IS YOUR WEB SITE UNFRIENDLY? Part 2 of 9Part 2: IMAGES: make every one count Don't load your page with graphics, especially those "under construction" things. If the graphic has nothing to do with the content of your page it is best left out. "Why," I hear you ask, "shouldn't I have as many pictures as I want?" Well: 1 Visitors who still have very slow modems will simply get tired of waiting for your page to download and go somewhere else. 2 About 30% of Internet users with browsers that support images disable this feature, and some older browsers are text-only, so your page can look messy if, for instance, it's full of empty boxes. 3 Unless your home page is devoted to, say, your artwork or your prize-winning photographs, graphics can distract from the content of your site. 4 A large number of graphics, especially animated and other gimmicky ones, often indicate a site lacking in real substance. By all means use graphics on your home page as links to other pages, but make sure you supply words as well. A line or row of little empty boxes means text-only visitors have to wave their mouse pointers over each box to see if the link contains something of interest--and URLs can sometimes be so long and complicated that this information might be hard to extract. The first time I was put in this position was on the home page of a supposedly professional site (a publisher's site in fact) where I found nothing BUT empty boxes--no welcome, not even the publisher's name. My thoughts were NOT kind ones! I recently visited a page where, because the webmaster had used JavaScript for navigation, waving my mouse over the link did nothing but tell me that there WAS a link there! Don't forget to specify the height and width of images, either. There are two good reasons for this: 1 The image will download a lot quicker because the browser doesn't have to spend more time searching for the image size; 2 When the image finally appears it won't cause the text that your visitor is reading to suddenly jump down the page, which is extremely annoying. If you are using scanned photographs, or maybe scans of some of your own artwork, make sure the scans are good ones. Most scans need work doing on them before they are suitable for use. They should be clear and sharp, not looking as though taken with the camera slightly out of focus, or as though seen through a white haze. This last fault is very common on web sites. Usually all that needs doing is adjustment of the levels. Even an automatic adjustment can make a big difference. Consult your scanner or scanning program's instruction book to find out how to make your photos look as much like the original as possible, or how to correct a scan of a faulty photograph. The better your scanner, of course, the less work you'll have to do on your scans. About the author: Laraine Anne Barker writes fantasy for young people. Visit her web site at http://lbarker.orcon.net.nz for FREE stories and novel excerpts. Sign up for the NOVELLA OF THE MONTH CLUB, absolutely FREE!Read similar articles: Nine Effective Tips For Improving Your Website’s UsabilityLove at First Site: Giving Your Website Visitors the right Impression Other Ways to Look at Things Don't Make Your Website User-UNfriendly! Moving Things Around So Much About META Tags! Turn Benefits Into Sales with Streaming Media Through The Looking Glass 10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Reader's Buying Decision Graphic Design Using Color sylwester słowacja viagra wakacje Cialis Warsaw
|