subject: Too many images may ruin your website [print this page] Wondering how to make a website? These are a few helpful hints I thought I'd personally present to you that I have learnt whilst running my Perth web design and online business consulting company over the previous 5 years.
A typical oversight people make any time they're building a web page is to jam it full of images. While tempting, you will have to resist -- or else, you will finish up with visual overload.
So, Why is that a bad thing? Here's why.
Slow page loading times
The 1st justification to cut down on images is that the more there are, and the larger they tend to be, the more time it will take every one of your web pages to download. People can be impatient when waiting for internet pages to download -- you only have around 5 seconds just before your guest hits the actual Back button.
So what is the next step? Besides making use of fewer graphics, you may also ensure that you resize your images in a graphics editor. This actually makes their file sizes smaller. Say you decided to simply re-size graphics by specifying a width and height in HTML or CSS, they will still be slower to download mainly because the complete file size is being used.
You will definitely need to use high compression in your graphics editor JPEG files can frequently be compressed by up to 25% before there's a apparent distinction in quality. Always consider different file formats including jpg, gif and png in addition to data compresion levels to see exactly what options perform best
Your web pages become confusing
If you have a web page with much more than 4 images on the page simultaneously, your eye balls will be pulled all over the place. They're unsure where to focus mainly because the web page simply has too much taking place.
Take a look at the front pages of magazines, and notice how they lead on one picture. Putting 2 photographs on a front page is regarded to be bad: the reader won't know exactly where to look.
There is absolutely no difference here between a newspaper and your website. Even if you have more than one thing to state, it really is better to 'go large' with 1 image and then describe the additional points in writing, next to or below it.
It Distracts from the particular Information
Consumers don't generally visit your site to look at photos, they're seeking for important information. Excessive use of graphics will distract from your information, or, even worse, push visitors to search for it. The moment your pictures get in the way of individuals easily making use of your web site, you are suffering from graphical overload. And that's a bad thing.
What is the solution? Choose which graphics really are the most valuable and ditch the rest. Do not simply include images to try to fill the page, every image element on your page really should have a particular function.
An Exclusion: Photo Galleries
If the function of your web site is photography demonstration, then obviously a number of pictures are suitable. However, never simply stick up several large shots -- generate thumbnails: more compact variations of each and every photograph. If interested, the website visitor will click on one in order to make it bigger.
This fits a lot more pictures on each and every web page, and avoids wasting user download time in addition to your data transfer.
Take into account that in just about all web design, the photos are usually there strictly to support the information. Even when the content is actually graphical.
