The key is to balance the overall image you are attempting to create with the home page, and the need to keep it nimble enough for most users to tolerate. Both are effective, though still somewhat slow. When designing, save color images with the least number of colors. The same image can often be seen with little or no degradation saved in 16 colors rather than the 256 in which it probably was created. That translates to an image approximately 50 percent the size of the original.
Icons can provide intuitive directions to users without using full-color photographs or graphics.
Complexity adds memory requirements and time. You'll know what most users must endure to access your page. Michael Nevins is a co-founder and director of State Technologies Inc., a nonprofit research group. Inc. All Rights Reserved.