Saturday, May 19, 2012

Top Six Ways to Effectively Use Graphics on Your Web Site

It is said that a picture or a graphic can paint a thousand, or maybe more, words.  On the Internet, however, graphics do not only convey the messages you want to communicate, but they would also reinforce your image and how you want people to think about you.

And so, it is very important to be prudent with your graphic design as well as your overall Web page design, because graphics can truly make or break your online marketing efforts.

Worried?  Do not be. With these six tips, you can get a crash course on the finer points of graphics design.

1. Do not go on a graphics overdrive.

When designing your Web site, it is easy to go overboard with the graphics.  Graphics are much easier to control when it comes to page layout and thus are preferred by most designers, especially beginners and those who do not have a good grasp of Web authoring tools.  However, this could be bad for your Web site. On top of the increased loading time, a site with too many graphics can easily look cluttered or disorganized.  Remember that your aim is to beautify your page, not overwhelm your visitors or turn them off and send them away because your site just would not load.  As such, use graphics sparingly and only when it adds value to your pages.

Another thing to remember about graphics is that they serve no purpose in search engine optimization.  It is by far more difficult to optimize flash movies and pictures, while it is fairly easy to manipulate text to rank high in search engine results.  Your Web site might be visually stunning, but it is of no use if your customers or target visitors cannot find it.



2. Do make your graphics congruent with your text.

Make sure that the graphics complement the text, making them easier to read and understand.  It should never compete with the site’s text.  For example, if your site is talking about caring for ducks, and you have a graphic of roasting ducks, the user will be confused as to what you are really trying to say.  Instead, a better graphic would be to depict ducklings or ducks in their nests.

3. Use the graphics to reinforce your colour scheme. Part of any site design is the colour scheme that is uses.  For Amazon, it is currently blue and orange.  For Adidas, it is white, blue and black. For portals, they sometimes use colour schemes to set the one site apart from its affiliate sites.

Graphics can help you reinforce your desired colour schemes.  And because colour schemes can sometimes communicate your brand image and overall branding, your graphics can help you with your branding efforts as well!  More on branding will be discussed later.

4. Use icons.

Icons can help you in two ways.  One, it can complement the text that you have for your headers or navigation.  Instead of just indicating HOME or ABOUT US, you can use icons to, visually complement these.

A second use for icons is for when you are saving space, or want to have a cleaner design.  Unlike text, graphics and icons may be made with equal width and height, making it easier to lay out over a certain menu or space.  You can also create icons to replace text on your navigation bar.  In this case, use only icons that are universally recognizable, or you run the risk of confusing people as to what that icon means and what its purpose is.

5. Graphical branding. Most people think that graphical branding refers only to the logo.  However, did you know that the graphics on your Web site pretty much communicate your brand's image?  A law firm's Web site should depict formal and business graphics.  Hardly, a client would sign the services of a firm with juvenile and whimsical graphics.  In the same token, a brand that is associated with machismo like Marlboro or Levi's would do well to avoid pink colours and feminine details for its graphics!

6. Use graphics to highlight the most important part of your pages. With text, you could easily put important words in bold, or underline.  Graphics should follow the same convention.  The most important ones should be highlighted.

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