In order to create or edit your graphics, you'll need to invest in a good graphics program. The most popular program used by Internet marketers is Paint Shop Pro. This powerful program is only program you'll need to design professional looking graphics. You can download a free 30- day trial and register software for only $99. http://www.jasc.com/

Image Formats

The most popular image formats used on Internet are GIF and JPEG.

Graphic Interchange Format, better known as GIF, uses a maximum of 256 colors and is best suited for images such as logos, buttons and bullets.

GIF images can be saved in two different formats:

- 87 - 89a

The 89a format is preferred GIF format, as it has following benefits:

Transparency

Images saved in 89a GIF format can have a transparent background. This will enable canvas of an image to be transparent and enable background to show through.

Interlacing

Images saved in 89a GIF format can be saved as interlaced. This will enable your image to display as it is being loaded into a web page. The image will gradually become clearer as page loads.

Animation

Images saved in 89a GIF format can be used to create animated images. Animated images are simply several GIF images compiled into one GIF image file that loops. In order to create an animated image, you'll need a special editing program.

Joint Photographic Expert Group, better known as JPEG, is best format for photographs. JPEG images can contain millions of colors and allow you to specify degree of compression.

Although there are many graphics programs available on Internet, this tutorial will focus on using Paint Shop Pro 7.01. If you are using a different version of Paint Shop Pro or another graphics program, graphic tools mentioned below will not be located in same places.

Editing Images

When working with images in Paint Shop Pro, you will have ability to save your image in PSP format. This format will enable you to begin working on an image, save it in PSP format and finish image at a later time. It will preserve all of your work without any changes.

If you would like to edit an image that has been previously saved in GIF format, you must first increase image's colors to 16 million. If you don't, your colors will be limited. Go to "Colors" - "Increase Color Depth"- "16 million colors (24 bit)" to increase your image's colors.

Resizing Images

If you'd like to resize an image in JPEG format, you can do so in one of two ways -- through your graphics program or within your HTML. You can resize your image within your HTML by changing HEIGHT and WIDTH values. To retain your images original characteristics, make sure you adjust height and width equally. In other words, if your original image dimensions are 50x100 (width 50 and height 100), to reduce your image to one half size, change width to 25 and height to 50. Although you can use this method, it's not recommended, as it will make your file size larger than necessary.

Before you begin, if you've never designed a web page, it would be wise to become familiar with HTML. (Hypertext Markup Language.) A great place to start is NCSA Beginner's Guide to HTML: http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimer.html

15 Tips for designing a successful web site:

(1) The main page of your web site should load in 8 seconds or less with a 56K modem.

According to two surveys, conducted by Forrester Research and Gartner Group, ecommerce sites are losing $1.1 to $1.3 billion in revenue each year due to customers click-away caused by slow loading sites. If a page takes too long to load, your potential customer will not wait. Ultimately costing you business.

(2) Make sure you include proper META tags within HTML of each page of your web site. META tags are HTML code that enable Search Engines to determine what keywords are relevant to a specific site. About 80 percent of all web site traffic originates from major Search Engines. It would be a good idea to make sure you've done your homework and fully understand how to optimize your web pages prior to designing your site.

(3) Be cautious when selecting your background and text colors. Busy backgrounds make text difficult to read and draw attention away from text. Always be consistent with your background theme on each page of your site. Your site should be nicely organized and uniform throughout.

Keep in mind, colors affect your mood and will have an affect on your visitors as well. Bright colors such as yellow and orange, cause you to become more cheerful or happy. Colors such as blue and purple have a calming effect. Dark colors such as brown and black have a depressing effect. A good rule of thumb is to use colors based on type of effect you're trying to achieve.

(4) Avoid using too many animated graphics. Not only can they be very distracting, but they can also cause your page to look unprofessional. In addition, animated graphics cause your page to load more slowly. Fancy graphics won't make sales.

(5) Your main page should specifically let your visitors know exactly what you're offering. How many times have you visited a site and never figured out exactly what they were selling? If your potential customer can't find your product or service, they definitely won't waste a lot of time looking for it. They'll go on to next site and probably never return. They're visiting your site for a specific purpose. They want something your site offers. Whether it is information, a product or service.

(6) Try to avoid placing banners at top of your page. These can instantly take your customers or even be indexed by Search Engine robots. Limit number of banners on your site to no more than two per page. One is ideal.