JED.WEB site graphics, themes, templates, buttons, bars and pictures

Website Graphics
Types of Graphic Files

There are several types of Graphic files used on web pages. The two most popular are “GIF” and “JPG”. GIF files (CompuServe Graphic Interchange File) were developed early in the history of the Web by one of the founding Internet companies to compress picture files for transfer over narrow band modems. The format has been updated recently to support 256 colors, transparent backgrounds and animation. JPG (JPEG –JFIF Compliant) files offer Photo quality, higher compression and 16 million colors. Other file types used on web pages are BMP (Bitmap) and WMF (Windows Meta File) formats. These files lack compression and may slow load times. The same files in different formats are shown below with their sizes.

1643 bytes 1305 bytes 4806 bytes 5942 bytes

Themes and templates

Users of Web Page generation software and some HTML web builders can use Themes or Templates to create the look and feel of a web page. Themes (such as the ones in the format / themes selection of Microsoft FrontPage) are a collection of background graphics, fonts, buttons, bars and headers that are coordinated and can be used to layout a web page. Templates can also be downloaded from the web. Some template artists offer their designs for free while other can command some very high prices for their work. If you are adventurous, you can find a site that you like the look of, and try to recreate it using your own graphics and HTML.

Buttons and Bars

Button, Bars and Logo graphics tend to be created as GIF files. These elements can take advantage of some of the attributes of the GIF format. The transparent background will allow the logos and buttons to hover over a textured background without looking boxy. Animated GIF’s add interest to logos, buttons and bars. These graphics can be created using simple paint software. MSPaint, PCPaint and Paint Shop Pro are only a few of the software packages that can be used to create and edit the graphic elements of a web page. If you are not artistic, very good graphics can be downloaded from any number of graphic websites.

Animated Graphics

Animated graphics can add interest to a website content. GIF files can be made to animate and many examples of animated logos, buttons and other graphic elements can be seen on the web. To animate a picture, the picture must be separated into several frames, with each frame slightly different then the one before it. Tools such as Animation Shop can be used to combine each frame into a sequential animation. Thousands of animated pictures are available from websites like Animation Factory and others. Use graphics sparingly, as they can be a distraction from the main theme or content of a webpage.

Pictures on your site

Photo quality pictures are the primary object of many web sites. The promotion of photographs over the web extends beyond the porn sites and purveyors of smut. There are many very good photo sites with family photographs, galleries of art photography and pictures relating to products or interest. Most web pictures use JPG files because of the high quality and condensed file size. One element most photograph web sites use is the thumbnail. A thumbnail is a miniature version of the original photograph to allow faster loading and an opportunity for visitors to review a representation of the photograph before loading or downloading the full version.