Most photographers are excellent at their trade and treat the website as a box to tick. That shows. The good news is that the common mistakes are cheap to fix once you can see them. This article lists them in the order customers notice them.
1. A 200-image homepage slider that cripples mobile speed
Why it matters: couples, families, small businesses needing headshots and product shots, and real estate agents decide from a phone in under a minute, and anything they cannot find they assume you do not offer.
Fix: add the one sentence a careful customer is looking for, in plain words, on the page they land on — not in the footer.
2. No pricing, which wastes time on both sides
Why it matters: someone searching wedding photographer [your city] prices is comparing you with the next two results, and the site that answers first wins the call.
Fix: be specific. Name the real services (wedding photography, family and newborn sessions and corporate headshots), the real suburbs and the real people.
3. One generic gallery for weddings, babies and products
Why it matters: it is the kind of detail photographers stop noticing on their own site, and the first thing a new customer sees.
Fix: add the one sentence a careful customer is looking for, in plain words, on the page they land on — not in the footer.
4. A contact form with too many fields and no reply-time promise
Fix: Ask for name, phone and a one-line description. Say when you reply, then do it.
5. Opening hours that differ between the website, Google and the front door
Fix: Pick one source of truth, update it everywhere on the same day, and add public-holiday hours a week ahead.
6. A slow site full of oversized images
Fix: Compress every image before uploading and remove sliders and autoplay video. Test on a phone using mobile data, not office wifi.
7. Stock photos instead of your own
Fix: Customers recognise stock imagery instantly and quietly discount everything else on the page. Ten honest phone photos beat a licensed gallery.
How to check your own site
- Hand your phone to someone who does not know the business and ask them to find your price for wedding photography.
- Watch where they hesitate. Each hesitation is a lost enquiry at scale.
- Compare hours, phone and address with Google.
- Count stock photos and PDFs.
- Write down three fixes for this week and three for next month.
Common questions
Should photographers show prices?
At least starting prices. Enquiries drop in number but rise in quality when people know the range.
How many photos should be on the homepage?
Ten to twenty of your best, properly compressed. Put the rest in galleries by service.
Do I need a blog?
Not to start. A clear homepage, service pages, prices and a contact path come first. Add articles later when you have real questions from customers worth answering.
YINO builds focused websites for Australian local businesses: $499 for a one-page site delivered in 3 business days, $999 for up to 8 pages. If you are weighing up a refresh versus a rebuild, start with website refresh; otherwise get in touch.
