A common question I get when I talk about web design is, “are web design graphics really that important when trying to sell online?”. Let me answer it this way:

Basically, I know of 2 groups of thought regarding graphic elements, and they are:

1. Graphic design does not affect anything, only content does. This would be your typical SEO response to web design and content creation. In SEO, content is king, therefor your graphics aren’t as important… however…

2. The second group thinks web graphics are very important, since they create that first impression when a new visitors arrives. Good web graphics can set your page apart from the rest and give you the needed accountability that largely formated content sites lack.

Which group is right?

I think the second group is closer to the truth. Let me explain…

The objective of any website is to get people to do things - buy stuff, or subscribe, or provide user generated content. We want are visitors to stay longer and do more things with us. It’s how you make money, and why we all do this web content creation thing.

If you go for a job interview, or go on a new date, what happens when you first meet? The first impression! That’s right, we all form an instant opinion when we make that first encounter.

You see, a new website visitor gets that same first impression when they come to your site, and if they get the wrong impression, they hit the back button or close button, and no one wins.

Anyways, do you think web design graphics have anything to do with first impressions? You can bet your last dollar on that, because they are proven to be the biggest factor in forming the first impression.

Put up a boring plain website that looks like other boring sites, and everyone will think “same old boring site” and leave. You will be just like every other boring site, with no reason to bookmark or visit.

Use some well matched web graphics on your site that grab attention, and you will see how it affects your sales, stats and conversions.

Think back to some of the websites you bookmarked on your first visit. Remember how they grabbed your attention and got you looking closely at what they offered? The first step is by the proper use of layout and web graphics to get people to start reading and watching. Now you know this, wouldn’t you want the graphics that give the best possible results?

It’s a key way to get that instant differentiation that makes you stand out to everyone, and luckily, you can get some pretty amazing marketing graphics for next to nothing out there.

If your website isn’t memorable, why not try putting some exciting graphics on your website? It might be just enough to tilt your visitors into action.

Back in the early days of the Internet, only a select few were able to, or could be bothered with, creating a website. The thing was that the Internet was still clunky and slow, and was the domain of nerds and real programmers who had the knowledge to make a website. These people understood HTML.

You couldn’t take shortcuts back then, there was no WISYWIG web builder or Dreamweaver to use. Building a personal website was a labour of love, something that took an immense amount of work, and was not for the faint of heart or the inexperienced.

This certainly isn’t the case nowadays. On the contrary, making a website is practically a must for anyone who wants to consider himself or herself an internet publisher or marketer. Millions of people are getting into blogging, and the numbers are growing.

If you want to keep up with the times, learning to build your own website is a must. This is easy now. With the introduction of sites like My Space and Live Journal, it’s so simple that anyone can do it.
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One of the basic tricks I learned while playing with CSS is how to remove the outline that linking with an image will create. When you create a text link, the default color the link appears in is blue. Well, with an image link, you get a blue outline around the image. Obviously this can be an issue if it doesn’t flow with your design. So how do you get your image to stay a link but remove the link outline? Simply add this code to your CSS: Continue reading →