Using Images and Graphics for Web site Development.

Graphics are used for various purposes. They are handy when it comes to conveying meaning/information, illustrating a point and providing a branding for your website. Graphics are not necessary in every type of web site development, but it is important when it comes to visual presentations. A website without graphics may look dull. Most of the web pages need and use images relating to the theme of the website.

The two main types of image formats that are used for web site development are – JPG and GIF. By optimizing graphics we mean reducing the physical size of the image by compressing it. There may be a deterioration of quality, but pretty often images can be compressed quite a bit before it becomes obvious. Good graphic programs will let you compare different qualities of compression and let you choose which one you want before you save it. Programs and websites are also created solely for the purpose of optimizing existing graphics.

Graphics such as logos, menu bars, and buttons are better saved as GIF files, whereas, JPG is better for photo images. The main reason for this is the way they are compressed. A GIF file has the flexibility to have parts of it transparent, which is helpful while creating logos. GIF format can also be used for photos, if you want to cut out the image and need transparency.

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are the best and have set industry standards. But if you just have to resize and optimize the image then they are probably unnecessary. Graphics are an important part for any web site development, but you should keep certain things in mind.

Many websites use cloned, common or copied images. Such graphics can be found on ‘free’ picture websites. If you use these common images, then your website will look like any other old website. Your website will not make an impression on the mind of the user, and hence the purpose of creating it will be defeated. To make an impression you will need new and original images, the source of which is your mind. You will have to create the new images yourself.

A lot of low prices, royalty free pictures are available on the net. Unfortunately, these are usually in a format for print (usually EPS or TIFF). Which means, they need to be opened in a graphic program like Adobe Photoshop and converted to the right height/width and dots per inch. Web graphics are 72 dots per inch. GIF graphics need to be set to 256 or indexed color and the JPEG graphics has to be fixed to true color. All this seems to be like complex work, but there is no need to panic, as there are programs available that automatically convert EPS and TIFF graphics into GIF and JPG graphics.

If you cannot afford or don’t have the resources to make high quality graphics for web site development, then there is another way, the Text Graphic Maker. Even though they are text graphics, they can match the professional quality of mainstream graphics. With this program you can choose from a variety of colors, sizes and shapes. You can easily make a professional site title and text navigation buttons.

Creating your own images is always a healthier option because they will be different than any of the generic ones available from the free picture sites. By combining colors and various images, you can create unique and innovative images.

Using graphics on your web site can definitely increase your download time. Here are some tips to keep the download time in check while using graphics on your site:

The graphics you use for web site development should be kept small. A safe size would be anything from 5k to 15k. Even then try to use as few graphics as possible. A user will avoid sites, in which, the first item to download is a graphic with a size over 50k-100k. A surfer will not have the patience to wait and will close your site and go to another one.

Use a good optimizing program, if any of your images are more than 50k, you need to optimize them. If you run a file that is 50k through the optimizer, it might reduce the size by 80 percent and make the file only 10k. However, even if you can reduce the file size by 25%, it will cut seconds of the download time and then you will save valuable time of the visitor.

Repeat the visuals on other pages of your website, so they cache. This will increase the download speed, as the viewers will only be downloading all new ones on every page.

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