Graphics on a Web site can greatly enhance the reader's experience. They draw the reader into your site and, if used appropriately, reinforce the message of your text. The following guidelines explain how you can use graphics effectively on your Web site.

Make Graphics Part of Your Objectives

As you decide which graphics to use, remember the mission of your Web site. Also, consider the audience you're targeting and the tone you want to convey. Then choose graphics that are consistent with these objectives. A law firm, for example, may rely on polished, professional-looking graphics to convey strength, prestige, and competence. An independently owned art supply store, on the other hand, is more likely to choose graphics to communicate creativity and style.

Following are some of the "dos and don'ts" in using graphics on your Web site.

Don't make readers wait for long downloads   Graphics require more disk space and memory than text, which means they take longer to download. Readers with slower modems may have to wait 30 seconds or longer to see all the text and graphics on a page. If your page takes too long to download, you risk losing those viewers. Consider the following:

• As a rule of thumb, use no more than 40 to 60 KB of content per Web page, including all text and graphics.
• The larger the file size, the longer the download time. Graphics properties that can increase file size include the number of colors in the graphic, and the size of the graphic on the page.
• If you must use a large graphic on your Web site, represent it on a page as a thumbnail graphic (GIF file) (see Creating Thumbnail Graphics on Your Publisher 2000 Web Site ). Insert a hyperlink under the thumbnail graphic that loads the full-size graphic (JPEG file) on a separate page. Your readers can choose whether to download the graphic.

Use your images more than once   Images repeated throughout your Web site add an element of consistency to the design. It can also reduce your viewer's download time. Use the same image, such as graphical buttons for hyperlinks, to make them easy to recognize. Or, place a logo in the same position on every page to reinforce your organization's identity.

Don't steal - It's the law   If you use graphics from publications or the Web, be sure to get permission from the copyright owner by writing to the author, publisher, or Webmaster.

Use caution when layering text over graphics   In Publisher you can layer text over graphics or graphics over text, which is an effective technique for printed publications. When this technique is used in a Web site created in Publisher, the combined text and graphic object are generated as a single graphic region in HTML version 3.0 or earlier. This results in a large graphic file, which can increase download time.

Use the Right Types of Graphic

You can import a wide variety of graphics in Publisher. The following three types of graphics are commonly used on the Web, and can be opened by most browsers.

GIF   The Graphic Interchange Format, or GIF, is the most widely used graphic format for clip art, drawings, and black and white photographs on Web pages. GIF is a popular format because it's the fastest type of graphic to download, it doesn't become distorted, and it supports transparency, so you can view the background behind the GIF. It offers another benefit: Every browser that supports graphics can display GIFs, so your graphics appear online no matter what browser your reader uses.

JPEG   Another popular graphic format is Joint Photographic Experts Group, or JPEG. JPEG graphics are best for color photographs and scanned images. JPEGs are slow to download, however, and do not produce clear images for black and white photos or photos with sharp contrasts.

Animated GIFs   These files are a series of GIFs made into one file that plays like a short film loop. While eye-catching, a moving element on a page diverts the reader's attention. Be sure the animation loop is both short and relevant to your message. Also keep in mind that certain browsers can't display an animated graphic, which means some viewers only see the first or last image in the loop.

Graphics can capture your reader's interest and also help clarify the message of your site. Stick to these graphics guidelines, and your graphics should be effective.

For More Information

To view more information on graphics, click Microsoft Publisher Help on the Help menu in Publisher, and type Insert graphics in the Office Assistant or on the Answer Wizard tab.