DIY Websites

[eNZee]

Originally Posted by Jamfke

Hi eNZee, I just checked out your site. The layout and color scheme are simply beautiful. The only thing I'd be worried about is the slow load speed of the site. My internet connection is via cable modem, and the site is opening as if I were on dial-up. Are you posting your images in as low a resolution as possible without sacrificing their quality? Most websites try to keep any images they post at 96 dpi or less to facilitate visitors who may be on dial-up or slow dsl connections.

thanks for the compliment. umm there are still a couple of things i have to work out with the website. its not done. its funny you say that cause im not having problems loading it. i dont know if other people have had that particular issue. i am trying to keep them as low as possible. i usually save them in large web format jpg. but maybe i should make it in small web format. now im a bit concered because i havent even uploaded my portfolio yet.

i'll definately have to look into that

[nowaybrains]

Hi Enzee ...

I have created a photo gallery via Flash please look at www.therainbows.net/photo it is only a demo so it is not the completed version but you should get some sense of what it can do. And more importantly it is more secure than the HTML site what you have. for example anyone could right click and copy a photo from your site.

I have many examples of what could be done if you want to revamp your site. and it is very much less that what you think !!

thanks
Darren

[eNZee]

Originally Posted by nowaybrains

Hi Enzee ...

I have created a photo gallery via Flash please look at www.therainbows.net/photo it is only a demo so it is not the completed version but you should get some sense of what it can do. And more importantly it is more secure than the HTML site what you have. for example anyone could right click and copy a photo from your site.

I have many examples of what could be done if you want to revamp your site. and it is very much less that what you think !!

thanks
Darren

hi darren

from some research that ive done and opinions that people have made here it seems like ALOT of people stay far far far away from flash sites. im a bit skeptical to do my site in flash because of all the negative feedback i see other people get when they have a flash site. i understand the pictures are a bit more protect but like one person told me....the only way to truly protect your pictures is not to put them online period or just take really bad ones. i tag them as much as possible via programs and internal SLR camera setup and i guess thats as far as im going to go. dont get me wrong, what you have looks great, i just dont know if i want to do it for myself.

any other insight people?

[Gobae]

Originally Posted by nowaybrains

And more importantly it is more secure than the HTML site what you have. for example anyone could right click and copy a photo from your site.

Not really, printscreen works just as well. Took less than 1 minute to lift this from your site.

[nowaybrains]

You are right some people like flash some dont .. a completed flash site I designed look at Holiday rental private villas accomodation Golf sunshine tour Montenmedio vejer, barbate costa de la luz, circuito del sol

Personally a photo gallary in flash will look very nice .. flash sites wont work for other subjects...

But if I was you I would avoid photos on your home page - this will load quickly then have your portfolio accessed via button ... which potential clients will expect to wait to load ...

Negative feedback for flash ?? ... people live in the dark ages, dont understand fash or still use 56k modems ! as long as its managed correctly flash can look and feel ok ...

But you could look at Joomla Joomla Templates and phpBB3 Styles - RocketTheme the themes or templates look nice and you do have full control over it ... no deveoper fees to pay ....

Regards
Darren

[Gobae]

Originally Posted by nowaybrains

as long as its managed correctly flash can look and feel ok ...

Therein lies the BIGGEST problem with flash. MOST flash sites, especially those maintained by "non-techies" are not managed correctly.

[nowaybrains]

Going back to protecting your photos ... you could use a watermark created in Photoshop for all gallery pics .. ??

[eNZee]

Originally Posted by nowaybrains

Going back to protecting your photos ... you could use a watermark created in Photoshop for all gallery pics .. ??

i was thinking about that. for now i will leave it because ive been wracking my brain just figuring out this basic stuff but i will be adding watermarks to my photos. does it have to be across the whole picture or can i get away with just putting it in the corner or bottom of the img?

[nowaybrains]

I suppose it is up to you were you want it ... but knowing if anyone wanted to " borrow " your photo then he can still copy if from your site and crop / trim the watermark off ...

Another way is to have thumbnails then the quality is not good when you increase the size .. but thumb nails do not do justice to the photo ...

But looking at a photo with a watermark straight through the middle does not look good either ...

I have the same problem because I'm designing a site at the moment where amongst other things I would like to sell photos ... all royalties will go to the photographers but I need to police it ... who will pay for it if they can borrow it ? its the macs and screen prints thats the killer ... but I'm working on it ...

[hectorp]

Unfortunately you're never going to stop people stealing your intellectual property if they REALLY want it. If they can see it (on a web page), they can steal it - as Gobae has demonstrated! You'll see the big stock photo sites only let you see the images in lower resolution and watermarked. They have the money and resources and this is all they do!

Preventing theft can become an obsession. Trust me, its not worth the lost sleep. If you come across someone using your images on the web, rather than getting your lawyer write a cease and desist letter, you could make them an offer to continue using the image. It's usually a lazy web designer who stole the image in the first place, they'd probably rather pay you a few bucks than have to go looking for a replacement image!!!