Assynt Photographics: WEBSITE INFORMATION

WEBSITE INFORMATION

WHY CHOOSE ASSYNT PHOTOGRAPHICS?

In a world that changes as rapidly as the one we now live in, where new innovations appear every five minutes, novelty becomes passé in six. Only five years ago, simply having a website impressed people, in much the same way as owning a home computer did twenty years ago or owning a motor car did 60 years ago. The oldest websites are barely a decade old but when viewed now they seem about as impressive as the first L.E.D. watches and no more useful.

New websites appear daily. Some are successful and some are not. What makes the difference? It certainly isn't functionality or necessity. Many websites are utterly pointless. They provide solutions to problems we don't have, answers to questions that nobody has asked and encourage us to buy products we don't want, need or even like with money we don't have, yet they are successful. Others sell stuff we like, want and even need but our eyelids start to droop after a few clicks of the mouse. Why?

Remember a few years ago when the CD Rom was going to replace the book? It didn't and it won't. Unlike the printed page, a computer monitor needs images to hold our attention. Text on a screen without images makes us click off. The presence of interesting, exciting, punchy, eye-catching images with bright colours, vivid shapes and interesting patterns makes the difference between a website - and hence the product it is promoting - succeeding or failing. The images that catch and keep our attention most efficiently are not tacky, clichéd clip art but original photographs.

New rabbits are being pulled out of the digital magician's hat every day but the demands made of photography have not actually changed. The production processes have sped up, but as the pace of life has sped up at the same rate, this is largely cancelled out. Everybody is a foot taller. So what?

Soon, the web will be governed by the same values as any other marketable product or media format - quality and reputation. The present scramble to rise up through search engine rankings is becoming an insane stampede. Learning the latest cybertronic conjouring tricks will soon be pointless. All that will happen is that search engines will become more clogged up and every search will list a billion entries. As more and more business is conducted on line, more and more businesses will discover that they will have to make their websites visually interesting. Information alone, however ceantal to the job in hand, won't be enough. Smart and attractive presetation is now vital. Simply letting the office boy play with the digital camera or churn out tasteless doodle art with the photo software will no longer suffice.

If you're running a business and you don't have a website, you probably will soon. When you do, get pictures that match the quality of your product.

PRICES
Prices are dependent on the template and webhost chosen, the complexity of the site and the degree of co-operation from the client. A great deal of time and expense can be saved by the client having a very clear idea of the purpose of the site and by providing content in as prepared a form as possible. Web clients will receive photographs at a reduced rate.