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| Images/Graphics
- What and How to Use Them First, here are some guidelines
on using graphics on your website - with links to other specific
graphics information.
- Don't use graphics simply to use graphics - ensure they
enhance the content and intended message of your page.
Otherwise they are just contributing to your page's size and
download time. .
- Wherever possible and logical, re-use images throughout
your site. After an image
has been loaded into a browser once, it will be stored in the
cache and will load immediately on the next visit, making
things more pleasant for your visitors.
- Think twice before you use animated GIFs. Animated
GIFs can be very cute, and using one here and there is
probably okay.
However, a page
filled with flashing icons will quickly become a distraction and
cause a headache, thereby causing your visitors to quickly
leave your site. Your graphics should enhance the
contents of your
page, not distract from it. In addition, animated GIFs
are larger than normal image files, so will contribute to your
page's size and download time.
- Use the ALT attribute tag with your images. This is
user-friendly and helps those who don't have graphical
browsers or have graphics turned off. In addition, even those users who are using
graphics will see the ALT text appear while the image is
loading, so they'll know what to expect. See the
ALT page
for more information on the ALT attribute.
- Keep your file sizes as small as possible. Ideally, a web page should be a total of 50-75 KB in size.
Too large or too many graphics can increase the page to such a
size that it is difficult for users at slower speeds to
download. See the
image and file size
page for more information on sizing of graphics on your page.
So what kind of graphics can you use and where do you find
them? Check out my
Finding/Creating/Modifying graphics
page.
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