I have a new business website I need critiquing....

[Joe]

I have finally got my webpage done. I haven't done a webpage since 1998 or so, but I hope it is a good start for me. I already have one construction client, in what I hope will be a 2-3 year contract. If it is ok with the mods, I would like to post my website up for review. I'll check back tomorrow and see what they say, and if it is ok, I'll post the webaddress for y'all opinion or amusement

 

[Russ Still]

Here are some things to consider:

 

[aerialimagery]

I have finally got my webpage done. I haven't done a webpage since 1998 or so, but I hope it is a good start for me. I already have one construction client, in what I hope will be a 2-3 year contract. If it is ok with the mods, I would like to post my website up for review. I'll check back tomorrow and see what they say, and if it is ok, I'll post the webaddress for y'all opinion or amusement

I would like to see it. I don't think there are any restrictions to posting links to your website.

 

[Joe]

brackinaero.com , still in progress

 

[Joe]

Thank you for the critique! I have been working on the main web part and haven't optimized for mobile, yet. I added some more photos from flying the Christmas lights uptown, last night. I did some more flying today, a few maps for my client, and some pics to add to my portfolio. I need to figure out photoshop/gimp some more

 

[Ilan Yusim]

Hi Joe,

Couple of things to consider:
1. Use a clear headline for the site the reflects your service or value. Preferably with the terms "Drone Photography" or "Aerial Photography".
2. Consider editing the paragraph as it included a lot of text which might not be user-friendly. Use a list format or bulletins.
3. Consider changing the font/colors as they are getting lost in the background image
4. SEO - Make sure to use proper tags for Page Title, H1, H2, page description and alt-text. The word "drone" (and other valuable keywords) should appear more.

I'd be happy to review and help you in the process.

Ilan

 

[Russ Still]

It's not a huge issue, and you're protected by Copyright regardless. But your formatting for the copyright message is wrong. It should say "© Company Name". The copyright has to be owned by some entity, be it you personally or your corporate entity. The © by itself is meaningless.

 

[Joe]

Wow! Thanks, guys! This page was a 'style sheet' from the webhosting I used. I changed/deleted most everything, but somethings like the copyright, I just 'accidentally' forgot to change. I flew 4 batteries Saturday, including the Christmas lights on the hometown Main St, the other evening, and then another 3 on Sunday, just to have a few things for the Portfolio. I am almost out of idea for things to add. I have most of the 'tall things' photographed already...water towers, cell towers, large grain bins...it's pretty flat in my neck of the woods. I am going to try to get a few more shots around the local university, but that will be just for the local flair. I am handing out business cards, and got some really good vibes from a local real estate agent, and another who is a family friend, who came to me to document their personal home construction. Thank you for all the formatting tips,Ilan. I will try to change some things up tonight. I havent made a webpage in over 20 years...this is once again, a new experience.

 

[thecordman]

Hi mate, I'm going to be really direct because I think it is best...I think this is a very poor website and could really hurt your ability to attract customers.


- Use a white background - keep it simple
- Services - Use a drop-down menu and create a page for each service. Bullet point the features of each service. This sort of language "Do you have a personal location that you would like to get a photograph of from above?" is the same as "Aerial Photography". You have to remember something very important. You have to get straight to the point. Instead of asking for work focus on selling your benefits. Also separate it out into sections. If I was looking for a drone wedding photographer there are no wedding photographs. Or the benefits to convince someone that memorable and unique aerial wedding photos are. This also doesn't make any sense "I can get up close and provide you with images or video of your subject." If I was a business why would I want photos? I want photos that can save me money and improve my health and safety policies. Photos are nice. Results are what businesses pay for.
- Portfolio "A few random shots while out flying around" this is a really strange thing to see. People aren't going to pay for 'random shots'. They want once in a lifetime memorable wedding photos, images that can sell their $500,000 house quicker or photos that help prevent engineers from falling to their deaths whilst inspecting water towers. Would you pay for something 'random'?
- The about me page. There is no business experience on this page. It doesn't say "I have helped businesses cut their inspection costs by 60%, or I have photographed over 100 amazing weddings".

My constructive advice...hire someone from Fiverr to make you a website. You could probably get a decent site for $200 whilst this site could lose you tens of thousands in lost sales from potential customers.

I think you need to spend some time listing the reasons WHY someone should hire you and the BENEFITS you offer. When you have a list you should bullet and list these reasons on your site.

I think you also need to be a lot more confident in what you are doing. When you say "and I am hoping to" this doesn't very good. Businesses don't run on hope. They run on results. If someone was having a wedding they want guarantees and assurances. Assurances are the complete opposite to hope. Your site comes across as you have no confidence in what you are doing. Why should someone pay money to someone who doesn't believe they can deliver a quality service. Nobody is going to spend money or time letting you learn how to run a business. It doesn't work like that. You need to instill CONFIDENCE in the customers. Not the other way round. You need to say "I can save your business money and reduce health and safety risks" or "I can take amazing photographs that you will cherish forever" or "I can take high-quality photographs quickly and efficiently which will leave buyers queuing up to buy your house" You need CONFIDENCE and BENEFITS.

I'm not trying to bash you but I think this site needs a huge amount of work or it could really hurt your chances of attracting customers. It currently looks like a hobby site of someone learning to design a website. If your skills aren't web design then find someone who is. This is something that 99% of businesses do. It's completely normal.

You also need testimonials. You need PROOF from previous customers that you can deliver quality services. Testimonials are free and very powerful.

 

[thecordman]

Hi,

I have been thinking about this a bit more and I actually think you should take this site down until you have something much better. Lets say a 100 businesses in your local area visit this site it could leave a very bad first impression and may not come back.

It's a bit like 100 million people going to Amazon.com for the first time and finding a very slow and unhelpful site. They may never go back. You have to make a good first impression. You could just put a simple holding page with your logo and contact details. They actually work better than asking people to be your test bed as you learn how to run a business.

It may sound extremely harsh but I really think it is for the best. 99.99% of all businesses outsource their websites and I think you need to also.

 

[thecordman]

Also, I can't see your logo fully so I am not judging it but you need to make sure logo is interchangeable. It may look great on a website but terrible on a business card on a hi-vis jacket. The logo definitely needs color and you also need to consider the sectors you are targeting. If you are focusing on property and construction then look at the companies you are targeting. It is very important your brand fits into the market you are targeting. It will be far more effective if you do this. If you think weddings are big opportunity then you could have a separate website for this and focus purely on weddings so you brand yourself as the master of this sector in your local area. At the moment you seem to be in middle of lots of sectors at it seems confusing. Being a 'Jack of All Trades' can work but it might be far more effective to laser focus on once niche or sector.

 

[aerialimagery]

In my opinion, as someone who has been an aerial photographer for many years, you need to post some images that are of professional quality. I don't see any images on your website that stand out as being any better than those which could be provided by any drone hobbyist with no photography experience. If you want to provide customers with imagery they can use on a website, in advertisements, or for wall hangings, what you need to be is a "professional photographer." Being a "drone pilot" is not sufficient (with the possible exception of construction progress or roof inspections etc). If you don't have those photography (or video) skills, then you need to work on acquiring them and understand how to produce well-composed images. May I suggest that you give yourself a couple of assignments, as if the property owner hired you, and then access your work honestly and compare it with the work of others? Also, you might practice doing "ground" photography. The principles are the same.

 

[LUIS MARTINEZ]

I have finally got my webpage done. I haven't done a webpage since 1998 or so, but I hope it is a good start for me. I already have one construction client, in what I hope will be a 2-3 year contract. If it is ok with the mods, I would like to post my website up for review. I'll check back tomorrow and see what they say, and if it is ok, I'll post the webaddress for y'all opinion or amusement

Don't agonize over your website, Joe. I will never truly be "done"...Just get out there and pound the pavement. There are tons of drone websites. The marketplace varies with location. Jobs will come in time...
PS- I "opened" for business in 2015, didn't get on the black until 2017....

 

[thecordman]

Don't agonize over your website, Joe. I will never truly be "done"...Just get out there and pound the pavement. There are tons of drone websites. The marketplace varies with location. Jobs will come in time...
PS- I "opened" for business in 2015, didn't get on the black until 2017....

Hi Luis, the link to your website does not work. The link is HTTPS , your website is on HTTP. Has your host changed the secure setting? You may need secure server rerouting. If you have lots of links on the Internet to HTTPS you need to reroute it to HTTP.

Nice website btw

 

[LUIS MARTINEZ]

Fixed. Thank you.

 

[Joe]

You guys are the best. I mean that. Anyone can sugar coat it, but you guys are THE professionals, so your opinion matters more than anyone else's. I don't take the comments as 'harsh', because I asked for an honest opinion, and I agree it needs work. I put it together in less than hour and the last time I put a web page together, I used notepad and raw HTML, over 20 years ago. Not making excuses, just letting y'all know how it was put together. I already have business cards, and they look really good, but the website was put there to have something, anything other than a 'coming soon' or 'under construction' for those asking for a webpage.
I am NOT a professional photographer, but I know a few. I look at their work, ask them questions and take notes. I hope one day to have some amazing work, but **** do I have a long road ahead. What I really am wanting to do is provide the RAW data or photographs to the photographer for a wedding and let them tweak it. I have a full time photographer buddy who I throw a random pic to, and he recommend exposures and apertures and so forth. He says I have an eye for a good pic and we need to work on the rest... I am a work in progress. Positive feedback like this is what keeps me motivated to make it better.
@Luis- I signed a NDA with the company I am doing construction progress photos for. Probably at least once a week maybe up to 3 times a week, possible for the next 3 years. Thats the rumor I hear for the project. I will have a meeting with the bigwigs next week after holidays to define the details. This one, and first 'contract' will put me in the black in just a few weeks. I don't have much invested, but time. Used Phantom 4 Pro, 4 batteries, case, business cards, LLC, insurance, domain register, and as y'all have seen, my webpage designer doesn't make ****. I have 3 realtors so far, that really wants some MLS pics done, but those may be after the new year.
I have a Dr. and a physical therapist I took aerial shot of their houses/business for prints to hang over fireplace type stuff. One I did for free, because he is a good friend of over 10 years, and has a lot of 'contacts' who might like that type of stuff. The other I cut him a really good deal, for the same reasons, but also he has a lake house he wants a panorama of and wants to pay a lot for this summer.
One foot in front of the other and sometimes baby-steps, other times one large leap of faith.

Thank you all for your input, and I hope you all have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving.

 

[thecordman]

You guys are the best. I mean that. Anyone can sugar coat it, but you guys are THE professionals, so your opinion matters more than anyone else's. I don't take the comments as 'harsh', because I asked for an honest opinion, and I agree it needs work. I put it together in less than hour and the last time I put a web page together, I used notepad and raw HTML, over 20 years ago. Not making excuses, just letting y'all know how it was put together. I already have business cards, and they look really good, but the website was put there to have something, anything other than a 'coming soon' or 'under construction' for those asking for a webpage.
I am NOT a professional photographer, but I know a few. I look at their work, ask them questions and take notes. I hope one day to have some amazing work, but **** do I have a long road ahead. What I really am wanting to do is provide the RAW data or photographs to the photographer for a wedding and let them tweak it. I have a full time photographer buddy who I throw a random pic to, and he recommend exposures and apertures and so forth. He says I have an eye for a good pic and we need to work on the rest... I am a work in progress. Positive feedback like this is what keeps me motivated to make it better.
@Luis- I signed a NDA with the company I am doing construction progress photos for. Probably at least once a week maybe up to 3 times a week, possible for the next 3 years. Thats the rumor I hear for the project. I will have a meeting with the bigwigs next week after holidays to define the details. This one, and first 'contract' will put me in the black in just a few weeks. I don't have much invested, but time. Used Phantom 4 Pro, 4 batteries, case, business cards, LLC, insurance, domain register, and as y'all have seen, my webpage designer doesn't make ****. I have 3 realtors so far, that really wants some MLS pics done, but those may be after the new year.
I have a Dr. and a physical therapist I took aerial shot of their houses/business for prints to hang over fireplace type stuff. One I did for free, because he is a good friend of over 10 years, and has a lot of 'contacts' who might like that type of stuff. The other I cut him a really good deal, for the same reasons, but also he has a lake house he wants a panorama of and wants to pay a lot for this summer.
One foot in front of the other and sometimes baby-steps, other times one large leap of faith.

Thank you all for your input, and I hope you all have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving.

Cool!

So your picking up customers. Great going. One very useful thing to do is put customer testimonials on your website. These are free and very POWERFUL. If you go to a website that has customers testimonials it makes a huge impact on your chances of spending money with them.

Have you looked into using Wix.com or Wordpress. I use Wordpress. It has many benefits.

 

[Russ Still]

Your website should be the cornerstone of your marketing plan. Unless someone calls you directly from a referral, it's most likely that their first connection to you will be via your website. It should be absolutely be a "best foot forward" situation. Remember that 20% of your competitors are making 80% of the money. I can promise you that they have good looking websites.

 

[ZipAerial]

I didn't read the replies so forgive me if this has been mentioned.


But I looked at the anatlicts for our website and it was mostly visited by Mobile devices. Phones and Tablets. So make sure your website is optimised for mobile phones and tablets as well as PC.

Just a suggestion.