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Archive for January 18th, 2011

I’ve seen lots of wedding websites. Hundreds of them in fact. And the successful ones, the ones that actually draw people in and get them to contact you, not to mention the ones who rank higher on Google, are the ones that have equal emphasis on both their text AND their design.

But, most websites I see, either focus on having lots of pictures and images to tell their story, or they just have a whole lot of words with no real thought to design.

So if you’re using both photos and words to tell your story. Congratulations! You’re well on your way to having a fabulous website that really works for you. But if you are one of the others – and I know you are out there – I need to be honest. You need to fix your site.

Let me explain why.

First, the image driven site.

These can be absolutely beautiful sites with tons of beautiful images. And I’ll put it out there – I L-O-V-E image driven sites. I’m really drawn to this style because I’m a visual. I learn by seeing. Plus, I’m normally going at 100 miles an hour and images allow me to quickly see what you can do. They draw me in and tend to invoke instant emotion too!

And if you have an image driven website with very little words, you’re probably the same as me. Pictures speak to you.

But I think you can see the problem I’m going to point out. Not everyone is a visual. Some people need the words.

Then there is the text driven site.

It’s a page with words and maybe little else. Don’t get me wrong. I can like these too. Probably because I write for a living! But I really do like to read what others write. It helps me understand your point of view and get to know you in a way that pictures don’t as readily convey.

Again, the problem is, not everyone likes to weed though text. And if you get a visual on your page, they’re going to hop off pretty fast, even if you’re fabulous and the best at what you do.

And truth be told, a lot of text driven websites aren’t very pretty either. Not because they don’t have photos. It’s because they are trying to do things with the words to liven up their site. Poor color choices, reverse fonts, and flashing words are just some of the travesties that I see.

The best sites are the ones that combine both photos and text. I can’t give you an exact ratio, because it depends on you and the products/services that you provide. However, you should strive for at least 75/25 split between the two. It doesn’t have to be even. But you do want to make sure you offer enough of both to balance the other out.

Add words to your image driven site to explain your inspirations. Tell me why you do what you do.

And if you rely solely on text. Add some images. You need to break up that solid wall of text. Use images of your designs. If you’re just starting out, buy the artwork.