Web Design Mistakes - Graphics *********************************************************** Good design involves a good balance of text and graphic design. How many graphics you choose to use on your web page, if any, depends on what your site is about. A sales letter page about a virtual downloadable product doesn't need a lot of graphics. For example, an e-book page may contain graphics of a book cover (for example of a book cover graphic, see http://www.brealweb.com/writing/freebook.asp), bullets, a header and navigational links which are all small, fast loading graphics files. However, an art gallery will have a lot of graphics, and a visitor to that site will be expecting a lot of images.

The problem with graphics is that they really slow down page loading time. For users of 28.8 KB modems (Yes, they are still in use) loading time of a page is of primary importance. For those with high speed connections, loading time is unimportant, but bandwidth may be an issue (send a blank e-mail to mailto:bandwidth@brealweb.com for an article explaining bandwidth). So rule of thumb is, ---Only Use Optimised Graphics Infrequently---

There are a few common mistakes made when using graphics that can be easily avoided and will make your site visitor's experience much more enjoyable.

1. Large and Uncompressed Graphics. Large graphics are needed on web, but they should be kept in their place. (E.g. high resolution maps, wallpaper images, etc). Where a site has these images, there should be a lower resolution thumbnail linking to larger image. Then only people who want large image will have to wait for it to download.

As a web site owner, I spend a lot of time online. I also spend a lot of time at other sites. These are top seven tips I have discovered make or break a web site other than its design appeal.

1.WHERE ARE YOU? When creating a web site, tell people where you are, or whom you are targeting. I have read several regional online newspapers that haven't included their physical location. For these sites, this information is very vital. For example, http://www.clickart-gallery.com, is an art gallery featuring only Australian artists, so country information is important and you can find it listed in about us section of that site.

2.CONTACT US. When gaining trust of an individual, possibly a person who is new to Internet, letting them know how they can make contact is vital. E-mail is most important. It needs to be easy to find. Again if relevant, you should include phone and fax numbers and a physical street address if you have a traditional business as well as your web site.

You may be amazed at how few sites have this feature, those that do often have it tucked right away; it may take six or seven clicks to find it! All but most dedicated surfer will go away before going this far. That means a valuable potential customer goes away without you knowing. And they probably won't come back.

Do you have a means to capture information about your customers - legitimately? Do you ask questions, run surveys, encourage them to join a mailing list or any other means of leaving their information? If not, why not? You could be letting some future customers leave without you even knowing.

3.TIMELY INFORMATION How many pages at your site are not where you say they are? It can be very disappointing or frustrating to have 404 Page Not Found Errors because something has been moved. A simple solution is a custom 404 page that lists major areas of your site.

How many of your pages have broken links? Some sites excel at broken links and missing images. This translates as lack of interest in your customers. We all end up with one or two problems occasionally and best way to overcome this, besides vigilance when designing pages, is to encourage your visitors to tell you. An easy to use program is Xenu which checks your entire site for broken links. On your web site, you could consider providing a way to let visitors know of problems they experience. Most won't but if someone takes time to let you know, acknowledge them for their help.

Where you have names, addresses, e-mails and phone numbers on your site, keep them updated. It is annoying (and sometimes disappointing) to have an e-mail come back undeliverable because address is no longer valid.

When using dates, it is VITAL to update. My local computer store used dates on their home page, informing customers they were behind as they were going on holidays soon. That message was displayed for almost two years! That was not a positive image to send to their visitors. What image do you want your site to present to wider community?