Not surprisingly, some of the best design on the Web is the work of young people with little or no print background. For example, the winners of the College Press Network's Best of the College Press competition were praised by judges as having much to teach the pros. Designers shouldn't rest. Even when Web site designers break new ground, they often seem content to sit on their laurels for long periods of time. But newspapers seem to be stuck in their old print habits, looking on design as something that stays the same, something you finish and then don't think about for a few years.
Graphics help snag visitors.
Beyond that, graphics are important only for navigation. Web designers must balance their visitors' craving for big graphics on introductory pages with concern about loading times of the pages. Too much choice isn't a good thing. Many site designers obviously believe that if a few choices are good, a tremendous number of choices is even better. So their pages are cluttered with dozens of buttons, pull-down menus and other devices, with no clear indication of what choices are the most important or useful.