Building a Web Site For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Picturing It: Using Images

You can have a Web page with nothing but words on it, but most people think that’s a bit dull. It’s pretty rare to find a site that’s not filled with images of one kind or another. When it comes to placing images on the World Wide Web, you need to use graphics files in one of three common formats: GIF, JPEG (also called JPG), or PNG. (Chapter 7 covers these file formats in more depth.)

Where do you get images? You can create them from scratch, or you can download ready-to-use files from some of the Web sites listed in Table 3-1. If you use other people’s images — and most Web designers do — make sure that you first read all the fine print on their Web sites. Unless it states otherwise, the original artist owns the copyright on an image. You can’t use it without permission. Fortunately, the vast majority of artists on the Web are eager to give that permission in exchange for nothing more than a link from your Web site back to theirs. This arrangement gives them free publicity and gives you free, high-quality artwork. Everybody’s happy.

Table 3-1. Clip Art Sources

Web Site Name	Web Address
Animation Arthouse	www.animation.arthouse.org
Barry’s Clipart Server	www.barrysclipart.com
Clipart Connection	www.clipartconnection.com
CoolArchive Free Clip Art	www.coolarchive.com
Graphic Maps	www.graphicmaps.com/clipart.htm

If the artist isn’t willing to let you display copyrighted ...