Now that you have a basic understanding of what you want your website to accomplish, you can start concentrating on what you want it to look like. To that end, it is time to consider graphics. Graphics aren't necessarily just eye-catching highlights; they can be integral to the overall user experience. Your layout may be based around a main graphic; your primary linking structure may be based on custom buttons. Your banner, logo, and miscellaneous images may all play their roles in drawing the eye to key links and content.

Your first major choice is just how far you want to go with graphics. A quick web search reveals that most professional sites include relatively limited graphic design work. Aside from a logo and maybe a couple high-quality stock images, they are not particularly visually impressive. Following that path will result in a more traditional design, and has the benefits of being clean, professional, and best of all, exactly what the user expects.

On the other hand, such a design is completely standard. You can use more impressive graphics to create a powerful first impression. Just as a nice suit can improve your charisma in face-to-face meetings, attractive images can add a level of presence to your on-line business. A site designed with customized graphics can be just as professional as any other, but may claim an edge over the competition by virtue of being more impressive and memorable.

The key is to make wise use of visual content. Excessive and excessively large images take far too long to load, hindering the user's ability to interact with the site. Using pictures in place of mundane text hinders search engine accessibility. If the graphics dominate the site, the viewer will pay less attention to the information you provide--such as the benefits of buying your product.

When deciding how to include your pictures, focus on using them to augment the user's experience. You don't want images for their own sake. If you have a large graphic, use it to lay the site out, taking advantage of it to draw the eye to particularly important text and links. You want to impress, but not to overwhelm.

Also look to images that are representative of your site. Consider a color scheme. Colors are not clichés; they are clear representations, and some studies do indicate that colors can have an effect on a person's feelings. A financial or medical site could do worse than using green images, which has been known to represent both wealth and health. Reds and yellows are said to stimulate the appetite. Black is a color of dignity and power.

In short, you want to choose the look that best describes your business. Get your point across with your images, at first glance, and you're already that far along when the viewer begins reading your text. Choose the right graphics for your website, position them ideally to augment, rather than dominate, the user's experience. Not only will you enhance your on-line presence, but you'll also have a website that goes above and beyond the traditional forms and styles that dominate the Internet today.

About the Author

Dustin Schwerman is the head web designer for Truly Unique--Affordable Custom Website Design. Truly Unique specializes in creating highly customized, visually impressive websites at affordable prices.