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IS_YOUR_WEB_SITE_UNFRIENDLY_Part_2_of_9
| IS YOUR WEB SITE UNFRIENDLY? Part 2 of 9
Part 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!
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