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Images

The latest technology makes it possible to use a variety of textural and graphical designs for page backgrounds. While the initial impact of a page that uses images for a background may be pleasing that background may become extremely irritating if it does not enhance the readability of the page. The two images below show a webpage about the Six Wives of Henry VIII written on a page with a background image (left) and a plain background page (right)

 

While the repeated image of Henry VIII adds interest and clearly shows that the content of the page has something to do with the Tudor Monarch, it takes a great deal of concentration to read the text printed on the page.

While often inappropriate as backgrounds, images are an important part of any web design. Many people find reading large chunks of text very difficult. Illustrations help to break up text as well as offering a visual backup to the factual text and an effective way of communicating information.

The web will only support bitmapped images so images destined for the Internet have to be converted into suitable format. There are many different types of bitmap format, but not all are supported by all web browsers. It is generally acknowledged that GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) and JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) images will display correctly on the most commonly used web browsers.

However, while it is acknowledged that using images to complement text is advantageous, it must be remembered that image file sizes tend to be quite large and will delay download time for the page. Care is therefore needed to strike a balance between the addition of image and download times.

Having decided to use images in your website, the next step is to obtain suitable images. Most images found in books and on the internet are subject to copyright law and it is not possible to simply copy these images and incorporate them into your own website.

In order to use an image in your website permission should be obtained from the copyright holder. It is unlikely that book authors and illustrators will allow copying of images. However, with images on web sites it is far simpler. In many cases an email to the owner of the site, requesting permission to use their image, together with a promise to credit the owner with copyright will result in permission being granted.

Alternatively, the web designer can rely on the legal concept of fair use, which allows the use of copyrighted work providing that work is being used for non-profitable purposes, that it is not a creative piece of work and if it is changed substantially from the original.

Another option is to pay a membership fee to an online program such as www.clipart.com which will allow the use of unlimited images from their site.

If you are able to draw you can create the images yourself using a Paint package such as ‘Paint’ or ‘PaintshopPro’.

 

 

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