Design Mistakes Graphics
Web Design Mistakes - Graphics
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Good design involves a good balance of text and graphic
design. How many graphics you choose to use on your web
page, if any, depends on what your site is about. A sales
letter page about a virtual downloadable product doesn't
need a lot of graphics. For example, an e-book page may
contain graphics of a book cover (for example of a book
cover graphic, see
http://www.brealweb.com/writing/freebook.asp), bullets,
a header and navigational links which are all small, fast
loading graphics files. However, an art gallery will have
a lot of graphics, and a visitor to that site will be
expecting a lot of images.
The problem with graphics is that they really slow down page
loading time. For users of 28.8 KB modems (Yes, they are
still in use) the loading time of a page is of primary
importance. For those with high speed connections, loading
time is unimportant, but bandwidth may be an issue (send a
blank e-mail to mailto:bandwidth@brealweb.com for an article
explaining bandwidth). So the rule of thumb is,
---Only Use Optimised Graphics Infrequently---
There are a few common mistakes made when using graphics
that can be easily avoided and will make your site visitor's
experience much more enjoyable.
1. Large and Uncompressed Graphics.
Large graphics are needed on the web, but they should
be kept in their place. (E.g. high resolution maps,
wallpaper images, etc). Where a site has these images, there
should be a lower resolution thumbnail linking to the larger
image. Then only the people who want the large image will
have to wait for it to download.
Even smaller graphics can still have large file sizes if
they're not compressed properly. Consider the following:
* JPG files can be easily compressed by increasing the loss
percentage - just check that you are retaining enough image
quality though.
* Reduce the number of colours in a GIF image to make it
smaller.
* Save photographs as JPG files and clip art type graphics
as GIFs.
* Decrease the actual pixel size of your image. Although
you may have high resolution on your computer monitor, your
site visitor may not. Consider keeping your high quality
image under 800 x 600 pixels.
2. What About Animated Graphics?
With the popularity of Flash movies, animation file sizes
can be huge and a person with a slow modem may never get to
see your masterpiece.
Simple graphic animations can be optimised in a similar way
that static GIF's can. Reduce the number of colours, remove
redundant pixels and keep them simple! Look around at other
sites for ideas for effective GIF animations if you have
trouble keeping your own creative genius under control.
Flash graphics are a topic on their own, but they do require
the user has a plug-in so they are able to see your
creation. Some people will not get the plug-in, just so they
can see your creation, so it may be wise to consider putting
your most important content into another format.
3. Creating Backgrounds And Fonts
If you have a favourite, but obscure font you want to use on
your web site, then you should use it in a graphic.
However, it needs to be kept simple (there's that word
again!). It really needs to be readable, so consider the
font size and effects you will use on it.
Don't create garish font/background combinations. Dark
purple font on a navy background cannot easily be seen, and
red on blue is difficult for many to read too. For more
information about font design errors, send a blank e-mail to
mailto:wdm-fonts@brealweb.com
So when you're making your next graphic masterpieces for
your web site, remember these suggestions, and your site
will be pleasing to your visitors.
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