Why should you take precaution when including graphics in your website? Because too many or too few graphics could make or "break" your website.
Too few graphics may hurt your online business, especially if your field is very visual -- such as entertainment, advertising, graphic design, etc. A rule of thumb to remember is that graphics slow down loading time on your website, but customers visiting a very visual website will expect slow loading.
There are steps you can take to help decrease loading time, such as saving your image as .gif instead of .jpg. But, sometimes saving your image as .gif means sacrificing quality and your picture or graphic could become distorted. You'll have to think it through.
On the other hand, too many graphics can completely destroy the purpose of your website if your presentation consists of long sales pitches or much detailed reading for your visitor. Why? Because your visitor will constantly be distracted by the graphics and will not be able to concentrate on the presentation. This doesn't mean you can't have any graphics, just that you should limit them to the bare necessity and be sure your graphics aren't placed in a position that could distract your visitor from their reading.
Consider these three graphic tips while designing your website and you'll be well on your way to online success!
3 Important Graphics Tips:
1. Sizing Graphics
Size your graphics as small as possible without losing quality. Graphics slow loading time and visitors to your web page may click out of your page before it loads if loading time is too slow. If you have many graphics on your website (pictures of products, etc.), you can produce very small "thumbnail" pictures of your graphics that your visitors can click on for an enlargement. Producing thumbnail pictures provides two major benefits: a) decreasing loading time for your web pages - you'll be able to keep more visitors in your website, b) provides visitor with a "full" quality picture of your product once he/she clicks on the thumbnail.
2. Saving Graphics
One way to speed up loading time on pages that include graphics is save your graphics as .gif files instead of .jpg. Let me take a moment to explain each, so that you will be able to make a fair judgement about which to use for your web page graphics...
"Gif" files differ from "jpg" (which will be explained below) because they are limited to 256-colors. They are smaller in size and load quicker when someone visits your page. "Gif" files are commonly used on the web because of this reason, so if you ever have a choice of saving a graphic as "gif" or "jpg" format, choose "gif."
Files ending in "jpg" are normally photographs. Photographs usually cannot be limited to 256-colors or some parts of them will appear washed out. "Jpg" files allow you to take advantage of the 16-million color scheme and you probably will want your photos to appear sharp and defined when viewed. Of course, photographs will take a little longer to load than "gif" files, but you can only go so far before you sacrifice quality.
3. When Should You Use Graphics?
When the graphics are necessary to enhance your web business. If you're selling a visual product, it's almost impossible to get away with having no graphics. You'll need pictures of your product(s) to "close the sale" with your visitors. Graphics are often used for company logos at the top of each web page throughout a website. Your logo will help establish a sense of stability and prestige for your website. Also your logo can be used to relay a certain message to your visitors about your website.
For example, if you'll notice at the top of my page, you'll see a little guy being chased by his computer. I chose this logo because my website is here to help web design beginners learn how to design their own website by using simple step-by-step instructions. I realize that a web beginner may be afraid of his/her computer because of all the "computer language" help sections available. So, I chose this logo to help ease some of the tension, and to cause a certain mood throughout the site. Does it work?
Another time it's necessary to use graphics is for advertisements. Although banner ads are often a turn off to visitors, some website owners make a liv'ing from advertising. They may have a content only website and sell advertising to bring profit. If this is your goal, I strongly advise you to sell only to advertisers with products or services directly related to your website.
One of the most important reasons for doing this is... if you place a banner ad at the top of your page that is totally "unrelated" to your website, your visitors may see the advertisement and think, "I must be in the wrong website," and click out. To give an illustration, if your visitor finds you through a search engine by typing in "cd players," but the first thing he/she sees is a banner for "vitamins", he may assume he has clicked on the wrong website, and leave -- not a very good result.
Use these graphics tips to maximize your website's profit potential.
About the Author:
Article written by Candice Pardue, editor of Web Design Weekly. Subscribe today to receive weekly web design tips, articles and resources FREE by going to....
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