If you're going to use image maps like that, make sure you add text buttons for people to push. Or give people the alternative of taking a text-only path through your Web site. Look at Sun 's home page or Digital 's for an example of how this can be done. Try turning off image loading in your browser or use a text-only browser like Lynx before testing these links. If you do support a text-only path, make sure it works through the entire site.
Icons are one place where some Web designers commit heinous crimes.
All icons should have text descriptions built into each one. A good icon has some graphical element that indicates its function, and it has a text element that makes the meaning crystal clear. Keep in mind that lots of people are on slow phone lines, have slow browsers, or don't have the time to waste waiting for your graphics to load. If your page doesn't make sense without graphics, redesign it. I'm no graphics guru, but I know that good Web designers make an effort to intelligently reduce the color depth of an image to make it load quickly.