Kali
Member
I am needing to build a new website for my husband's video/photography business. Right now we use Wordpress.com and it's quite boring to tell the truth. I know of easy-to-build and use websites for photography businesses, but what about for video businesses? Something that I can just edit without Dreamweaver or code that looks professional and nice.
Thank you,
EarlC
Moderator
I am surprised, Kali, that you find WordPress, with its multitude of 3rd party and other plugins boring. I assume you are referring, however, to the very basic feature set of the initial software download. Thanks to another active member here, Heidi, who will, I'm sure, eventually pipe in, I've began researching into using WP to broaden the scope and eCommerce as well as other aspects of my wide-ranging video businesses and branding efforts.
Heidi recently featured a four-part series on WP at my video production and marketing blogsite, E.C. Come, E.C. Go and is also working on a tutorial that holds GREAT promise for those seeking to expand their WP knowledge and application.
Another reason I am surprised is that so many folks I know in the business are utilizing WP and they're finding ways to conduct many aspects of their business, and creating websites that don't all scream "I was built by WordPress!" unlike many of the template developing sites out there slamming eyeballs with all that splash page and Flash intro stuff, making the information they're attempting to provide almost a treasure hunt, like hunting for Easter eggs in software or inside the cases of computers.
On the other hand, although it is limited in ways, but also expandable using 3rd party software, and unfortunately Mac only, I've been pleased with the amount of creative application I've been able to acquire using iWeb - part of the Apple O.S. set of programs called iLife.
Back to WordPress, I am not at all intimately knowledgeable of the program but have already found plugins that will allow me to establish a forum as I want, continue the blog capabilities beyond WP's, provide eCommerce abilities and on-site shopping elements, feature video samples and enable a decent live chat environment.
I am NOT a programmer and do not know language beyond a few raid and rip code things I try and experiment with, so WP and iWeb have really helped me keep something decent on the Web for my businesses.
My currently active websites are corelannVideo.com and videostorytellers.com I have others in progress but not active yet.
hmueller
Member
Hi Kali
You are right, wordpress.com is boring. One could argue that that is exactly why it is good for business websites. Unless you are a web designer and want to show off your web design prowess, most business websites do better with a clean look and clear, predictable navigation - all aspects that clients appreciate.
WordPress.com was not intended for business websites. As it hosts many people's blogs, the developers have wisely restricted the number of themes that you can use, and how much you can customise your blog. However, with judicial use of images, video and the sidebar widgets, you can nevertheless make a wordpress.com website quite attractive.
That said, most businesses opt for self-hosted WordPress-based websites as that allows for much more custimization and branding, and additional functionality using plugins (not available in wordpress.com). Before you can effectively use a self-hosted site, you have to accept that there is a ateep learning curve! The good news is that you don't have to know everything, you can learn as you go. Good learning resources are http://www.lynda.com and http://www.byobwebsite.com
Heidi
For
PJ McConnell
Member
As half of the internet is controlled by google anyways, Google Sites is an excellent website tool that gives you professional looking websites pretty simply.
First of all it is all internet based and free, so right off the bat it might not give you everything you need. But if you do decide to, all you need to do is get a google email account, build a site by choosing a template, and then make it your own by customizing it.
At the very least it's worth trying out
XTR-91
Member
Have you tried wix.com?
micjayger
Member
The video Production websites that I have built seem to work pretty well! I use Yola.com its fast and easy and still looks great! Here are my websites if you want to take a look to see if you like it!
http://www.DryfireProductions.com
the other websites are listed on this one!
signmax
Member
Hi All.
Try to download Website Maker demo from http://www.xara.com and you can start tomorrow using template included in the demo. Your leraning curve depend only to read the document demo 5 page and play with the software. You need a free website just play with http://www.magix.com cost nothing to learn and experiment.
Pay nothing do it yourself your work and your website and you control all your activities. With the money you save buy a good camera, mic and training DVD if you need it.
Regards,
Yvon
SteveMann
Member
Check out Wysiwyg Web Builder.
Kris Simmons
Member
I purchase very cool WP themes at http://www.themeforest.com. There should be a lot of themes there that will get you excited about using Wordpress again. Good luck!
---------
Kris Simmons
Founder - http://www.mindyourvideobusiness.com
Owner - http://www.6strongmedia.com
gilles007
Member
I agree. Although I'm not a WP die-hard, I've build sites using WP and, as Kris mentioned, used some very cool themes from places such as themeforest in a successful way,
My favourite platform is Joomla. "typically" WP is best for a blogging site, Joomla for a website. Having said that, you need a bit more technical savvy for Joomla.
my bottom line: for a simple website, have another look at WP, poke around some reputable theme creators and you may change your mind.
Good luck!
Gilles
http://www.TheWisdomSpeakers.com
micjayger
Member
Word Press is good but there are lots of other ones I have used that are free also. webs is a good one that allows you to set up a membership. Its a good way to make some money with a paid membership site. http://www.dryfireproductions.com
peachydingo
Member
Is Joomla best for a combined photo AND video site?
EarlC
Moderator
Everyone has an opinion, Peachy, and mine is that WordPress can address ALL my website development needs. I am in the planning stages of a host of WP websites all interlinked, all with GREAT SEO elements and all the capabilities I will ever need for photo, video and ecommerce activities. I am a ways away from implementing these but will be doing a report/article, of course, after I get it done. I've also come across an excellent series of tutorial videos that have answered all the questions I had regarding use and implementation of WP websites.
doublehamm
Member
I use wix with no problem at all
Raian Vo
Member
It depends on the business. If I want a photographer or videographer for my wedding and I'm gonna spend thousands of dollars, I would not hired people using WP because it just doesn't scream professional. If you're charging 4k or so for your service, you can't put up $15 or so for web hosting and designing a more professional website. You are providing professional service, you need to show professionalism not just through you work but all the other details as well.
EarlC
Moderator
WP websites do not have to LOOK like multi-thousand-dollar designer sites. And even at $4K wedding video producers or photographers aren't making enough to warrant spending that much money on a website.
It's the information offered, the ease of navigation and the quality of the samples, not the Flash intros and other "edutainment" content, but the FACTs contained and easily found on a website. That, my friend, makes WP an ideal program for website development for ANY independent business bringing in up to $100,000 a year.
The ability to customize a WP site beyond the look-alike templates and styles is awesome, and the ease of use, extensive documentation, make it a optimum choice for your average business operation., and an outstanding creative possibility for above average creative types.
Spending money, or how much money is spent, isn't always indicative of a service or business quality, ability or credibility. WP can be manipulated to a high level/degree of aesthetics without carrying caviar costs. And, sad to say, many of the OTHER sites out there costing many hundreds of dollars begin to take on a similar look if you explore sites long enough.
Clients/customers aren't THAT interested in the "snooty" value of our resources, only in the quality of our products and service; affordability for those on a budget, and product/service quality for those with a large amount of discretionary cash.
TheDVshow
Member
Here we go talking about the tools again....
It's the content you put on a website that matter regardless of what tool you use. You could have a whiz bang, full blown webdesign suite but if you're not including what matters most to your visitor your site is dead in the water.
We had a live webinar a few months back speaking about this very subject and may have it again because most video business websites just miss the mark.
SteveMann
Member
Raian Vo said: "I would not hired people using WP because it just doesn't scream professional."
Show us yours.
You just joined a week ago to criticize the tool, and ignore the content? I've seen some pretty darned well-done sites using nothing more than a text editor, and an awful lot of crap generated with Dreamweaver and other PRO tools costing several hundred dollars.
The amateur is the one who who blames the tool, not the one using it.
MediaFish
Member
Raian Vo said: "I would not hired people using WP because it just doesn't scream professional."
Hmmm...
I don't use WP -I use Godaddy.com and their Website Tonight product and before that Notepad. If you go to my website you will see it isn't much but to suggest I am not professional because something about my website is well hmmmm ah WRONG.... Most likely if you did call me I would pass on doing business with you. I have more work than I can handle generated from my website, from word of mouth, direct marketing and from many other forms\sources. To even suggest that an individual is not a professional because of their website is built\maintained with WP is just ridiculous. All it really says is that individual has different priorities on how to spend their marketing dollars. People put their efforts\resources in the areas that work best for them in generating business. Some of us, myself included, only have a website because we need to check a box. I do not put my work where it is publicly accessible. If an agreement is reach on project terms I provide a log in where the user can view my work and or the work I do for them. It really is not the fact an individual is using WP, Website Tonight or a dozen other out of the box website creation tools - what matters is how they use those tools and resources that best fits their need. What makes you a professional has nothing to do with your website or what it was created with.
And by the way, $4k for video services of wedding is good pay for a wedding however, my website has generated projects 5 to 10 times that amount and the tool I used to create it was free and part of the hosting plan.
blue REV media
Member
I would suggest you go with a professional to create your website.
Our primary business is wedding videography and the same advice we give our clients applies to our own practices: Hire professionals to do a professional job.
We have a contracted part-time employee that handles all of our online content and development. He used word press as the foundation for our site but as you can see he did a great job of making it pop. Word Press can be used by an amature with a website connection just the same as a camera can be turned on by a monkey... if you are a professional company, hire professional help.
here is our site:
birdcat
Moderator
Glen Elliott (http://www.gmelliottvideo.com), whom I personally consider the best wedding videographer in the business, has a good but not screaming website (no other videographer has made me cry tears of pure joy watching a strangers wedding).
If you judge his video skills by the site you will be missing out on much. If you take the time to watch his samples, you will learn much and be enthralled by his talent. (I have been following Glen for years - some of his best video is no longer online).
A website is not a direct reflection on the video talent of anybody, but rather how much time and/or money they are willing to devote to this one avenue of advertising or how much of a geek they (me) are. When I was living on Staten Island, there was a local event guy who had a local cable access show every week that showed his (mediocre) skills - Should that impress me? It didn't. I think that a persons work in their area of expertise should be the criteria for how you judge a person's ability in that area, not advertising.
MediaFish
Member
birdcat - "I think that a persons work in their area of expertise should be the
criteria for how you judge a person's ability in that area, not
advertising." Well said.
WSanford
Member
I don't think Raian Vo ment it the way it was taken. WP sites in general do get some what of a cookie cutter look to them. Not everyone is buying custom templates for them of putting that much time into them to give them an individual feel or look. Some can do some awesome work in WP but for the most part that is not what we see and associate with WP. We are also not the only ones judging WP sites that way, our customer is as well.
I've been busting my rear on websites for a few years and for the last two I have been working with HTML5 a lot. I know HTML5 is a ways out for website function in most browsers but the mobile scene is something I think I need to pay attention to. When I hand someone a business card I do want them to be able to pull it up on a smart phone or tablet and show it to their friends. Really I think thats the way to go and going to be the ticket down the road.
The funny thing is I've wound up spending my down time building some websites when I'm not working on video to keep working, so much that I still haven't finished my site. Some business I've delt with are fine for WP, and some fine for Front End, some need something like Dreamweaver. Its more like the right tool for the job I guess but there are some limitations to some tools that are something the customer can see and judge us by.
"I think that a persons work in their area of expertise should be the
criteria for how you judge a person's ability in that area, not
advertising."
I wish that were true but I have to respectfully disagree. The point of advertising is to show your work and how well you do that does reflect on you, best foot forward and all that.
birdcat
Moderator
Don't misunderstand, I am not against advertising - Quite the opposite. Earl has made some fantastic suggestions pertaining to that aspect of business. What I caution others about is believing the hype that any Tom, Dick or Harry can buy from a good copy writer. If you're in the market for anything, do your research and walk past the advertising statements and look at samples of what you're buying.
A good case in point, I have recently been trying to find an arranger to work on a song I wrote (lyrics & melody). In my ad I asked repeatedly for samples in the genre I wrote (ballad) and it amazed me how many responded with samples of rap/hip hop/jazz, etc... if anything at all - most just told me how great they were and how I wouldn't be disappointed if I chose them. Just how remiss would I be to waste any time or money on anyone who couldn't send me an example of their work in the area I was interested in.
As I said, advertising can and should be used to grab attention, but then be prepared to back it up.
EarlC
Moderator
Another example: I wear t-shirts I design that are nothing more than walking billboards. They have a message: "What's YOUR Story?" "Everybody has a story!" "Stories Make You Immortal!" on the front and you can see me coming a block away. When you turn to read the back it has my website.
These are simply hot-press transfer t-shirts, not screen printed, or embroidered or some other elite or top-drawer style or material that reflects how professional I am. When they start looking bad after a few visits to the laundry, I replace them with new, fresh ones. It's the message! Not the style or quality, well beyond using a 50-50 cotton blend, that is.
I wouldn't expect to create an overwhelming response to my professional services by driving up in a beat-up, rusted, filthy, piece of junk with no muffler either, but the customers I seek wouldn't be THAT impressed to see me pull up in a Rolls Royce or Lamborghini either ...
... well, OK, maybe THAT would impress some of them. I can't help but believe, however, that they might also wonder how much I'm overcharging them to make the payments on those status symbols. On the other hand, a nice, clean, well-maintained vehicle of any size, shape or description, model or make between the two extremes will do quite nicely, thank you very much.
And it's the same with websites. In many cases most of my customers or website visitors wouldn't know a $10K or $20K website from a well-produced, intelligently and creatively developed website generated from ANY of several programs ranging from free to $1K, professional or talented amateur, if it slapped them upside the head.
My customers and visitors WANT information. They want it easy to navigate and simple to understand. They want to know who I am, where I am, what products and services I offer, and how much it's going to cost them. They're NOT seeking spit and polish, overactive animation, eye candy or entertainment ... just quick and easy, simple information.
I might buy something that is awesomely packaged but I have to say that once I discover that awesome packaging is the only quality aspect of it, or its contents, future such packaging will only serve as advance warning to avoid going there, and I'll point this out to others as well. Poop wrapped in high-dollar materials from Neiman Marcus remains poop.
birdcat
Moderator
Poop wrapped in high-dollar materials from Neiman Marcus remains poop.
Amen!
Tony Segreto
Member
<<<
Our primary business is wedding videography and the same advice we give our clients applies to our own practices: Hire professionals to do a professional job.
We have a contracted part-time employee that handles all of our online content and development.  He used word press as the foundation for our site but as you can see he did a great job of making it pop.  Word Press can be used by an amature with a website connection just the same as a camera can be turned on by a monkey... if you are a professional company, hire professional help.
>>>
I think these guys have the right idea. After several years I have found that doing my own website/blogging/SEO has worked great, but now it is time for me to make the decision as a professional that I should have a professional be doing my website. 82% of buyers (clients) research online what they are going to buy. I want new clients coming to my website and thinking "Wow, this is fantastic, these guys are professional and have a high quality standard." I want everything regarding my company to convey that. Especially my web site.
I think Wordpress or any CMS is a good investment for your business. Content Management Systems like Wordpress make your website look clean and efficient (good Wordpress sites) and make things easy to find and navigate. Also the benefits of a CMS system are really seen in how easy it is to modify/change your template as well as in how search engines crawl your site. The CMS allows your pages to be crawled much more efficiently; search engines love them.
Here is pretty nice template site I've found for Wordpress http://themetrust.com/ It goes to show that not all Wordpress sites are created equal :)
Here is my site which is partially Wordpress
Good Luck
-Tony
EarlC
Moderator
Content before delivery.
Tony Segreto
Member
I agree with you EarlC. The website is just a vehicle to deliver your content, and shouldn't be misleading or distracting from your content at all. Though I do think that the delivery of your content should be on the same quality level as your content.
I was thinking about this the other day actually, and I can you your car analogy here. I saw a beat up, bumper crunched, rusty, maroon colored 1994 Stanza (no offense to anyone, its just to prove a point ;) in a parking lot. On the back of the trunk was a big bumper sticker that said "Blahblah Graphic Design" "Call now for a quote!" then the number.
I couldn't help thinking, "Man, I would never call that person from looking at that bumper sticker!" I guess you always have to find the happy medium with advertising and what works for you.
Bah, Im getting off topic... but hopefully a little relevant still =)
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