Netpalouse Newsletter – July 2009

One of the most effective things you can do to raise interest in your website is to include photographs.  This is mandatory for some sites, such as product sales and property rentals.  But it adds quality to any site, and is the single most important thing you can do to capture visitors’ attention and draw them into the rest of your website.

There are several different methods available for posting photographs on your website.  I’ve listed the most common of them below, with links to some real examples.  Cost will vary with the complexity of the display, so I’ve listed these in order from least to most expensive.  If you’re interested in adding a photo display to your current website, just contact us and we’ll provide you with a quote.

• Photo Page - The simplest and most common way to display photographs it to include a photo page.  No special coding is required, just formatting and layout.  One of my favorite collections is on Marv’s Charters website.  Cutting Edge Trimming Service uses a different layout scheme.

• Slide Show (Javascript) - A popular way to add visual interest to a site is with a slide show.  These can be set up to run either automatically or manually.  A fun example of an automatic show is on Anita’s Rentals.  If you mouse over a photo the show will pause, and clicking on a photo takes you to the detail page.   A good manual slide show is my own Netpalouse Web Services portfolio.  The interactive mode lets you stop and appreciate each individual slide.

• Gallery - A gallery displays thumbnails (small pictures) on the main page.  Selecting a thumbnail takes you into the gallery where you can navigate through the photographs.  Take a look at Bond Rentals to see what I’m talking about.

• Slide Show (Flash) - Flash allows us to add effects to the slide show, such as the display on the Colfax Chamber of Commerce website.  Note: this method does limit the number of photos you can use, and slows down the load time of your web page.

This month’s featured website:

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