Site Outline
The Site Outline document should include an outline of your website’s organizational hierarchy.
First, create a rich text file named Site Outline. Save that file in a folder called Text.
Use Microsoft Word or any text editor that supports Rich Text Format (RTF) documents.
If you’re using Apple Pages, export your document as rich text as we’re unable to open .pages documents. To export an Apple Pages document, go to the File menu, select Export To, and then choose Rich Text Format.
Create your site outline in the Site Outline document.
Typical Outlines
These sample site outlines represent a typical website structure for photographer websites. Use one of these samples for guidance or create your own.
Pages above subpages shouldn’t include content or contain images. In other words, in Example Outline #3 there is a page called Weddings. Under that Weddings page are three subpages (Sally & Bill, Dick & Jane, Fred & Wilma). Images would appear in the three subpage galleries. However, images shouldn’t be assigned to the Weddings page. Using the Weddings section as an example, if you wanted to assign photos to that Weddings page, you might instead create a subpage under “Weddings” called “Favorites.” That Favorites page would appear in the same level as the other subpages (e.g. Sally & Bill, Dick & Jane, Fred & Wilma). You would then assign images to that Favorites page. Content must be organized in this way because of the way mobile tap menus work.
Example Outline #1
- Home
- Weddings
- Portraits
- About Me
- Contact Info
Example Outline #2
- Home
- Weddings
- About
- About Me
- Pricing
- Frequent Questions
- Contact Me
Example Outline #3
- Home
- Weddings
- Sally & Bill
- Dick & Jane
- Fred & Wilma
- Engagements
- Pricing
- About Me
- Contact Info
- Weddings
Example Outline #4
- Home
- Babies
- Bellies
- Families
- Pricing
- About Me
- Contact Info
Example Outline #5 (with video pages)
- Home
- Photography
- Weddings
- Portraits
- Videography
- Sally & Bill – https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ
- Dick & Jane – https://youtu.be/djV11Xbc914
- Fred & Wilma – https://vimeo.com/244405542
- About Me
- Contact Info
- Photography
Example Outline #6 (with link to proofing site)
- Home
- Weddings
- Portraits
- About Me
- Client Access – https://demo1.shootproof.com/
- Contact Info
Advanced Tips
- Limit the number of words used in your navigation.
- Each option should be short, concise, and accurate.
- For additional shortening, use ampersands (&) instead of the conjunction “and”.
- Provide content (images or text) for every outline item. If no content is available for that page, indicate “(no content)” next to the outline option and we’ll create that as a blank page.
Prepare Your Additional Content
We’ll also need these other materials to build your website.