When you first lay eyes on a new website or blog, it is without a doubt the images that first catch your eye. Having the right images on your site is essential to creating the right impression, from the very first glance. In this article we will discuss why you should add images. We also cover many of the sources of images that you can download to use on your blog and your websites.
Here are some ways effectively using images enhances your blog: 1. They break up text. Facing a page of black-and-white text is daunting. Images can give the eye a place to rest, breaking up the flow of an otherwise monotonous page. 2. They lead into the text. Since people look at them first, the images provide a starting point for the rest of the blog post. Good images are like flashing arrows that say, "START HERE." 3. They introduce the topic. Picking an appropriate, related image gives the reader an idea of what to expect from the post. For instance, a photo of a street sign that says "Bumpy Road Ahead" lets the reader know that the post is about challenges or change. 4. They support the post content. A diagram, graphic, or other image can further illustrate the post's content. A flow chart of a sales funnel, for instance, gives you another way to explain the concepts you're presenting.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that's true, you can't afford NOT to use images in your blog posts. They may be the most powerful tool you have.
Here are some online places where you can collect royalty free images to use: 1. The easiest place to find images might be from your own camera! Check out what images you already have in your albums and scan them into your computer. Go take some digital pictures. 2. Flickr.com is home to millions of images from all over the world. 3. Stock.XCHNG (www.sxc.hu) is a free stock photo site. 4. IstockPhoto A large collection of professional and business quality images and illustrations are available from iStockPhoto.com. 5. Clipart For the widest variety of images (illustrations, photos, animations, and more), check out Clipart.com. 6. Buy Royalty Free Clip Art. One of the best value ways to get your hands on hundreds, even thousands, of bargain priced images for your blog is to buy packs or royalty free clip art.
Elements of Web 2.0 Graphics. Web 2.0 has created a revolution on the internet in a number of ways. There's the collaboration factor which enabled people to share information much easier than before. Then there's the factor of bringing the desktop environment to the internet. But nothing's more obvious in the Web 2.0 world than the so-called Web 2.0 design. What makes a Web 2.0 design different from the designs of the past? Here are some of the elements that set it apart from everything that has come before it. 1. Rounded boxes - although this has been used in designs of the past, this design element wasn't used extensively until Web 2.0 came. This helps give a fresh look into websites which used to be dominated by very professional-looking rectangular boxes. 2. Reflections - this element aims to give off a 3D look for icons. However, this is to be used sparingly, only to be used to give depth to otherwise plain-looking icons. 3. Whitespace - in web designs of old, having a lot of whitespace was a no-no. Information was to be packed in as much space as possible. But not anymore in the Web 2.0 world. Having a lot of whitespace on a design makes it possible to read things on-screen without causing too much eye strain. Aside from that, it sets borders among elements without actually creating a demarcating line. 4. Large fonts - immediately capture one's attention. Large fonts are therefore useful in highlighting important parts of the webpage especially the headlines and the banners.
Reducing Load Time Through Image Optimization Even though more and more Internet users switch to broadband every year, a large portion of the web's population is still running on good old dialup connections. It is therefore unwise to count them out of the equation when you're designing your website, and a very major consideration we have to make for dialup users is the loading time of your website. Generally, all the text on your website will be loaded in a very short time even on a dialup connection. The culprit of slow-loading sites is mainly large images on your website, and it is very important to strike a delicate balance between using just enough images to attract your users and not to bog down the overall loading time of your site. You should also go to a greater length and optimize every image on your site to make sure it loads in the least time possible. What I really mean is to use image editing software to remove unnecessary information on your images, and thereby effectively reducing the file size of your image without affecting its appearance. If you own Photoshop, it will be obvious to you that when you save an image as a JPEG file, a dialog box appears and lets you choose the "quality" of the JPEG image -- normally a setting of 8 to 10 is good enough as it will preserve the quality of your image while saving it at a small file size. If you do not have Photoshop, there are many free image compressors online that you can download and use to reduce your image's file size. On the other hand, you can opt to save your images in PNG format to get the best quality at the least file size. You can also save your images in GIF format -- the image editing software clips away all the color information not used in your image, hence giving you the smallest file size possible. However, saving in GIF format will often compromise the appearance of your image, so make your choice wisely!
Here are some ways effectively using images enhances your blog: 1. They break up text. Facing a page of black-and-white text is daunting. Images can give the eye a place to rest, breaking up the flow of an otherwise monotonous page. 2. They lead into the text. Since people look at them first, the images provide a starting point for the rest of the blog post. Good images are like flashing arrows that say, "START HERE." 3. They introduce the topic. Picking an appropriate, related image gives the reader an idea of what to expect from the post. For instance, a photo of a street sign that says "Bumpy Road Ahead" lets the reader know that the post is about challenges or change. 4. They support the post content. A diagram, graphic, or other image can further illustrate the post's content. A flow chart of a sales funnel, for instance, gives you another way to explain the concepts you're presenting.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that's true, you can't afford NOT to use images in your blog posts. They may be the most powerful tool you have.
Here are some online places where you can collect royalty free images to use: 1. The easiest place to find images might be from your own camera! Check out what images you already have in your albums and scan them into your computer. Go take some digital pictures. 2. Flickr.com is home to millions of images from all over the world. 3. Stock.XCHNG (www.sxc.hu) is a free stock photo site. 4. IstockPhoto A large collection of professional and business quality images and illustrations are available from iStockPhoto.com. 5. Clipart For the widest variety of images (illustrations, photos, animations, and more), check out Clipart.com. 6. Buy Royalty Free Clip Art. One of the best value ways to get your hands on hundreds, even thousands, of bargain priced images for your blog is to buy packs or royalty free clip art.
Elements of Web 2.0 Graphics. Web 2.0 has created a revolution on the internet in a number of ways. There's the collaboration factor which enabled people to share information much easier than before. Then there's the factor of bringing the desktop environment to the internet. But nothing's more obvious in the Web 2.0 world than the so-called Web 2.0 design. What makes a Web 2.0 design different from the designs of the past? Here are some of the elements that set it apart from everything that has come before it. 1. Rounded boxes - although this has been used in designs of the past, this design element wasn't used extensively until Web 2.0 came. This helps give a fresh look into websites which used to be dominated by very professional-looking rectangular boxes. 2. Reflections - this element aims to give off a 3D look for icons. However, this is to be used sparingly, only to be used to give depth to otherwise plain-looking icons. 3. Whitespace - in web designs of old, having a lot of whitespace was a no-no. Information was to be packed in as much space as possible. But not anymore in the Web 2.0 world. Having a lot of whitespace on a design makes it possible to read things on-screen without causing too much eye strain. Aside from that, it sets borders among elements without actually creating a demarcating line. 4. Large fonts - immediately capture one's attention. Large fonts are therefore useful in highlighting important parts of the webpage especially the headlines and the banners.
Reducing Load Time Through Image Optimization Even though more and more Internet users switch to broadband every year, a large portion of the web's population is still running on good old dialup connections. It is therefore unwise to count them out of the equation when you're designing your website, and a very major consideration we have to make for dialup users is the loading time of your website. Generally, all the text on your website will be loaded in a very short time even on a dialup connection. The culprit of slow-loading sites is mainly large images on your website, and it is very important to strike a delicate balance between using just enough images to attract your users and not to bog down the overall loading time of your site. You should also go to a greater length and optimize every image on your site to make sure it loads in the least time possible. What I really mean is to use image editing software to remove unnecessary information on your images, and thereby effectively reducing the file size of your image without affecting its appearance. If you own Photoshop, it will be obvious to you that when you save an image as a JPEG file, a dialog box appears and lets you choose the "quality" of the JPEG image -- normally a setting of 8 to 10 is good enough as it will preserve the quality of your image while saving it at a small file size. If you do not have Photoshop, there are many free image compressors online that you can download and use to reduce your image's file size. On the other hand, you can opt to save your images in PNG format to get the best quality at the least file size. You can also save your images in GIF format -- the image editing software clips away all the color information not used in your image, hence giving you the smallest file size possible. However, saving in GIF format will often compromise the appearance of your image, so make your choice wisely!
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