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
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