<IMG SRC="your graphic filename">
<IMG SRC="your graphic filename">
Images certainly make Web pages more interesting and aesthetically pleasing but, used properly, they can also define the functionality of a site or add significantly to the content.
To use graphics well, it is important to understand what happens when your browser encounters a page with graphic elements:
Remember that each image you place on a page requires a new connection to download. Thus, if you include 10 images on a page, your poor user at home (who is using a little 14.4 baud modem) has to sit through all those connections while the images load. Be kind. Here are a few rules of thumb:
File Formats
The most common image file formats on the Web are Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) and a format called "jay-peg," often using .jpg or .jpeg as filename extensions. Most browsers can display these formats. Both of these formats result in relatively small image file sizes since they are compressed file formats. These two sites give both explanations and examples to help you understand the very basic elements of web graphics:
So, where do these graphic files come from?
Photographs, slides, drawings, and other "flat art."
Graphics for your Web page can come from almost any source. If you followed our suggestions in planning your web site, you've already collected some possible graphics. More than likely, your collection consists of one or more of the following: photographic prints, photographic slides, and "flat" art such as brochure covers, drawings, or prints.
To convert these items into computer graphic images for use on the Web, the most efficient method is to use a scanner. Microcomputing Services has a flatbed scanner that we'll be happy to show you how to use, and Media Services has both a flatbed and a slide scanner you may use. Both flatbed and slide scanners are computer devices with control programs that allow you to define the file format for the image. Many formats are available, but be sure you choose either .GIF or .JPG.
If you'd like more information about scanning, the following two sites are invaluable references:
Digital photographs - use a digital camera
A digital camera allows you to capture images in digital form and then transfer them to a computer so that you can save or manipulate them using image editing software. Microsomputing services has a digital camera that we'll lend to faculty and staff members who want to spice up their Web pages.
Get 'em from the Web
One of the best places to find graphic elements for your Web pages is on the Web itself. Unless the page owner specifically prevents copying, any image can be captured and saved to your local disk. The process is very simple:
One big advantage of obtaining your graphics directly from the Web is that they are alrady in a format required by the Web--.gif or .jpg.
There are tons of Web sites devoted to collections of graphic images. Many of these provide their contents free for your use. Some ask that you give credit or register so check the requirements when you visit each site. We've selected a few sites to show you the variety that's out there. The list is not even an itty bitty fraction of the available sites, so we've also included some links to "link collections" as well. By the way, graphics collections are VERY slow to load (remember, one server connection per image), so you'll probably want to do your graphic searching while you're on campus with our nice, fast T1 connection!
Graphics Links Collections