Common File Size Mistakes:
MIDI Music: Embedded music files in websites are the leading cause
for computer crashes among Harry Potter sites. These music files are so large
they can add over five minutes of loading time to your site. Also, a lot
of computers do not support MIDI files, so when the site tries to force the
song onto the computer, the computer freezes up, forcing the visitor to
Ctrl+Alt+Delete and restart their computer. Not a fun thing to do. Obviously,
this would aggravate your audience, causing them not to return, and then
you lose traffic. Uh oh.
How do you avoid this? Simple: Stay away from MIDIs as if they were the plague.
Do not use them on your website!
Graphics, graphics, graphics: Many times sites are so overloaded with
pictures that it can take just as long to load as a site with MIDI music,
and has the same potential to crash computers. Graphics fall into the category
of "It's quality, not quantity." Use graphics sparingly.
I don't mean you have to make your site completely barren and dull, just
don't try to challenge the Louvre's collection of art. Take this site, for
example. There are under 10 graphics on this site, most of them under 20by20
pixel size. They're itty bitty, and yet Meg's Megs is still a colorful site.
GIF or JPEG? For the longest time I thought GIFs were automatically
smaller than JPEGs. (GIF and JPEG are different formats for saving graphics.)
Thank heavens I was finally told otherwise!
When choosing the format for your graphics, keep these tips in mind:
~ What kind of graphic is it? Cartoonish graphics should be GIFs,
but if your graphic is more like a photo quality image, or if it has a higher
color value, stick with JPEG.
~ Will it be animated? If the answer's yes, it must be a GIF if you're
using an animated GIF program. However, be cautious in using animated GIFs;
they can be much too large at times for web-use.
And finally, if you just aren't sure, save the graphic as a JPEG, then again
as a GIF. Go into Windows Explorer (or the Mac equivalent) and compare the
file sizes. Delete whichever file is larger.
Screen-Sizes: A lot of the time, sizes of sites are too large for
complete compatibility with separate monitors. The average size for sites
should be 640 pixels wide. As long as you stick to that width, your site
will never have a side-ways scrolling problem. However, if you're feeling
daring, visit the tricks section. There
are ways to make your site compatible with several different screen sizes,
if you're careful. To test this theory, maximize this site's window and see
what happens. You'll notice it stretches. I'll explain how to do this in
the tricks section.
Another aspect of compatibility that isn't often talked about is considering
your target audience. Most Harry Potter fan sites want to reach out to as
many people in as many corners of the globe as possible. But, for example,
some up-scale department stores don't worry about that because their target
audience has a higher income, and therefore is more likely to have larger,
more up-to-date computers with faster modems, so they begin incorporating
things like Flash, streaming video/audio, and so on. That's fine because
they know their target audience. If you know the demographics of your audience,
use that knowledge to improve your site. However, for the most part,
our target audiences aren't millionaires with T3 lines. Stick to basic
compatibility and everyone will be able to view your site. The more compatible
your site is, the more people will visit it, enjoy it, and return.
In conclusion, if you remember one simple phrase, you will never have a problem
with compatibility: "Everything in Moderation." A few moderate pictures,
moderate table sizes, etc; each of those will add to the compatibility of
your website. And, when your site doesn't kill someone's computer, your site
has a better chance of developing a fan following of its own.
Next Basic: Design |
