I just published my website recently and would like some feedback. I know it's a little rough currently, but it will be a constant work in progress.
www.enchantedsounddj.com
www.enchantedsounddj.com
New website
- Thread starter Enchanted Sound
- Start date
Doesn't seem to have any info... no pricing... nothing about you... nothing about what services you offer/addons. I know you said it's rough right now... but it doesn't seem like there's much else to critique. You have stock photos combined with really really low quality photos. So I guess if one critique had to be made... ONLY USE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS! You have no idea how much one bases the quality of a service by the quality of the photos they use. I'm certain each of those weddings you did had a professional photographer... reach out to them... either that or invest a content creator (like a photography student) with you to every event to capture things in higher quality (not a phone).
Those were actually taken with a digital camera. I have reached out to the photographers but they never responded for some reason, I even offered to pay for the photos. I will consider hiring a photography student. As for the pricing, I am working on adding that soon. Thank you for the input.
Do you only play "Old school" music?
That segment of your website seems to indicate that if I wanted something else that you're not the guy. If those are the only gigs you want, then this is perfect.
All of the photos looks very clubby on the main part of the page, but when I get to your gallery it looks like you do a lot of weddings. If that's the case I would swap the photos up top for stuff that doesn't look as club or DJ-effect-light centric.
If you need to stick with stock photos, maybe more stuff like this: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/valmiera-latvia-july-7-2023-bride-2423182503 instead of dark smoky club looking photos or the one of the truss.
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I know these thing might be hard to hear, but they are the very honest options from people I would call experts in this industry. A bad website is worse than no website
The point is, they should be done by someone that knows how to handle a professional camera, create artisitc and captivating images, and know how to edit them appropriately. The communication is key. A friend of mine, bc he doesn't have his own content creator, reaches out to every photog before the event (he collects all vendor info prior to the event just in case its needed) and introduces himself and asks when the teaser gallery is complete if they don't mind sharing the link with him so he can share the photos and tag/give credit to them. These are the type of photos one should be aiming for (captured by a professional)
I'm still in contact with a some of the couples I did weddings for. I could ask them if they would be willing to share some of their photos. Thank you all for the advice. I'm not taking anything personally, I asked for input knowing that I will have things to improve, which is why I asked. I will start making changes this weekend, and please don't stop the input.
I made some changes to the site. Made it brighter, changed the pictures, and added a base price as well as a little about me. I hope it looks a bit better than before. I'm hoping that I can get professional pictures and video to start adding to the site as I hopefully get more business.
What I noticed was there was wording mixed in with the photos and it was difficult to read the words. The lettering was very light which made it hard to read.
One more thing. You said give you a call. It should have said contact me for a consultation. Some people don't mind calling and yet others may not want to call. They may want to email or text you leaving more than one way for them to have a conversation with you.
A photographer isn't going to sell you photos from someone's event for you to use commercially. That was not part of the contract with the original client, and they don't wan that liability or reputation.
You'll also can't bring a photographer of your own to someone's private event without their exclusive consent, and a contract of your own. Also, anyone who ends up in the background of one of your published photos without consent has grounds to sue you once you use such a photo online commercially. While people expect their likeness may show up on social media they do not expect that attending a private event such as a wedding will land their image on The Knot or in the pages of some Wedding magazine, let alone your business website.
Advertising is not like Facebook. Your website is not social media - it requires a model release or equivalent consent to use the likeness of people in the photo for commercial purposes. This is why DJ websites typically have pictures of empty rooms and their general setup, rather than live event photos. It's a lot of work to get those permissions from clients who are essentially strangers when they hire you.
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It looks 1000X better from your original version. A couple additional thoughts...
I think it is important to add a photo, or perhaps eventually a video, of yourself. At the end of the day, the only thing that separates your DJ service from any other is you. So you need to be reflected on the page as much as "DJ services" do. A small bio line and a head shot would go a long way to adding your personality to the page.
This is minor - but I would remove the "Give us Feedback" form. The website should be 100% about taking someone that is looking for a DJ and turning them into a lead and then customer. It's at the bottom so it's not a huge problem, but I don't think you need it.
Keep in mind that a website is a lot like a business card. It doesn't do you any good to have one if people aren't making their way to it. So I would start figuring out how to drive traffic to the website itself and network with the folks you need to network with. My business revolves around working with some great wedding planners that send me the majority of my work. You need to start introducing yourselves to that community and getting to know those people.
I'll definitely do that, thank you for the advice. I will also remove the feedback section as you suggested. As far as networking in my area, I'll have to dig more into that. I might have to crash the next wedding expo and try that way.
Wedding expo would be one way. Another would just be to look up wedding planners locally and send an introductory note.
You don't need a ton of hits here if you reach out to referral sources. So if you have the budget to send a small gift - that would get a lot of attention. Think about how likely you would be to open a box that showed up at your door versus just a flyer or an email that hits your spam folder.
You could send a cookie with a note that says "I hope you're having a sweet wedding season - could we grab a coffee when you get a break?" Even a great cookie and small package would cost less than $5-10 each and gives you almost 100% chance of getting noticed. They won't all turn into meetings, but I'd bet you get responses. It doesn't have to be expensive to be effective.
You sir, are brilliant. I never thought about doing something like that, and I know I can get cookies from Carolina cookie co. Those usually go over well.
Situational ethics is largely a self-solving issue.
The damages are statutory. There are lawyers whose sole responsibility is to find easy swift paydays from misused online
images.
What about the part about the lettering mixed in with the photos not being easy to read? Is there a revised site?
How about you show us your amazing website before you comment
I don't have one. I just noticed that the lettering mixed in with the photos was tough to read from the site I saw. Do keep in mind some people who will be looking at the site might already have a difficult time seeing letters and making it difficult for them to read. From what I remember what I saw, it wasn't that bad looking.