Website Design | Zach Caddy Photography
Goal: To create a website that highlighted the range of Zach’s work in an exploratory and branded way, while drawing users to conversion.
Overview
eGuide has been a partner of Zach’s since the beginning of 2021, starting our collaboration with business coaching. Through an exercise called V2MOM we were able to gain a fundamental understanding of Zach’s short term and long term goals, which lead to a much easier transition into our website project.
Following the completion of Zach’s brand suite, we transitioned the project into focusing on his website. Zach was not attached to any specific web host or editor, and ultimately we made the decision to move forward with Squarespace because of the flexibility to add new features as Zach’s business evolves with an affordable solution.
Following a collaborative 2 month design process we were able to launch the site.
Approach
Editor Exploration: Zach’s previous website was hosted on Wordpress, and while there was nothing wrong with the theme that Zach was using, we knew we wanted to have the new user experience feel more purposeful and targeted. After exploring Wix, Squarespace, and ShowIt, we ultimately landed on Squarespace. The editor allowed us to create a collaborative development process with Zach, giving him confidence and training on how to use the editor as the process progressed.
Design: To identify the structure of the site Zach and eGuide Owner, Greg utilized a LucidSpark to help to visualize the sitemap and navigation of the site, as well as a wireframe of the home page. With our pages identified, Greg rendered a few key pages based off of the brand guidelines, using a few selected hero photos from Zach’s collection. Workshopping those pages first led to an open dialogue that made the remaining pages much easier to design. Once the core pages were set, eGuide worked with photos and images Zach provided, or created a framework for Zach then to jump into the editor to update copy and add additional content. As a final step, eGuige revisited each page to add subtle and effective animations that made each page “pop”.
Galleries: Since the cornerstone of Zach’s work is images, we wanted to take special note of how Galleries were used on the site. Real events and portfolio shoots were designed to be added using Squarespace’s blog functionality. Through categories and tags, eGuide was able to provide dynamic galleries that would update over time on key pages. This would allow users to see new content in different visits to the site and encourage further exploration and increase session time. Combining standard Masonry galleries with independent images, each gallery feels curated to the event.
Launch: Once all pages were designed, Zach and eGuide did a final round of quality assurance auditing before redirecting the domain and linking the site to Google Search Console. eGuide worked through key organic SEO components including page naming, meta descriptions, and image naming to ensure that the site was aligned with Zach’s business.
Conclusion
Oftentimes working with a client who has a creative business can lead to pitfalls throughout the web design process that add time and additional scope to the project. Over the 2.5 month process working with Zach, the experience was collaborative and organic in nature. Having a true partnership with Zach, allowed us to easily explore and brainstorm, while sharing insights and opinions from a web designer and photographer vantage point.
Ultimately the site is a true representation of Zach’s style and work and is also one of the most creative sites that eGuide has had the privilege to design. Since Zach has the ability and knowledge to add additional galleries, eGuide will continue to support the site on the SEO and analytics side, and be on hand to help Zach answer any questions that may arise.
Metrics
3 Week Branding & Logo Design Process
2 Month Collaborative Web Design Process
Further developed user experience highlighting Zach’s breadth of work in events, portraits, live music, urban and nature photography.
Creating an end product that is branded, easy to maintain, and allows for flexibility in adding core pages and functionality in the future.
Tools
eGuide used a variety of tools throughout the branding and website design process:
Lucid Spark: Used for brainstorming, site map, and wireframes
Evernote: Used by Zach to share inspiration links, and feedback throughout the process
Trello: Used for project management and outlining the design process
Squarespace: Website host, domain control, and editor
Adobe Creative Cloud: Used for logo and image design
Pinterest: Used for site and logo inspiration
Canva: Used for quick image renderings
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