A GRAPHICS PRIMER

Written by Ruth McIntyre-Williams


You’ve downloaded buttons and horizontal lines and other good stuff fromrepparttar web — but — it’s not all exactly what you want. Besides, you have some photos that would spruce uprepparttar 132095 site, and you want to feel as if some part ofrepparttar 132096 graphics were your own. You can do it. Gather your photos. Draw a palm tree in your paint program. Put them onrepparttar 132097 web.

This is not a comprehensive graphics course. We’re talking basic, simple — words you want to hear. Two of these words are acronyms: jpg and gif. What they mean, you don’t care. Just remember them.

a. Use jpg when your graphic is a photograph or like a photograph. b. Use gif for everything else.

Easy, huh? Onward!

First, check out your scanner software. Readrepparttar 132098 manual or open up your scanner software and start pushing buttons. Somewhere, you should be able to chooserepparttar 132099 gif or jpg file format to save your scan in. It could be under “Save As” or “Export,” or it could be inrepparttar 132100 box where you set uprepparttar 132101 parameters before you scan. Experiment. Learn how to createrepparttar 132102 file format you want before you go on.

We’re going to start with jpg and photos. Computer monitors only show at a resolution of 72. So find out where you setrepparttar 132103 scanning resolution, and put it at 72. If you print out your 72 scan, it will be terrible, so don’t print it. Onrepparttar 132104 web, it will be beautiful. Trust me.

Then, check your photo size. A two inch by three inch photo on a web page is big! Shrink your photo either when or after you scan it. You’ll have to experiment with what size you’ll want on your page.

You’ve scanned your photo at 72, and got it torepparttar 132105 size you want. You must now “Save As” or “Export” it as a jpg. You will probably haverepparttar 132106 option of choosing “high,” “medium,” or “low” quality for your jpg. If at all possible, save it as “low.” If numbers are given, try “3.” . Userepparttar 132107 lowest quality or lowest number that you can and still have an acceptable photo. Which brings us to an axiom of web graphics design:

All graphics should be created inrepparttar 132108 smallest possible file size!

Smaller graphics files mean faster loading when a viewer opens your page. If repparttar 132109 loading takes too long,repparttar 132110 viewer will not stay, much less buy something. Smaller graphics files means a smaller storage needs for your page, important when you are allotted limited server space. Sometimes web browsers balk at loading huge graphics. Keep it small. Avoid headaches.

How To Keep Visitors On Your Site Longer and Bring Them Back Again and Again

Written by Chris Small


You work very hard to bring traffic to your site. When they finally do get there what happens? Well in a lot of cases they.... leave. Yup, they simply move on torepparttar next site. That click happy mouse hand just doesn't like to stay put for long.

What’s a poor webmaster to do?

Following are five suggestions that will keeprepparttar 132093 mouse clicks within your site.

COPY

The first area to look at is your copy. What arerepparttar 132094 first 30 to 50 words that a visitor reads (if they read it at all). Is it compelling? Does it ticklerepparttar 132095 readers fancy enough for them to keep exploring?

You need to learn and applyrepparttar 132096 art of copy writing. If you can not write an effective presentation for your site you really should consider hiring someone who can. After all, what’srepparttar 132097 point of doing allrepparttar 132098 marketing only to lose them onrepparttar 132099 first paragraph.

DESIGN

Yes, we've all read that you can have a terrible looking site but still make money with effective copy. While there may be some truth to that, it is certainly no excuse to get sloppy inrepparttar 132100 design and presentation of your site.

When meeting new people you always want to look your best. Likewise onrepparttar 132101 web, that first impression is extremely important. This static collection of pixels onrepparttar 132102 monitor is all that they have to go by. Make it a good one.

I am competent enough at using html and software programs to build ‘a decent web site’. But, my objective is not ‘a decent web site’. It is to have a GREAT web site. So I have chosen to work with one ofrepparttar 132103 best designers onrepparttar 132104 Internet. If you are serious about presentingrepparttar 132105 best possible site torepparttar 132106 world then I encourage you to find a skilled, artistic designer too.

CONTENT

How can you discover what it is that your visitors are truly looking for?

For starters, do a reverse search atrepparttar 132107 Search Engines. Some ofrepparttar 132108 bigger Search Engines like Excite have a search voyeur http://www.excite.com/voyeur_xt that shows yourepparttar 132109 actual words and phrases that are being used at that moment.

Visitrepparttar 132110 busiest sites that are in your industry. Look at what they are offering and how it is presented.

Conduct an in-house survey. Ask your visitors and newsletter readers what they are looking for. You'll see a much better response rate if you offer some type of incentive for them takingrepparttar 132111 time and effort to fill out your form or questionnaire.

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
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