Graphics By now, you're probably thinking "but why not go the graphic designer route and make the site all images?" After all, with a bunch of images, you can control the fonts and layout (color is still a problem). There are several reasons why this is a dumb idea:
- File size and download time. With a site that is 100% graphics, yes, the HTML file size would be small, but unless you create very tiny Web page graphics, it will take forever to load.
- Maintenance. If you find a typo, you have to find the image original, change to the type layer, edit it, resave the image and original and reupload. With text, you'd just edit the text directly and be done.
- Cost. Graphic designers often cost $100 per hour or more, while you can hire an intern to maintain your site for around $20.
- Accessibility. Images are fairly inaccessible without alt text, and unless you're planning on reproducing your entire site contents in one giant alt tag, your site will be completely blank to the typical screen reader.
- Search Engine Optimization. For much the same reasons as accessibility, if your site is a giant image, search engines will not spider it, or won't spider it very well.
- Links. Sure you could use image maps, but that's just a pain.
Just Relax
If you're a Web designer, you need to learn to relax. The goal of a great Web design should not be to look identical on every screen that views it. The goal of a great Web design is to look good on every screen that views it. If your page looks as good on a Mac in IE4 as it does on Windows in Mozilla 1.6 and Netscape 4.7 works just as well as MSIE 6, then you've got a great design. So what if the layout is tighter on 12-inch monitors as long as it works on a Sony Clié as well.
Flexibility Just relax and go with the flow. Your Web designs can be flexible and still be beautiful. Tell the print designers and graphic artists to stick to their knitting and you'll stick to yours and your Web designs will be just that - WEB designs.
