Fun or folly with fonts; going easy on graphics

7. Playing with typefaces is fun but amateurish

Fonts are fun! Nah—too many fonts are not fun on the Web and not even justified in any professional publication, if you ask me. Unless you have a fonts foundry and selling them on the Net, do not use more than the absolute maximum of three typefaces. Use one typeface for head and sub-heads and another for the body. Then use different styles (such as italics), weight (such as bold), size (such as +2 or 10 points) or color for various uses.

Choose typefaces that are compatible with most platforms or use one or two alternative fonts in the HTML tags. You can use Arial, which is available in most Windows operating systems, and add Helvetica for Macintosh. Better still but not on bandwidth is convert your fonts into bitmaps (gif or jpeg) to make sure they display correctly on all platforms.

Designers now use Cascading Style Sheets, which is similar to Styles on your word processor, to better control the appearance and consistency of your fonts from page to page in your entire site.

HTML-assembled tables and the single pixel gif lend some, however unwieldy, control over the layout of text (and other elements) on the page. This is in the domain of the web graphic designer cum coder. Basic principles in print design such as white spaces, claustrophobic pages, text contrasts, kerning, indenting and the likes can now be applied even on web pages.

Even if you are not a graphic designer who is usually picky about types, learn more about typography. It will help you appreciate its contribution to readability and aesthetics.

8. Pictures are worth a thousand words

You can reduce the number of words, and the number of eyestrain, to explain ideas using photos or illustrations. For instance, instead of just describing your new formula for hair growth and using too many word about the outcome of using it continuously for three (3) months, put “before and after” photos to show what you mean.

Using photos and illustrations is not simply a matter of pulling it out from a photo album or from your hard disk. You need to have the proper hardware, software and techniques. This process is best left to professional graphic designers with web design experience. If you don’t mind additional man-hours and financial resources, go ahead! You might just like it and make a living out of it or hate it and vow never to underestimate a professional web designer again.

The ultimate goal of processing all graphics for the Web is balancing download speed which is tied to file size and aesthetics. This process is referred to as optimization.

Optimizing graphics for the Web involves conversion to web-compatible formats such as gifs, jpegs and pngs, which formats to use for which graphics and how to compress them to an optimal file size. The physical size of your image is as important. The largest image you can display for most monitors without scrolling is 640 x 480 pixels.

A substantial speed gain can be achieved with color reduction. Instead of using all 24-bit (true-color) images, settle for 8-bit, web-safe colors except for images that have smooth gradations. And, don’t ever use more than 72 dots per inch resolution. Higher ones are only for those destined for print and other media.

One last crucial point about graphics! As with any element in your web pages, text included, use graphics (and animated gifs) sparingly--especially not for decoration and for no other purpose than to enhance your message. Why contribute to more bandwidth problem when only the most important graphics can give your page an even more professional look.