Graphic Block
Contents
Graphic Block
Graphics do have their place in a good content site. But use them sparingly. People come to your site for information, not pictures.
So before you add a graphic, make sure it fits these criteria...
- small (under 20 KB, 10 KB is best)
- adds to the content, is not gratuitous
- and, of course, it looks high-quality.
Where do you get graphics?
- Create them in your graphics program.
- Download from a clipart site such as this one.
- Download from a photobank (ex., iStockPhoto) or shoot your own photos.
There are two ways for you to place a graphic into your Web page. Either...
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Choose Graphic: Click on the drop-down menu and select an image from your Graphic Library.
Or...
In the Graphic block, select Upload a Graphic. Then click on the Browse button (Choose File if using Safari) and browse your computer to find it. Type in the Image Name that you'll use to describe the graphic in your Graphic Library.
- Alignment: Select how you want the graphic aligned on the page.
- Alt: Enter a few words that describe the image being inserted.
Optional
- Choose Link: Click on the drop-down menu and select a link from your Link Library.
- Mouseover Text: Enter the text you want the visitor to see in the status bar (lower left edge of the browser window) when hovering the mouse over this link.
- Open New Window: Choose whether or not you want the link to open in a new browser window.
- Select from those that you previously uploaded via the Graphic Library.
- Upload a new graphic during construction.
Tips
- Alt: To increase your site's visibility with the Search Engines, and to be found in Google image searches, enter a few words to describe the image being inserted. It's a good idea to include a keyword or two in this description, especially your Specific Keyword, if applicable.
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For Alignment purposes: Choose "None" if you want this graphic to appear in the middle of your sentence. "None" takes the alignment of the previous block, so depending on that alignment, you may see some funny formatting effects.
Choose "Left" or "Right" if you're starting a new line with this graphic (i.e., the block before this one is a Line Break or a Headline) and you want the text in the following blocks to wrap around it. Choosing "Center" will force the text to begin below the image.
"Left," "Right," or "Center" works only if you have inserted a Headline or Line Break Block before this block.
Graphics as Links
Banners ruin the moment. Except as advertising at the top of a page (where it is clearly and acceptably tucked away out of sight!), stick at most to small buttons to enhance the clickability of one or two of your text links.
Even here, be conservative. If your reader senses that she is supposed to click, your click-through rate (CTR) will fall!
If you want to make your graphic into a link, follow these tips...
- If the link that you want to enter is not yet in the Link Library, choose "None" and then enter a new link by giving it a name in the box labeled Name this link. (Name it something that reminds you where the link is going.) Copy-and-paste the destination URL into the box labeled Enter URL.
- When you enter a new link, the name you choose is the name of the link in your Link Library, not the "clickable" text.
- To prevent typos, copy-and-paste the URL when you enter a new URL.
- Open a new window if this link sends that person out of your site. That way, after your visitor closes the new window, your site will still be there underneath, waiting to greet your visitor all over again!
- If you are linking within your site (i.e., to another page in your site), then do not open a new window. It only annoys your visitors.
- When you preview the page, test the link to make sure it goes where you want it to go.