I mportance of I mages Images vary from eye-candy entertainment to a vital function of a page. It's up to you to decide which of those apply. Remember, the World Wide Web used to be a place of TEXT, information, ideas, and exchange. While major corporations hit the Web with flashy sites to latch onto the newest marketing craze, the Web is still a place to exchange information, hopefully in a pleasing or entertaining way. The image should say something or provide function.
Some images give a feel to the page, that's fine.
However, the design of the page should never take away from its function. A text based menu works faster and easier than a great big image map any day. This will speed up subsequent pages considerably. Using the same image also makes your pages more consistent. They appear related.