copying verses visibility issues to consider.
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If you require images other than
your work, such as a picture of yourself please have this ready with the images of
your work. I can take pictures of artists and their studios, as long
as you live locally to myself.....at no extra cost.
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If you do not have a domain name
consider what you might like…there is a lot to be said for one word
combining your first and last names. I can check availability for you as
well as deal with its purchase.
I hope the above list helps, it is
not definitive, but covers most of the items I will want to discuss with you.
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