Good graphic design makes a difference

Even the most minimalist website design should pay some consideration to graphics. This can promote a company's online brand, enhance its overall appearance and improve the perception visitors to your website have of you.

People will appreciate good graphics on a website, which can make it functional, easy to use and attractive to web users. Poor choices in graphic design will be memorable for all the wrong reasons and people might view your company as unprofessional and will not visit your website again.

Lining up

Different parts of a website, such as the navigation bars and search tools, should line up properly.  This will make your page easier to navigate and read, ensuring the site appears as a whole and does not confuse visitors.

Poor website designs might require visitors to scroll horizontally to find relevant information, with certain parts of the page appearing to be completely independent of the main site. This makes the page look cobbled together and could damage your online brand.

Moving images and flash movies

Some websites begin with a flash movie that must first be loaded on to the visitor's computer before it can be skipped and the requested content can be found. Although certain audiences might appreciate this, such as children, many people dislike this aspect of the website. While it might highlight the professionalism of the company behind the page, it does not promote usability and is commonly viewed as a distraction.

Similarly, internet users typically avoid looking at flashing images, moving pictures, text that changes colour or any other distracting graphics. This might be because these strategies are often used in embedded advertisements and people are becoming intuitive about how to avoid viewing these intrusive messages.

Optimising

Many graphics placed on a website will need to be optimised to reduce loading times for visitors. This involves compressing the file, which results in a slight loss in quality, although in many cases this is not noticeable. Many programmes will allow you to conduct a before-and-after comparison before you compress the graphic, which will allow you to determine whether or not to do so.

Although the average bandwidth achieved by internet users is improving, there are still many people who might find it difficult to download large files or do not wish to for other reasons. Optimising your graphical content will ensure they will still visit your webpage and you do not miss out on this part of the market.

Consistency

Many businesses have benefited by consistently having the same graphics throughout their website. This improves the user experience and can help firms promote their brand in the minds of their audience.

Banners and headers often feature the same graphical content on every page of a website and can be used to link back to the homepage, Doing this ensures visitors intrinsically know how to navigate the website and will enhance its usability and help direct people to the content they wish to see.

Call Sizzle Media today on 0161 820 8577 to find out how our graphic design team can help your business.

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