Consider this your yearly reminder to test your website on mobile. But we dive deep into the topic.

Let’s dive in!

QUICK TIPS

1. 💥 Don’t bombard visitors with annoying popups or splash pages

Have you ever visited a website where you’re “greeted” with a full-screen popup, without ever having the chance to see the content yet? Annoying, right?

Websites that are overloaded with pop-ups and ads will come across as unprofessional, to say the least. Of course, popups work (and increase conversion rates), but those stats don’t really track all the people who lose trust and leave the site.

Focus on showing value to your visitors (through the quality of your images and blog posts) before asking them to take an action (like to subscribe to your newsletter or to send you a message).

As for splash pages, they are awful for user experience because they’re blocking access. They’re forcing visitors to see a single image or a slideshow and click a specific button to access the full website. And when people lack options, they sometimes leave.

Websites with splash pages have huge bounce rates simply because of the lack of browsing freedom that it gives visitors. Sure, they might be “fancy,” and they might include a powerful background image that impresses visitors. Still, they could accomplish the same “visual impact” with the same image at the top of a regular homepage, where the navigation menu is fully accessible from the start.

Allow me to use an analogy: imagine going into a store, but at the entrance, there’s another small room forcing you to look at one single featured product and a door with a sign that says “Enter store.” Wouldn’t that be annoying?

So if you use popups on your site, configure them so that they:

• only show up after at least 30 seconds of being on your site, not immediately

• and/or only after “exit-intent” (most popup plugins/platforms have this option now, look it up!)

And don’t use splash/intro pages! Even if they sometimes look cool, they negatively affect user experience and SEO.

Watermarking isn’t just about protection; it’s a powerful branding tool.

When your images circulate online, having your logo or website URL embedded helps promote your photography brand and drive traffic to your site.

For wedding and portrait photographers, this can be especially beneficial in attracting new clients.