Almost everything is available on the web products, services, e-books, software, audios, videos, membership sites, or newsletters. Regardless of what youre promoting, theres a never-ending supply of prospects and customers on the world-wide-web. Your goal is to capture and turn those prospects into paying customers.

Perhaps the best avenue is by the use of graphics. Three important sections of graphics that should be used for a compelling website are 1) header graphics 2) product cover and 3) background graphics.

Lets start at the top with the header graphics. Without excellent quality header graphics it wont much matter whats on the rest of the page. Heres why. Once a prospect clicks on your site youve got approximately 8 seconds to convince him to continue with the information youre providing. You only get one chance to make a dynamic first impression.

The next area is your product cover. No matter what youre selling you should have a product cover. Even if youre promoting services you should still have a graphic image. People want to see what they are getting for their money. Theres no better way to do it than with a picture. Theres an old saying, You cant judge a book by its cover. Guess what? Most people do exactly that! Their opinion is based upon a visual image. Even as you read, your mind creates visual images of the perception of the words. Make sure your product cover fits the bill. Dont sell this area short!

The last area is background graphics. Most people will spend very little time considering the background graphics for their website. This can be a major mistake. Properly crafting the background will have subliminal, almost magical effects on the overall potential of the entire website. Its like the glue that pulls every other aspect of the site into a uniform, well functioning profit-making machine. This area is the major play in helping to create the overall flow and unity to your site. Again, dont sell it short!

In the creation of each 3 areas of your graphics special consideration should be given to the overall theme of your site. The theme will help with continuity of branding and marketing. Today, the Internet surfer is often bombarded with look-alike products and services. Your key to a successful website lies in being faster, more imaginative, and more unique to get your prospect fired up. Simply put, you must stand out from the crowd. The theme of your site will help you do just that. This is not to say every aspect of your graphics should look alike. Far from it! Each area should however, complement the work of the other.

Color, size, tone, relativity, and uniqueness are all important attributes to consider when designing your graphics.

Copyright 2005 Andrew Eaton