Web Site Tips for Webmasters

Graphics

Graphics have played an increasingly more important role in web design. A balanced use of graphics will allow the page to load quickly, yet be aesthetically appealing to the eye. Conversely, graphics can spoil an otherwise good web page. Here are some tips in the use of graphics:

• Optimize graphics--optimizing graphics is done by various photo/graphics programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, JASC Paint Shop Pro, and Microsoft Picture It (to name just a few). The process compresses the file information, making the file smaller, thus improving page load times and reducing the amount of bandwidth your site uses.
  
  
• Don't overdo it--a few well thought out graphics do more for your page than a multitude. The idea is to highlight the page content, not scream for all the attention and distract from the purpose of the page. The same goes for animations; one or two animations per page is the general rule to follow.
  
  
• Use "alt" text--this allows those visitors whose browsers aren't displaying images to still appreciate your page. This is especially true if you use graphical buttons for navigation!