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Your site can be perfect, but if people
don’t realise that it’s your site, then
you don’t get the credit. A site’s strong
“brand identity” (either on its own or
combined with your corporate identity) builds recognition
that can build action — be it traffic or sales,
which means that identity has real value.
Typefaces (created graphically for headings
and navigation) and colour are two ways to create
a strong image. Don’t rely on complex images
that take a long time to download — their rudeness
outweighs their attractiveness. Create your own sense
of style, don’t copy someone else’s or
follow short-lived trends.
- Wired
— This site has a lot of style, and it does
so in small, efficient graphics. The graphics come
in fast because they use a very limited number of
colours, and the fewer colours you use in a GIF
file, the smaller the files can be. This site is
fast and if your visitors are in a hurry, then speed
can be an important feature.
- news.com — All
of c|net’s publications use this strong and
instantly recognisable yellow bar. Colour is a powerful way to create
an identity on the web, but you must use it consistently
— and use a unique colour. Even so, you might
be surprised what variety there is.
- WordSleuth
— This site for a copywriter uses a character
instead of a place. The copywriter, Marc Holmes,
becomes the “WordSleuth” and the graphics
reflect that theme throughout the site. Navigation
is at the bottom of each page and uses the torn-paper
and fingerprint motif seen on the home page. Even
though the entire page is graphic, it still takes
just 14 seconds to download (at 28.8) because of
the simple use of colour.
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