One of the new features on the Web site weve been tinkering with the most is the Photo Gallery function.
The Photo Gallery is where were able to put a collection of photos from news and sports events together in a, well, photo gallery. Quite often in the newspaper, space limits us to publishing one or two photos from a game or event weve covered. The photo gallery allows us to publish online as many photos as we want to. It gives readers an opportunity to see more names and faces.
Weve done a number of photo galleries so far. Usually, we do at least one a day. Sometimes more than one.
Weve gotten a number of comments from people who appreciate that we are able to show more photos online than in the newspaper. The photo gallery also has generated a spike in photo sales.
In the past few days, weve added an Order Photo tag to each of our captions for photographs. This allows the user to click on that tag and be taken directly to the online photo order form weve created.
In many ways, this is more user-friendly than the old way we sold photos online through a third-party provider. Now, customers simply fill out the online form, which gets e-mailed to the Times. Then we make personal contact with the customer to complete the order process. Weve found that customers prefer to deal with us personally than with a faceless company online.
One of the things weve discussed at the Times is the size of the photos you view in the photo gallery. Theyre too small, in my opinion. But if theyre larger, we run the risk of site visitors making digital copies of the photographs. Those copies wouldnt be anywhere near the quality of the finished prints we provide paying customers, of course, but theyd be better than nothing.
If you have any opinions on how large the photos should run, let me know.
Also, if you have any other ideas for making the Photo Gallery easier to use and better, let me know. (For the record, Im also concerned about the amount of space the Photo Gallery titles takes up in the left-hand navigation bar. Ive tried to figure out a solution, but havent yet.)
Its a work in progress, one that we seemingly refine on a daily basis.
The Photo Gallery is where were able to put a collection of photos from news and sports events together in a, well, photo gallery. Quite often in the newspaper, space limits us to publishing one or two photos from a game or event weve covered. The photo gallery allows us to publish online as many photos as we want to. It gives readers an opportunity to see more names and faces.
Weve done a number of photo galleries so far. Usually, we do at least one a day. Sometimes more than one.
Weve gotten a number of comments from people who appreciate that we are able to show more photos online than in the newspaper. The photo gallery also has generated a spike in photo sales.
In the past few days, weve added an Order Photo tag to each of our captions for photographs. This allows the user to click on that tag and be taken directly to the online photo order form weve created.
In many ways, this is more user-friendly than the old way we sold photos online through a third-party provider. Now, customers simply fill out the online form, which gets e-mailed to the Times. Then we make personal contact with the customer to complete the order process. Weve found that customers prefer to deal with us personally than with a faceless company online.
One of the things weve discussed at the Times is the size of the photos you view in the photo gallery. Theyre too small, in my opinion. But if theyre larger, we run the risk of site visitors making digital copies of the photographs. Those copies wouldnt be anywhere near the quality of the finished prints we provide paying customers, of course, but theyd be better than nothing.
If you have any opinions on how large the photos should run, let me know.
Also, if you have any other ideas for making the Photo Gallery easier to use and better, let me know. (For the record, Im also concerned about the amount of space the Photo Gallery titles takes up in the left-hand navigation bar. Ive tried to figure out a solution, but havent yet.)
Its a work in progress, one that we seemingly refine on a daily basis.
