It’s been said that your website is your first impression to potential clients.  It is a way for them to see your work, find out information about you and see that you are a legitimate business.  And when working with teens who are extremely savvy in the web world, your first impression needs to catch their very short attention spans.

So how do you know when you should update your website and what are the key ingredients to a successful website?

I’ve been on a year-long journey to update this website but what prompted me to start this journey?  As a senior photographer and educator to other photographers, I felt like it was time for a change.  I’ve had this site for five years and it has gone through two updates so far and now I’m working on the third.  But why?

Originally, this was strictly a blog.  I used a free design that was provided by someone that I did a trade with so it was very simple.  The first design really concentrated on the idea that ‘ologie’ was old and vintage.  But I realized very quickly that the vintage and old vibe didn’t meet all my potential readers vision and the senior industry is constantly changing so the blog needed a look that would be attractive to the changing styles in the industry.

After the first look, I got a professional to revamp the site.  We updated the look and tried to highlight the other aspects of the business.  While the first site was all the blog, after a few years Seniorologie ventured into events and other things that really needed to be front and center and easy to find.  So we updated it to highlight things such as workshops, shoot outs and more.

Now that we are five years into this, I realized that there is so much more we could be offering our readers so another look is on its way!  Changing the style to a more updated look while still being teen friendly is our goal.  Adding new features to go with our new ideas is another goal.

So what can you take from our experience in updating our site to know if you should update yours?  Here are a few reasons why you might update your site.

1.  Your look is outdated!  If you work with teens, you know they are trend setters.  They are always up on what is cool so seeing an old website is not going to grab their attention.  If they visit your website and the look is not current, they may move on to the next photographer.
2. Your site is not mobile friendly.  Teens are always (and I mean ALWAYS) on their phones!  So your site needs to be able to be viewed via a smart phone.  You are missing out on a huge audience if your site is not mobile friendly.
3. Your target audience is always evolving.  If you are a senior photographer, your audience is constantly evolving.  Most senior photographers do not have repeat business as teens only get their senior photos taken once.  So your site needs to constantly grab new seniors attention each year.  The information and design needs to speak directly to your potential clients so take the time to identify those clients and create your website for them.
4. Your style has evolved.  Styles evolve over time.  When you started photography, you may have loved a vintage look but now you are more modern.  Or maybe as your have grown, your photos have gotten better.  Whatever the reason for your style to evolve, making sure your style matches the style of your site is key.  You want to be consistent so your portfolio needs to match the look of your website.  If your look is light and airy, make sure your site is too.  If you are bold and colorful, make sure your site showcases that.
5. You are just tired of the same old same old.  If you are tired of your site, chances are those visiting it are too!  Your site needs to reflect you and you need to be happy with it.  So if you are not loving the look of your site or you are just tired of it, then change it!  Your potential clients will be happy you did!

Here are a few web designers we have worked with or heard great things about that could help you on your journey!

Media Novak

Get Braizen

Britney Jeanine & Co

Spitfire Girl Design

Hudson Street Studios

Holli True

If you are in the process of updating your website, we would love to hear from you!  And if you are willing to share a before and after, we would love to feature it!!  Send us an email at info@seniorologie.com or comment below!