Website Design Graphics - How Much is Too Much?

Graphic intensive sites look pretty, but what are the downsides?

1. Loading time

When developing a website, a good website designer will take into account the "lowest common denominator" in its design. This is, for instance, why a properly constructed website should be optimized for a screen resolution of 800x600 pixels - if you create the site for a larger screen resolution, the 800x600 users will get that feared horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of their screen - having to toggle left and right to see the entire content. This is an example of building a site with the "lowest common denominator" in mind.

The same lies true for graphics. In this case, we are worried about download time. Thus, the lowest common denominator is connection speed - specifically, dial up connection speed. A page that takes only seconds to load on a cable or DSL connection may take several minutes to load on a dial up connection. Therefore, care should be taken to minimize image file size (image file size optimization) for speedy downloads even on a dialup connection.

2. Search engine ramifications

Further, search engines don't know what a graphic is - they can't "see" the graphic and then index it - so, we have to rely on some tricks with regard to naming the image files and their attribute tags to help the search engines along. This is especially true on sites without much written content - such as most ecommerce sites - these sites rely on pictures of the products in order to sell the product, but contain very little content other than the price of the item, for example. In sites such as this (ecommerce sites), it is imperative to utilize search engine optimizing techniques in the naming of the graphic files and thier html attributes. Also, it is strongly recommended to include a written description of the item with the picture - that adds content - and helps you sell the product.

These are but a couple of the concerns when implementing a graphic design into a website.