Factors out of control of the web designer and site owner are the visitor’s modem speed, bandwidth, etc. The critical factor that is the control of web designer is the content and design of the page. Large graphics or a large number of small graphics on a single page is the cause of long download times. Graphic images should be created at the lowest possible resolution so that the visitor can clearly see the picture, art or icon but so that the graphic file is only a few kilobytes in size. Page personalization features also affect a page’s downloading time. Page personalization requires information for dynamic page creation, sound files, animated banner ads, etc. To decrease page download time, these features should be avoided or used sparingly (carefully). A good mark by which to judge speed and responsiveness of the website is the 12 second rule: Every page on the website should appear within 12 seconds; if visitors have to wait longer than that for a page to appear, they will likely stop the transfer and move on to the competition. A variation of the 12 second rule is the 4-second rule, which says that something should appear in the visitor’s browser in 4 seconds or less. Even if downloading the whole page takes slightly longer than 12 seconds, if visitors can see something happening they will be unlikely to halt and move on. Colors and Graphics The key to effective use of and graphics is to design the site to match the expectations of the target audience. Financial services sites tend to use formal colors such as green or blue with simple charts to illustrate the text but not many pictures. Sites directed at female audience tend to feature lighter colors with many pictures. Game sites have flash effects and highly animated graphics.
Factors out of control of the web designer and site owner are the visitor’s modem speed, bandwidth, etc. The critical factor that is the control of web designer is the content and design of the page. Large graphics or a large number of small graphics on a single page is the cause of long download times. Graphic images should be created at the lowest possible resolution so that the visitor can clearly see the picture, art or icon but so that the graphic file is only a few kilobytes in size. Page personalization features also affect a page’s downloading time. Page personalization requires information for dynamic page creation, sound files, animated banner ads, etc. To decrease page download time, these features should be avoided or used sparingly (carefully). A good mark by which to judge speed and responsiveness of the website is the 12 second rule: Every page on the website should appear within 12 seconds; if visitors have to wait longer than that for a page to appear, they will likely stop the transfer and move on to the competition. A variation of the 12 second rule is the 4-second rule, which says that something should appear in the visitor’s browser in 4 seconds or less. Even if downloading the whole page takes slightly longer than 12 seconds, if visitors can see something happening they will be unlikely to halt and move on. Colors and Graphics The key to effective use of and graphics is to design the site to match the expectations of the target audience. Financial services sites tend to use formal colors such as green or blue with simple charts to illustrate the text but not many pictures. Sites directed at female audience tend to feature lighter colors with many pictures. Game sites have flash effects and highly animated graphics.
EC%20Unit-4%20by%20KMV.docx