Article in Web Design

When building sites, original graphics and photos are what makes the viewers remember the site. If it looks like everyone else’s site, it’s not going to be remembered as anything grand.

This is why commercial webmasters avoid pre-made themes. Now I’m not going to put down pre-made or purchased themes too much, because they do have their uses, and you can also alter their graphics and colors enough to make them unique.

However, in many cases, it is the photos that grab the viewer’s attention and make them want to read the text that goes with it. Whether this is part of the site design as a whole or just a graphic to go with an article, it is an important piece of art that attracts your viewer and makes them stay on your site just a little longer.

This is the day of the digital camera. Almost everyone has one, and most new cell phones come with them built in. However digital cameras give different picture qualities. The snap-shot taken from your cell phone isn’t going to be as good as the one taken in high quality mode from your $600 Cannon digital camera. What if you can’t afford a $600 camera? What if you need more than nature shots, or taking pictures of used ketchup packages lying under a fast food restaurant table? (Providing the flash really captured it right!)

The answer is stock photo services. A simple search will find quite a few free ones for you. However you have to understand you get what you pay for. Free stock photo sites aren’t always organized by subject and it can take you hours (or never) to find exactly what you had in mind. If you’re on the ‘we have no money’ budget, then you’re stuck with settling on a free photo that you still have to give author credit for (they can still sue your pants off for copyright infringement if you don’t), or asking your friend that does have a $600 camera if you can borrow it – and watch them laugh at you.

However, if you have $10 spare, you can go to such sites as Fotolia, iStockphoto, and Dreamstime, where you can buy professional made photos in the size you need it in for around a dollar each. Usually the sites require you to sign up for the minimum of $10, but you keep the balance and can use it at any time on any project. In most cases you don’t have to give credit for the photo, which then makes it your own! You do have to pay attention to the fine print, and I recommend keeping track of your purchases just in case someone tries to come after you. You can show you bought the photo off which site, and the issue is dropped.

The great thing about these stock photo sites is that part of the purchase price goes directly back to the photographer of the photo, which encourages them to submit more. In this case, everyone wins.

Contact Katerina Katt at kattmarketing@gmail.com