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As a professional webmaster, I am expected to carry out a very wide range of tasks in website design and maintenance. Actually, the term “webmaster” is a misnomer. It really should be “webjack”, because I’m expected to be a “Jack of all trades”!

Here’s Something I Struggle With..

For many webmasters like myself, one of the most difficult skills to master is the development of website graphics. Many people like me are not particularly gifted in this area. We are also faced with the problem that good graphics programs, such as PhotoShop, are both expensive and difficult to learn.

This lack of graphics expertise is widespread. There are many, many websites with a very amateurish appearance because of poor website graphics. Owners of such websites don’t realise how important it is to have a professional looking site. Few people will buy from a website which does not look professionally designed. Well, would you?

Why Website Graphics Are Important

It is important for the content of a website to be easily read, and this can partially be achieved by breaking up the text with well-placed and appropriate images. This is as important on blogs and content-rich sites as it is with selling websites. People will soon leave if the site cannot be easily and quickly read.

Also, presenting an image of whatever is being sold on a site will increase the conversion rate. This applies equally to digital products such as eBooks and software.

Hiring A Graphic Designer

There will be times when it is necessary to pay for graphic design if you need very professional looking images. But you’ll need to be prepared to wait, sometimes weeks, for the work to be completed.

Then there’s the question of how to find a good graphic designer. They will need to have the skills to produce graphics for the web, which are different in some respects from the skills needed for off-line graphics. Also, since each designer has a different approach to design, you’ll need to ensure that you like their particular style. Have a look at the work which they have done – and make sure that they can do the work for you to meet your own deadlines. You don’t want to be waiting for the designer to complete the work before you launch your site.

What About Ready-Made Website Graphics?

There are plenty of resources of ready-made graphics on the web. It’s not difficult to find collections of icons, banners, buttons and good quality royalty-free photos.

The trouble is that the same graphics get used time and again on different websites, and people will soon realise that you are a “cheapskate”! Not a good impression to make! Of course, you can use your graphics software to modify pre-made graphics. If you want to make certain that your website stands out, you need to have access to valuable content that is relatively unique. But again, changing graphics takes time and skill. Like many people, I am short of both of these!

Also, it can be quite hard to track down the good sources of ready-made graphics. A lot of the stuff on the web is pure rubbish!

My Solution To Creating Graphics For Websites

I’ve been a professional webmaster since 1996, and so I’ve spent a lot of time tracking down good web-based sources of graphics. And in recent months, I’ve found web-based services which go a long way beyond just providing clip art and royalty-free photographs

Some of these online services are quite remarkable. There are services which let you create your own badges, buttons and banners without needing artistic skills. There are services which let you do amazing transformations of existing photographs. There are sites which let you design your own website and blog templates. The list goes on – and new online graphics services are appearing almost daily.

And they are all completely free!

I started off by just having a list of these services. Then, I found it easier to bundle them into a bit of software that I built so that I could quickly select and use these website graphics services. I made sure that I could update this software easily as I located new services.

I gave this software to a few of my friends and they were delighted with it! “Why don’t you sell it”, they asked me? So I did, and it’s now become the best selling product in my “Webmasters CheatKit” range.

Filed under: Internet Business