With all of the free templates offered by web hosting and blogging services today, many computer design novices are finding that they can tackle the complex world of web design with just a little bit of research, a little more effort, and a lot of time. However, knowing how to plug content into a template and click/drag webpage features does not equate to knowing “good” web design. An effective webpage is not only a matter of content and user-friendliness; it is also a matter of aesthetics. Unfortunately, this is where many newbie web designers falter, and mostly because they don’t understand the importance of pictorial images. If you are thinking of trying your hand at web design, then you should first check out this basic lesson: a picture is worth a thousand words.
Branding
If you own a business, run a blog, or use your website for anything that requires you earn a following, then branding is very important. That is because pictures are much easier for people to mentally recall than words. Choose a logo, or even a photo of yourself, and be sure to include it on your website if you want your pages to really stick in peoples’ minds.
Visual interest
Studies show that you have about three seconds to convince your page visitors to stay on your page (as opposed to searching for another site), and that pages featuring only words are a big turn-off to web surfers. Why is this so? Because a lot of words looks like a lot of work. Break up those words with interesting images, and you can create enough visual interest to (hopefully) keep your page’s visitors on board with your site.
Ease of understanding
This point is especially true for you bloggers out there. How many times have you gotten stuck trying to explain something in words that is really hard to understand without some sort of visual guide? Whether it is a chart, a graph, or a photo, an image can go a long toward helping your site’s viewers understand where you are coming from.
Mental interest
In addition to adding visual interest, providing your site visitors with a multimedia experience is a great way to add depth to your site’s content, and simply make it more entertaining.
If you aren’t including plenty of pictures to your website or blog, then you need to reconsider your web design. As you can see, there are just too many ways in which images can greatly add to your site’s effectives, so it owe it to yourself (and to your readers) to add those pics!