livebooks blog

When online portfolios emerged as a marketing tool, the layout recipe for pages was simple: a block of text and an image to go with it was the standard for most pages, while portfolios used one page for each gallery. Now, with the evolution of social media and apps, we’ve got the hang of scrolling and customer anticipate to get all the info they need from one single stacked page.

This doesn’t necessarily mean we should all build only one-page websites, but a little stacking will greatly improve the way your visitors engage with your content. A stacked page will:

• Paint a clear picture for your customers and draw their attention on all aspects of your work.
• Aid Google spiders to better understand what your website is about when they crawl it; consequently, a stacked page has a greater change to place your website higher on Google’s rankings.

Stacked Homepage

We’ve covered the guide to an ideal homepage and, as you might have guessed, it’s stacked. Use this layout to introduce your business and its many facets in a few well-placed info blocks. You want to be as clear as possible in a short, yet complex, page.

Stacked Galleries

Our platform features many gallery layout options for you to choose from, and slideshows are the best choice for stacking. Use text blocks to introduce each collection or choose a unique background color for each of them, add borders or leave them as they are, your stacked galleries will give your visitors a proper understanding of your aesthetic.

Stacked Info Page

Use this page to fully introduce yourself. An image and a block of text is great to set the tone, but keep going! Use a simple list to showcase your clients, publications and awards. Follow this with testimonials from previous projects. Add a slideshow video gallery, a service and price list, items with professionals you work with, leave nothing out.

Our platform features a great number of website templates that use stacked pages. Black&White is a great example of how a stacked homepage should look and feel, Audio used stacked galleries, while Flash has a one-page layout. These are just a few examples of how we use stacking when designing our website templates. See for yourself with a free trial!

Michael Grecco is an award-winning internationally renowned director and photographer of celebrity portraits, advertising and editorial commissions, private collections and fine art.

One of the most respected and sought after visual storytellers in the world, his conceptual vision and signature dramatic lighting create distinctive images that are evocative, sophisticated and comedic. Grecco has been shooting iconic portraits of the most recognized entertainment stars such as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Will Ferrell and Penelope Cruz.

Known not only for his high-concept imagery and his ability to light like no other, Grecco is also valued for his innate ability to connect with each subject to bring out surprising nuance and a conceptual twist that makes even the most recognizable faces intriguing and fresh. Photographing intimate portraits of celebrities, boxers, rappers, scientists, and business leaders, Grecco’s images captivate our attention and imagination. Thus he delivers on every aspect of his client’s vision, satisfying the most recognized brands including Apple, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Direct TV, and Pfizer.

On the pulse point of cutting edge technology and innovation, Grecco is a regarded expert and celebrated speaker on creativity, photography and his signature lighting and directorial technique worldwide. As a Hasselblad Master he is a sought after trainer, traveling the globe speaking and leading informative and hands on workshops.

His provocative documentary movie and accompanying book Naked Ambition has earned critical acclaim. His award winning still images are published the world over in magazines such as Esquire, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and Time.

Grecco is often referred to as the Master of Lighting. He is the author of the best-selling photographer’s guidebook: Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography, which is now available as an eBook. His lectures on photography are popular and he has been profiled extensively in key photographic trade journals.

Michael Grecco is based in Los Angeles. He is a devoted father to three children. In his spare time he can be seen exploring his hometown subcultures on his Triumph Bonneville with his favorite camera in tow, ready to find, capture and inspire.

Q&A with Michael Grecco

Q1: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

MG: EVOCATIVE. CINEMATIC. INSPIRATION.

Q2: How do you choose the work you display on your homepage?

MG: I worked closely with my film editor in picking images, Cinemagraphs and motion segments that would work together in the director’s real. All the images are from the portfolios on the site and then he made the final selects to use in the finished piece.

Q3: What is your favorite feature of liveBooks?

MG: That they have an already formatted backend that makes changing the content easy.

Q4: What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

MG: Take your time and do it right. We redid things that did not work, and it makes a difference in the end product.

Q5: Tell us about a recent project that you’re proud of.

MG: I am currently working on a 6-part documentary TV series, documentary film, book and fashion line based on some of my archival images.

“To shoot dramatic and conceptual portraits, I create moments to capture with my lens that unlock the hidden story of our innermost being to reveal the drama, comedy, and irony of who we really are.” – Michael Grecco

See more of Michael Grecco’s work here: www.michaelgrecco.com

Design and layout consistency matter when presenting your work to your online audience. Whether they are new visitors checking out your portfolios or long established fans of your work, roaming around your website should feel like a cohesive experience. The unification of style, colors, visual elements and tone of voice in your writing are elements that define your brand, albeit a small part of it. Check out this article for more details on how to enhance your brand.

So how does duplicating a page help your brand? When you duplicate a page, you create an exact clone of it on your website. This means that all the structural elements and design specifications will be transferred over to your new page. So will all your content from the duplicated page; all you will have to do is replace the copies with your content of choice.

We encourage all clients to add features and experiment with all the design editor has to offer. In this respect, we find page duplication an important feature for all our clients, because when you’ve come to the ideal setup for your page, all that’s left is to duplicate it, fill in the content and publish your work.

We make page duplication sound very easy, and it is: right now you are four clicks away from creating a new page with the same structure. Before we start, make sure your targeted page is set to visible. You can change this setting back after you’ve duplicated it.

1. First click on your content editor to see the list of all your pages.
2. Select the gear icon on any page that you wish to duplicate.
3. In the black modal popup, select the blue Duplicate page link. 
4. Select the green Yes button when prompted. Your new page will appear right under the target page and it will have the same title. 

That’s it! Now all you have to do is change the content in your new page. These two pages are not synced, so should you make any structural or design changes in one, the other will remain the same.

Don’t have a website to try out this wonderful feature? You can sign up for a free trial today!

One of the most important marketing tasks you can complete as a small business owner is tracking how well your efforts are doing.

If you’ve heard how important website data and reports can be to your online marketing efforts, but you aren’t exactly sure why, here are some top reasons to begin using Google Analytics — and understanding what all of these numbers mean.

You Can Better Track ROI

ROI (short for return on investment) is an essential part of any great marketing plan, especially for small businesses. With limited budgets, it’s all the more important to understand what you’re getting out of the money you’re spending on search engine advertising, social media ads, email promotions and more!

For example, if you spend $500 per month on a Facebook ad for a few months, but only generate $100 in sales each month, your ROI is pretty low. This can mean your ads aren’t reaching the right people and need to be adjusted, or that the item you’re advertising for isn’t a good fit for a Facebook ad.

In short, tracking ROI can exponentially help you save money in the long run, as well as prove whether or not it’s worth it to keep advertising in the same way over time.

Best and Worst Performing Pages and Posts

By far one of the top benefits of utilizing Google Analytics on a regular basis is knowing how well your website is doing on its own.

Do you have some pages with high traffic and engagement, but others with really poor numbers? Do you have a couple of high-quality blog posts generating a big chunk of your traffic while others struggle to bring in one new viewer each month?

By understanding which pages and blog posts are doing poorly, you can better investigate why they may not be performing as well as other pages and posts and how to fix them over time.

Understanding Your Audience

Want to know which cities or states are most engaged with your website? Interested in data that shows you which services or products you offer are of most interest to them?

Google Analytics can help you uncover more information about your online audience that you may not already know. Even if some of the data confirms your guesses, other numbers may surprise you!

Take a look at the information in the Audience > Geo > Location section to learn about where they are visiting from. You might also explore the Behavior tab to see which pages they are engaged with the most on a regular basis.

Learn More About Google Analytics

Is it all a bit overwhelming? Thankfully, Google offers a free course on Google Analytics to show you all the ins and outs of utilizing the data and tailor the reports to your specific needs!

Optimize Your Website’s Design Today

If the data you see in Google Analytics isn’t what you’d hoped it would be, then it may be time to change up your design and content.

With a liveBooks website, you’ll be able to use our stunning, customizable website templates that look great on any mobile device!

We’ve also got a top-notch support team who’s here to help you every step of the way. Start for free today!