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A professional webmaster such as myself has to have a wide range of skills involving website design. We are expected to be able to cope with all the tasks needed to maintain websites. Naturally, some of these skills are more easily mastered than others.
Lack Of Expertise
Many webmasters such as myself find that the creation of website graphics is one of the hardest tasks to do well. Artistic ability is something you are born with, not something you can easily acquire. Yes, the best graphics software makes the job a little easier but software such as PhotoShop is both costly and not easy to master.
The general lack of graphics skills is very evident when you look at the many websites built by amateurs. They really haven't grasped the importance of having a well-presented website. If they are selling something, they are unlikely to gain the confidence of potential customers. Would you buy from a person who cannot present a professional appearance on their website? Probably not!
The Importance Of Website Graphics
A major reason is to make the web pages more readable. A big block of text is harder to read than one where the text is broken up by good-quality, relevant images. This applies to blogs and content-rich sites as well as those aiming to sell something. People will not stay on a website if it is difficult to read.
Also, presenting an image of whatever is being sold on a site will increase the conversion rate. This applies equally to digital products such as eBooks and software.
When Should You Use A Graphic Designer?
If you need some really high-quality images, and you don't have good graphic design skills then you should use the services of a professional graphic designer. Yes, it could be expensive. And yes, you may have to wait a while for the work to be finished.
Then there's the question of how to find a good graphic designer. They will need to have the skills to produce graphics for the web, which are different in some respects from the skills needed for off-line graphics. Also, since each designer has a different approach to design, you'll need to ensure that you like their particular style. Have a look at the work which they have done - and make sure that they can do the work for you to meet your own deadlines. You don't want to be waiting for the designer to complete the work before you launch your site.
What About Ready-Made Website Graphics?
There is no shortage of freely available images on the web - such as buttons, bullets, headers, icons and photographs.
However, because these pre-made graphics are so readily available, you will find the same graphics on many different websites. If you use such graphics unaltered, people will know that you're building your website on the cheap! This is not the image you want to portray! Naturally, if you have the skills, you can take such graphics and modify them with graphics software. This will help your website to stand out more from others. But doing this work is not always easy, and it can be time-consuming. This is a disadvantage for me, personally.
Also, it can be quite hard to track down the good sources of ready-made graphics. A lot of the stuff on the web is pure rubbish!
My Solution To Creating Graphics For Websites
I've been a professional webmaster since 1996, and so I've spent a lot of time tracking down good web-based sources of graphics. And in recent months, I've found web-based services which go a long way beyond just providing clip art and royalty-free photographs
Some of these online services are quite remarkable. There are services which let you create your own badges, buttons and banners without needing artistic skills. There are services which let you do amazing transformations of existing photographs. There are sites which let you design your own website and blog templates. The list goes on - and new online graphics services are appearing almost daily.
The great thing is that there is no charge for these services!
I started off by just having a list of these services. Then, I found it easier to bundle them into a bit of software that I built so that I could quickly select and use these website graphics services. I made sure that I could update this software easily as I located new services.
I gave this software to a few of my friends and they were delighted with it! "Why don't you sell it", they asked me? So I did, and it's now become the best selling product in my "Webmasters CheatKit" range.
Lack Of Expertise
Many webmasters such as myself find that the creation of website graphics is one of the hardest tasks to do well. Artistic ability is something you are born with, not something you can easily acquire. Yes, the best graphics software makes the job a little easier but software such as PhotoShop is both costly and not easy to master.
The general lack of graphics skills is very evident when you look at the many websites built by amateurs. They really haven't grasped the importance of having a well-presented website. If they are selling something, they are unlikely to gain the confidence of potential customers. Would you buy from a person who cannot present a professional appearance on their website? Probably not!
The Importance Of Website Graphics
A major reason is to make the web pages more readable. A big block of text is harder to read than one where the text is broken up by good-quality, relevant images. This applies to blogs and content-rich sites as well as those aiming to sell something. People will not stay on a website if it is difficult to read.
Also, presenting an image of whatever is being sold on a site will increase the conversion rate. This applies equally to digital products such as eBooks and software.
When Should You Use A Graphic Designer?
If you need some really high-quality images, and you don't have good graphic design skills then you should use the services of a professional graphic designer. Yes, it could be expensive. And yes, you may have to wait a while for the work to be finished.
Then there's the question of how to find a good graphic designer. They will need to have the skills to produce graphics for the web, which are different in some respects from the skills needed for off-line graphics. Also, since each designer has a different approach to design, you'll need to ensure that you like their particular style. Have a look at the work which they have done - and make sure that they can do the work for you to meet your own deadlines. You don't want to be waiting for the designer to complete the work before you launch your site.
What About Ready-Made Website Graphics?
There is no shortage of freely available images on the web - such as buttons, bullets, headers, icons and photographs.
However, because these pre-made graphics are so readily available, you will find the same graphics on many different websites. If you use such graphics unaltered, people will know that you're building your website on the cheap! This is not the image you want to portray! Naturally, if you have the skills, you can take such graphics and modify them with graphics software. This will help your website to stand out more from others. But doing this work is not always easy, and it can be time-consuming. This is a disadvantage for me, personally.
Also, it can be quite hard to track down the good sources of ready-made graphics. A lot of the stuff on the web is pure rubbish!
My Solution To Creating Graphics For Websites
I've been a professional webmaster since 1996, and so I've spent a lot of time tracking down good web-based sources of graphics. And in recent months, I've found web-based services which go a long way beyond just providing clip art and royalty-free photographs
Some of these online services are quite remarkable. There are services which let you create your own badges, buttons and banners without needing artistic skills. There are services which let you do amazing transformations of existing photographs. There are sites which let you design your own website and blog templates. The list goes on - and new online graphics services are appearing almost daily.
The great thing is that there is no charge for these services!
I started off by just having a list of these services. Then, I found it easier to bundle them into a bit of software that I built so that I could quickly select and use these website graphics services. I made sure that I could update this software easily as I located new services.
I gave this software to a few of my friends and they were delighted with it! "Why don't you sell it", they asked me? So I did, and it's now become the best selling product in my "Webmasters CheatKit" range.
About the Author:
The author of this article, Ian Traynor, has spent years struggling with website graphics! He has made his "graphics in a box" software available at a low price from http://www.IanSays.com/WebmastersCheatKit/GraphicsWizard
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