One of the great benefits of the coaching program here at the Prime Focus Lab is the chance to have me give a professional in-depth review of your website and blog.
To illustrate, here’s a review I did of a blog post by Kelly & Logan, designed to help prospective brides and grooms decide whether or not to have a “first look” at their wedding, and I think they did a great job of communicating the value it brings to the couple.
Below is the video review I created for them, together with my recommendations for changes etc.
KEY POINTS AND RECOMMENDED CHANGES
- Logo takes up too much vertical space, pushing the content further down the screen
- The title could be in a bigger and darker font to stand out more
- The breadcrumbs are okay, and can be useful for readers and Google
- No need at all for the date and time, so this should be removed
- The “by” line is also unnecessary, since the reader already knows whose blog this is
- The social sharing buttons at the top look a little clumsy
- I recommend using the Social Warfare plugin instead
- The content starts with 2 photos, but I recommend 1 image, with a caption
- Neither of the two starting images relate to the topic of the post (first look)
- So pick the very best fitting “first look” image
- Moving into the content, the content has a wide line width, so you need a slightly larger font to reduce the number of words per line. As it is, it’s hard to read.
- Blank space between paragraphs is good, but this is a little too much. Consider making the paragraph bottom margin or padding smaller.
- In general, the paragraphs are way too long. Any paragraph that spans more than 3 lines should be split into smaller ones. It’s okay to have a paragraph with 1 sentence.
- There are no sub-headings in the content at all. Anyone scanning through the content will simply keep going until the end, as there are no headings to catch their attention.
- Consider using some smaller images (especially vertical-format) which are aligned to the right of the text. This makes the text easier to read and stops the images from dominating the story.
- There is no bold or italicized text, which can also help capture the eye and helps important elements to stand out.
- There’s a big block of 7 images that makes it look like we’ve reached the end of the post, so many readers might miss the rest. Try to avoid having more than 1 image at a time.
- If you do want to show multiple images in a series, overlay some text on them, and turn them into a short slideshow video you can post on YouTube and then embed into your post.
- There are no captions on any of the images. Every image should have a caption with it (another reason for using fewer photos, just the best ones).
- The 4 benefits of the 1st look do not stand out at all and are easily missed. Instead of a numbered list, Use bold sub-headings for each benefit.
- Then we have another block of 9 images, again, making it appear as if we’ve reached the end.
- The small block of text after that is easily overlooked and then we have 5 more photos in another block.
- The advice from the event stylist should be emphasized in a block quote, it’s quite important.
- There is no strong call to action at the end.
- There is a call to subscribe to the blog, but nowhere for the reader to actually do that.
- I would disable comments completely on your blog because they tend not to be very helpful or useful.
- Instead, share the post on your Facebook page and then embed that Facebook post back into your blog post at the end so people can share, like, and comment there. It feels a lot more social and friendly.
- The tag cloud in the footer is not needed, is no help for SEO, and should be removed.
- You can also make the copy a bit more personal sounding by using contractions. E.g. “you are” can be shortened to “you’re” and “we are” can be replaced with “we’re”
- Consider removing words like “that”, and try to use a more “active” voice.
- One last thing… there are 25 photos on this page, but NO testimonials! Include quotes and testimonials from the clients to boost the credibility.
- Overall, though, this is a great attempt at doing something most photographers seem to avoid doing, which is aiming at educating their prospects on the virtues of what makes this photographer a good choice for them.
