Web Graphics and Loading Speed

Image Isn't Everything, But it is Important

One of the reasons for the Web's popularity is GRAPHICS.  Pictures draw people in and encourage them to browse.  They draw attention, break up text, illustrate points, help with navigation and give identity to a Website. 

And I'm sure you've heard this before: "A picture is worth a thousand words"  It's much easier to insert a picture on a web page than to try and describe something with words.

Where would you like to spend your time browsing: On a Website that is strictly text, text, text, or on one that has creatively placed pictures, buttons and artwork that creates a homey and attractive atmosphere?  And most likely, you'll want to return to the creative site in the future.

Faster Is Better

According to U.S. Census data, in 2005 there were 62 million households (or 55% of households) in the United States that were Computer-Internet connected.

Eventhough 42% of Americans who connect to the Internet have broadband access, that still leaves about 58% of the 62 million American households  who still use a narrowband (modem) connection.  This is approximately 36 million U.S. households.  And remember, there are hundreds of millions more around the world who connect at narrow band speeds.

So, until most everyone can download Web graphics in the "blink of an eye", you still need to be concerned about how fast your graphics and Web pages will load.

So three words of advice when you set up your Website: Streamline. Streamline. Streamline.

Studies show that web users are impatient and may go to another Website if they don't get sufficient visual results within 10 seconds after a page starts to load. 

So even if you have great content, your visitors might not ever see it if they are too impatient to wait until it downloads.  Then all of your work will have been in vain.

A few Facts About how Quickly a Visitor will decide if they like a web page:

• A recent study found that Internet users can take just one-twentieth of a second to decide whether they like the look of a website, researchers say.
• Dr Gitte Lindgaard and colleagues from Carleton University in Ottawa flashed up websites for 50 milliseconds and asked participants to rate them for visual appeal.  When they repeated the exercise after a longer viewing period, the participants' ratings were consistent.
• Studies by the Nielsen Norman Group, an Internet design firm in Fremont, Calif., show that only 50 percent of Web visitors scroll down the screen to see what lies below the visible part on their PC monitor.
  
  “Users spend 30 seconds reviewing a home page,” Nielsen says. “A business must encapsulate what they do in very few words.”

Keep It Simple

You don't have to be a great artist or have formal design training to create an attractive Website.  When you are in doubt, just keep it simple.  The quickest way to create a messy web page is by over doing it and trying to have too much stuff and too many things on your page.

If you are trying to use 8 different text styles, five different button types, a different background color on every page, multicolor lines all over the place, and all kinds of animations, then you've got "too much" and "too many".  The most important thing on your site is the content, not the graphics. 

Graphics for your Web Content is like a Frame for a Picture.  A good picture frame enhances a picture without becoming the main focus of attention.  That's what your Graphics should do for your Website.

In the next section on Making Your Graphics & Pages Load Faster, I'll give you some ways to reduce the size of your Graphics, some suggestions on how to make your Web Pages load faster and also give you some recommendations on Graphic File sizes.

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