Browse through some websites currently out there and you might notice that photography dominates as the main artwork on many website designs. As a web designer, it would be great to hire a professional photographer and get exactly what is wanted and needed for a web design. In reality however, this scenario is not very likely. Fortunately, there are some great alternatives and resources to turn to.

Here is a quick summary of the different factors that influence what, where, and how to choose photography for a web design project.

One of the first things to think about is accessibility. Can a photoshoot be arranged or will the art be found through stock images or provided by the client? With non-local clients, it is much more difficult to arrange photo shoots. Scheduling and time constraints also weigh heavily on the decision of dealing with photographers or not.

For those reasons, the majority of projects will use stock photography and art. It is easily and readily available to anyone. There are tons of photography resources online – iStockphoto, Veer, and Corbis, just to name a few. You perform a search and once you find something you like, the photo could be yours with a click of a download.

As the saying goes, “You get what you paid for!” The budget limitation of a project can greatly influence where and what type of photography you can use.

Custom photography and working with professional photographers can be quite expensive. There are photography fees, equipment fees… etc. that factors into a custom photoshoot. Since this is most likely the most expensive method, it is often a huge limitation to go through this route as a resource for images and art.

While stock images rate high in accessibility, the allotted budget of a project can narrow down the choices greatly. Take the resources I’ve mentioned above for example. Between Veer and iStockphoto, Veer would be a great resource to look into if the client has a bigger budget, as images typically price around the hundreds range. iStockphoto on the other hand, is a popular resource for projects with a tighter budget. Images can start as low as $1, and typically stays within the $1-$20 range.

Another route to mention is client provided imagery. This happens most often with redesign projects and the client already has photos from a previous design or photo shoot. Clients prefer this as it saves them from spending extra budget on photo art. This could work in your favor, as it also saves you the time and effort from searching for new images and allows more time for design, but could also work against you, because of the limited flexibility in getting the images to fit with the rest of the design.

When thinking about “photo quality,” the first to come to mind would be: pixilation, graininess, sharp vs. blurry… etc. In this case though, photo quality is all about the aesthetic quality that a person would perceive when they see the photo. A high-quality photo will feel unique and has a certain emotion or personality attached to it. A low-quality photo is the opposite; it is generic, cheesy and can come off forced. The quality of photos can vary greatly between one resource to the next. As most would agree, images found on Veer have a much nicer quality, while iStockphoto may appear as more “stock” or generic.

Custom/Professional Photographers: Low accessibility, high budget, high quality, high flexibility for creativity.

Stock Images (High-Quality): High accessibility, med-high budget, high quality, flexibility for creativity varies.

Stock Images (Low-Quality): High accessibility, low budget, low-med quality, flexibility for creativity varies.

Regardless of where the photos come from, it is most important to think about how you will integrate the images with the rest of the designs. Whether it is thinking about a simple crop and place or doing some heavy photoshop work to piece together something really creative, it is up to you as a designer to transform the photography and turn it into art.

Purpose

The first step to creating a good button is thinking about Purpose. What is the purpose for this button? Is it just a connecting point for the user to get from one place to another? Or does it serve a more important purpose? Whether you want users to sign up or view a new product, there must be something that leads the user to perform the action you desire them to do. Different purposes will require a different design.

Once the purpose has been established, you can move on to the other factors necessary for creating a good button.

Placement

With the purpose established, one of the first things you need to think about is Placement. A button should always be placed in a space that is visible and accessible to the user. This means that the space is free of clutter and other objects that can pose as distractions. For the most part, buttons placed near the top will have a higher conversion rate, since it is visible to the user when the page first loads.  If a user has to scroll down or search for the button, it will probably not be as effective.

When thinking about Placement, you must also consider the relevancy of the space that the button is placed. This will make it more obvious for the user and affords to more clicking.

See itunes.com for a good example of proper button placement. The Download iTunes9 button is prominently displayed on the website; it’s above the fold and there is adequate spacing around the button so that it is not cluttered. Lastly, the button is placed in a relevant space. The pre-text introduces you to the product, while the button follows up, allowing for easy access to download their product.

iTunes.com

Color & Size

The different combinations of color & size can greatly affect a button design.  The color should help the button stand out from the rest of the page design, and is usually a brighter, bolder color to add contrast. As with color, a larger size will help a button stand out as well. For example, Amazon uses color & size to make the “Add to Cart” buttons pop from the rest of the page.

youtube.com- Since youtube's primary goal is to get people to share their videos, the "Upload" button is distinguished from the other buttons by adding in a yellow background. This makes the button easier to spot and click.

Priority

Lastly, you want to think about Priority. When there are various elements within a website, they tend to compete with each other for the user’s attention. Therefore, priority ranking must be established to emphasize what is most important. Several ways to emphasize priority is by placement, size, and color. The example below from Shopify.com illustrates my point.  They want you to dig further into their site, either by clicking “Take The Tour” to get more information or by clicking “Pricing & Sign Up” to get started. Although both buttons are the same size and shape, the brighter green color indicates that it has a high priority and importance.

shopify.com

Another example of priority from TheResumator.com

The importance of graphic design knowledge is underestimated by many web designers. In result of this, they struggle to create attractive-looking websites. With that said, the visual part of a website can really make a site look more valuable and credible – after all, you are representing the branding of a company.

Here are 3 Main points to keep in mind when thinking about a well-designed website:

1. Professionalism
Such a simple thing to keep in mind, but some web designers tend to screw it up. This is where experienced graphic designers come in handy! Let’s face it, you and I both have seen sites that have excellent javascript functions that are coded properly, but fail to grasp the visual aspect of web designing.

2. Usability
In order to premote functionality you need to express usability. The person viewing the site needs to be able to use it in the way it was intended to be used.  The user needs to be able to navigate and explore the contents they are looking for, without having to dig – because trust me, they will leave when patience runs out.

3. Visual Relationship
When creating a connection with you and the user, you can usually communicate more effectively with the use of simple graphical designs and elements. People like to see aestheticly pleasing websites and more often than not, return to the site again. When websites aren’t organized properly and/or get chaotic with adverse graphics, people tend to shy away from them because it’s too difficult to get around the site. Visual Communication is vital in the aspect of a strong business.

BAD DESIGN

GOOD DESIGN

Landing Pages need to be very particular in representation of design in order to be successful. The page must load in minimum amount of time as more time means testing the patience of the browser.

Just to hit you with a little statistic: a relevant landing page can easily double your conversions versus sending clicks to the home page, and testing and tuning your pages can increase conversions by 48% or more.