Graphics
are generally what makes one website stand out from another. When people
log on to your website for the first time, it is important that they get a
confident feeling if they are going to do business with you. It is
important that your website have a level of entertainment if they are going to return. Custom graphics also encourage people
to talk about your website to others; word of mouth is still the best
advertisement and it is still free!
Custom
graphics accomplish all three of the above objectives plus they make
people feel more in control, and they become more willing to do business,
if they are able to manipulate and/or control their environment to some
degree.
Custom graphics fall into three categories as described
below:
Animation:
Animated images attract peoples' attention and are great ways of getting
someone to remember your website or notice your banner. Though animation
has made major improvements over the days of old, it is still done in
basically the same way by displaying one image after another in rapid
succession. Each part of an animation is called a "frame" or a
"cell". Limitations:
(1)Longer to download ~ Animated images are larger in file
size than non-animated images, since a number of images are actually
adding up to make the animation. (2) Color
range is limited to 216 colors~ Animations must be
stored as .gif format. This format allows for the use
of layers but limits the number of colors to 216 which may cause a less
defined image than the same image stored in .jpg format
which does not support layers but allows for 1.5 million colors (16 bit
true color).
Custom Art Work:
We consider this to be any art work we produce based on your
specifications for logos & banners, and buttons for mouse over
effects. We have many different software programs we use and can create
any art work you desire. There is generally no additional charge for
this service as long as it is covered by theWebsite Design
Package or cost of mouse over
effects. Limitations: There are no
limitations to using custom art work with the exception of additional
cost where it may apply.
Mouseover
Effects: Mouseover effects are becoming the most
commonly used form of custom graphics found on Websites today and
probably impress surfers more than anything else. These effects respond
to the position of the pointer on the screen and are activated when the
pointer moves over an image. This image is generally replaced by another
similar image to give the illusion of a button being pressed in or the
button color changing. We can also cause a third image to appear
somewhere else or change. Bill Gates says a website must be
"High Tech" and "High Touch" in order to be successful.
Mouseover effects make your website "High Tech" and translate into
customer confidence. Mouseover effects can also be applied to text
links. Limitations:
(1) Longer to download ~ 2 to 4 images are generally required to make the mouse over
effect work and must be loaded into the browser as the page loads. This
will allow the images to be instantly replaced and displayed when the
pointer moves over them. You can estimate download times of 2 to 4
sec/link if a mouse over effect is applied. With 12, 2-image mouse over
links on our Home Page, this is why it takes almost 30 sec. to download.
You will notice, however, that each successive page loads much faster.
That is because your browser has "cached" or remembered the images and
does not need to download them again. Mouseover graphics should be small
both in physical size and file size. The buttons on our pages are only
2K each. (2) Requires JavaScript Enabled
Browser ~ Most browsers less than 3 years old including
Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape Navigator 4.0 are OK but it is worth
considering.
