Michelle Visits Extreme Makeover Home Edition Build Site

As a sponsor of the Extreme Home Makeover Edition, Mark (my Communications Made Easy biz partner) and I were were lucky enough to receive VIP passes to sponsor tent last evening. The sponsor tent was located directly across the street from the home build and during our visit we got to see hundreds of volunteers in action. And, yes, Mark even spotted a few stars on site. Ty Pennington and Michael Maloney made brief appearances around 8:30 last evening.

Energy levels were high as hundreds of volunteers lined up, surrounded by ABC filming crews, to unload truckload after truckload of furniture, accessories, and appliances for the home. From toasters, to bamboo trees, armories, chairs, couches, rugs, and mirrors, volunteers eagerly awaited their chance to carry in items to be placed in the home.

While we were not allowed to enter the home, we did get to snap pictures of the outside and boy, was that a site to see. Truly amazing to see what 2,500 volunteers were able to accomplish in just 6 short days.

The show is set to air sometime between December and January so we'll all have to stay turned to see the final outcome. But, I can say this for sure...the well-deserving Gries' family is pretty darn lucky.

Using IMG ALT For Your Graphics

I've already discussed how images can enhance the appearance of your Web site and help project a business image, which is why you should use images judicially. But sometimes the images themselves don’t matter a whole lot.

Users can program their browsers to turn off images for faster browsing. Other users might have special software that reads for them because they can’t see. And when it comes to leading users to you site, images themselves don’t play a very big part. That’s because search engines don’t really pay attention to the images on your site.

So how do you accommodate these unique users and search engine preferences?You can use the “IMG ALT” tag.

The IMG ALT tag allows words to show up when your images do not. So, if you place your logo on your Web site, your IMG ALT tag for that image might read, “XYZ Company Logo.” You may notice these tags on some Web pages where the graphics load slower than the text. The IMG ATL tag appears as a placeholder until the image itself downloads.

In code, the IMG ALT looks like this:

img src="logo.gif" alt="XYZ Company Logo"

While alternative descriptions may not be able to accurately or effectively describe photographs or complex drawings, they are especially useful for navigation graphics. For example if your Link Bar is made up of individual images, you will want to include the name of that link in the IMG ALT tag. Your image for your home page might look like:

img src="home.gif" alt="Home Page"

This will ensure that any user, whether they see your graphics or not, can navigate through your site and find the information they need. While these users may be in the minority, creating your Web site to assist them will keep them on your site longer and may give you an edge over your competition!

Michelle Contributes To "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" Project

What an exciting opportunity for my new business venture, Communications Made Easy!! "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is coming to Peoria, Illinois, and CME is participating in the massive volunteer effort. We are donating access to our 4-in-1 broadcast communication system so project coordinators can quickly send updates, instructions, requests, etc. to the over 1,000 volunteers that are involved.

If you watch this television show, you know that builders take on the ambitious task of building a brand new home in just 7 days. Volunteers team up with show designers and builders and work around the clock until the project is finished.

In this project, time is of the essence, and CME is THE PERFECT solution to ensure that all 1,000+ volunteers stay informed of the latest news. Our broadcast text messaging capabilities will reach those that are on-site and not near a computer to receive an e-mail. Coordinators can also send messages from the building site by calling our 24/7 concierge service. Information can be sent and received immediately.

We invite you to follow the progress of the project. The surprise "door knock" will happen today, and then a flurry of activity will follow. Visit http://www.designbuilthomesextreme.com/index_n.htm to learn more about the amazing teamwork involved in this effort, and follow the latest news and donate at http://www.extremehomemakeoveril.com/.

JPEG or GIF?

When it comes to graphics on a web page, you generally have two options - GIF or JPEG. To determine which format will serve your needs, it helps to know a little bit more about them.

GIF is short for Graphics Interchange Format, and these files carry the file extension .gif. These file types only support 256 colors, compared to the 16 million colors the JPEG files support. They are ideal for simpler illustrations or images that don't require a lot of detail. Despite this limitation, GIFs have special characteristics that make them especially useful in specific situations.

First, the background of a GIF can be made transparent. This allows the color of a Web page to show through and allows users to place an image without a "boxed" look.

Second, GIFs can be animated, which can be useful to draw attention to a specific point or area on a Web page.

Third, GIF images can retain their quality even after data compression.

JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. This is the common file type of digital photographs because it supports rich colors and subtle gradations. JPEGs can offer vivid and natural-looking images because the colors blend smoothly from one shade to another. JPEGs are more vulnerable to compression issues than GIFs. When you compress a JPEG image, you lose quality.

Whether you are using JPEG or GIF file formats, you should always keep in mind the file size. A large file will take longer to download on your Web page, so if your goal is a quick and efficient load time, you will want to optimize your graphics to accomplish this.

Questions about how to do that? Send me an e-mail or post a comment!

Picture Perfect: 5 Strategies for Using Graphics on Your Site

Today’s Web technology makes it relatively easy for us to put lots of fun and colorful graphics on our Web sites. And while images certainly can enhance the visual effectiveness of a site, they can also clutter your space and distract from the message. Following these 5 strategies can help you avoid those traps and create a site that your visitors will continue to visit.

1. Establish Your Theme – Web graphics can pull your site together to create a cohesive theme. Colors and fonts can be combined to convey your purpose and style, giving you an opportunity to graphically portray your business image rather than just talk about it in your text. Consider the purpose for your site as well as what you want visitors to think about you as you use graphics, colors, and fonts to present your theme.
2. Site Navigation – Design your graphics to help your visitors move through your site. Graphical navigation buttons and menus can be designed to include your company colors and images that represent your pages, rather than plain text hyperlinks. A well-designed and organized menu will provide logical direction and smooth movement between pages and links.
3. Create Transitions – Use graphics for divider lines or horizontal rules to organize text and create an easy-to-follow presentation so visitors can quickly find the information they need.
4. Use Bullets – Using bullet points help you emphasize points and summarize information, giving your readers a quick reference. While you want your bullets to be small and unobtrusive, you can still use them to reinforce your theme by incorporating color or a unique shape.
5. Serve a Purpose – Pictures of cute animals or blinking objects do nothing for your site if they are just there to look pretty. Your graphics should enhance your site and serve as another medium to get your message across to your audience. Use them to emphasize your main points and make sure they are directly related to your business and the image you want to portray.

It’s important to remember the size of you graphics as you incorporate your designs into your Web site. Make sure your design is not so huge that visitors have to wait to see your pages.

Graphic and Web design professionals can help you achieve the perfect mix of images, colors, fonts and size to give you an attractive yet functional site that will encourage your visitors to find out more about you and your services.

Contact e-websmart today to get started!

Beautiful Bras Fundraiser For Breast Cancer Awareness

As a local Springfield personality, I was asked by The Wardrobe to decorate a bra for the Breast Cancer Awareness Auction. The bras will be on display at The Wardrobe for the public to vote on and then an auction will take place where people can bid on their favorite bra. Please stop by The Wardrobe to see all 50 beautiful brassieres and vote for your favorite one. Donations to benefit the Susan G. Komen Decatur Race for the Cure and the American Cancer Society.

The Wardrobe
830 South Grand Ave. West
Springfield, IL 62704


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