However, there is another necessary item in today’s high-tech world. After finally getting your business going, who has time to understand all the jargon of HTML, hyperlinks, ISP’s, servers, Flash animation, uploading, downloading, and FTP? I mean, just when you think you’ve got it all down, there’s another technological marvel we photographers have to embrace to keep up with the business world.

I guess I was lucky. I got in early and cheap. When I thought websites were going to be big, I was just beginning to work with digital files, and was always looking at websites that had pictures on them. Yes, they loaded very slowly at the time of early ‘dial up’ connections. There was much talk of bandwidth increasing, so I had a feeling photographers would soon be another business model needing the internet to promote their work.

Most all designers were using computers and viewing low resolution or FPO (for position only) files for their Quark layouts. I figured it was only a matter of time before we’d all be showing our work online, posting and emailing, and, of course, eventually shooting digitally. Using websites and high resolution files would soon become an integral part of our industry. Even print portfolios would be dismissed over electronic portfolios to be viewed online.

I was lucky because not many people were creating sites 10 years ago, but I happened to find a student who used my business as a school project to learn HTML code and web development. I had to wait a year before it actually went live, but I saved a bit and learned a lot. It surely helped my business at the time, and since then I’ve had two more redesigns done by graphic designers and techies. It’s crucial for almost every business to have website now, whether it’s for the creative display of your work, a searchable database of your inventory, or simply a blog. But do you have to hire a designer and a web developer?

As I said to a friend of mine who asked for a freelance web developer to redo his basic site, “ A good graphic designer probably doesn’t know how to develop a site, and a good web developer probably doesn’t know good design.” So what do you do? My last website update was completed via the purchase of a template, which I think is going to be the way for many businesses to go soon. You can Google web templates and see what’s available. Some are simple web templates, and some actually have “back ends” which allow you to load images and change colors and settings on the fly. With these there are definitely some challenges for the non-technical, but it is surely worth it even if you have to hire a tech to help out. Another alternative, and even easier, is to sign onto Apple’s “iLife “and use “iWeb.” It’s easy for everyone, but does have a relatively static feel in the design and navigation used. So, I would seriously recommend incorporating a website for any creative business.

There are about 100 million computer users globally, and we photographers will never know which ones may be in need of photography until we make our services available to them via the web. Maybe you’ve got a website now but how do the millions of internet users know about your business, and how can they see your portfolio? First thing is to make sure you’re website works well, is simple, clean and is easily navigated. Then check the page titles, also known as meta tags which can have certain keywords used by search engines and spiders that actually scan the web constantly looking for these words, so searches will be successful. Make sure you or your tech person have keywords like photography, New England commercial photographer, portraits, still life, or whatever applies to your business, so your website comes up when people use those particular words in a search. BTW- Flash-only websites do not have meta tags unless the opening page is HTML.

Next, make sure your website is listed and registered with all the search engines. This can be done by Googling search engines and registry. You’ll find a few services that will let you fill out one form and send it off for variety of search engines. Some services may also charge a fee and provide a better result. Also, do a search or your own type of photography, and list your website with as many photography and portfolio listing sites and links as possible. Many of these sites will provide a way to list your business for free.

Remember, we’re way beyond the Yellow pages here. There are millions of possible customers/clients all over the world and the internet has really brought them closer than ever before. That is why you have a website.

Rick Hornick has been one of New England’s top Assignment Photographers for twenty-five years, and has worked on national campaigns for clients such as Alaska Airlines, Benjamin Moore, Boston Acoustics, Crabtree and Evelyn, Philips, Seagrams, Thermo Electron, and TJX. He has taught the Business of Photography at The Art Institute and writes regular articles for publication.

http://hornickrivlin.com/

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