Introduction Craft Site Medic offers a number of promotional services which utilize standard size graphics to highlight your website link. These may include Banners, Avatar Buttons, and possibly Plugs.  On this page we have provided sample graphics for you to view. We also have provided information on how to obtain the graphics, how to determine their size, how to store them, and we answer a few frequently asked questions. We hope you will benefit from the information we present. Graphics used by Craft Site Medic in our website advertising & promotional packages must meet certain physical size and file size requirements as explained below. We also can only use graphics created in a "jpg" or "gif" file format - the internet standards.  If you need to have custom graphics created for your website, check out the list of designers shown further down this page. Please note - you need NOT have your graphics available before ordering any of our promotional services. Most clients provide them once we actually start working on their advertising. If you have questions, we are happy to help.   Banner Graphics  Banners are the most recognized graphic type. You see these all over the internet, and most conform to a universal size standard: 468 x 60 pixels. There are 100 pixels to the inch, so a banner graphic is  approximately 4 1/2 inches by 1/2 inch.  There also is a file size associated with graphics which is measured in bytes. We require all banners to be 30,000 bytes (30k) or less. Why a size limit? Large files take longer to download. Most sites display multiple graphics, and if they are all large in file size, it will take forever for the page to display on your web browser. This "load time" issue is most troublesome for surfers with slow internet access such as dialup modems. Internet users will not wait a long time for a page to appear on their screen, and many will simply go elsewhere. Google reportedly will soon begin factoring in page load time when calculating search engine keyword position. Slow pages will rank lower. Thus the reason for file size limitations.  Some banners are animated - they display multiple "frames". Although they are often quite "attention grabbing", they also can lead to large file sizes since your essentially are displaying multiple banners.   Avatar Button Graphics Avatar buttons are the latest and greatest advertising image. They are quickly approaching the popularity of regular banners, Avatar button are square graphics normally measuring 125 x 125 pixels. Some avatars are 150 x 150 pixels, but Craft Site Medic programs only use the smaller 125 x 125  version. The 25 pixel difference makes for a whopping 44% increase in file size, thus most sites now use the 125 x 125 version. We also require buttons to be 20,000 bytes (20k) or less in file size. Buttons may be animated, but you need to keep an eye on the file size. Suggestion: Button graphics should attract attention AND tell something about your product line. Buttons which include a photo or graphic of your product along with your site title work VERY WELL.    Of the four buttons displayed above, which ones grab your attention AND tell you something about the site? Plug Graphics Many sites now feature plugboards - a neat system where mini-graphic links are displayed in a grid. To see an example, please visit our Crafty Plugboard.   Plug graphics are 88 X 31 pixels in size. we ask that all plugs used with our promotional packages be 10,000 bytes (10k) or less. Most plug graphics are animated, but that is certainly optional. Frequently Asked Questions   Question:  How can I determine the physical and file size of my offline graphic? If your graphic is stored on your local computer (offline), load the image into Window's Paint program. Select "image", then "attributes". A window will open which displays the size parameters (red circle) Question:  How can I determine the physical and file size of my online graphic? If you have your graphic displayed online, navigate to the page where it is shown. Place your mouse cursor over the image, and "right click". A window will open. Select "properties" from the bottom of the list. Another window will open which displays the size parameters (red circle).    Try it out! - Place you mouse over the image to the right. Right click. Select "properties".  You should see a window open which shows the following information about this graphic: Dimensions: 301 X 357 pixels Size: 25083 bytes Caveat: Some web design programs allow you to resize the image display. Using the method above, you will see the size specs of the displayed image, not the actual image. Question:  How can I determine the web address (url) of my image? This is really easy IF you have your graphic already displayed on your web page (online). Simply follow the instructions mentioned above. The url of the image will be shown in the popup window (blue box).  If you did the "Try It Our" exercise mentioned above, you will see the url of the image to be: URL: http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss266/craftmed/windows1.jpg  Want to make sure you have the correct web address (url) of the image? Just click on the image url, or copy it into the address bar of your browser. You should be taken to the graphic - not a page - just the graphic. If it does not work, you have the url wrong.   Question: My web site host will not allow me to add or store images on my site. What can I do? There are free and paid image hosting services online. One of the most popular is Photobucket,  an easy to use and FREE service. Many of the graphics shown on this page are stored on PhotoBucket.   Sources for Graphics Question: Where can I get graphics? The least expensive method is to do it yourself.  Basic graphic programs such as Window's Paint can do a good job for simple graphics.  More advanced graphic programs will allow layering, animation, and other neat tricks.   If you had someone design your website or you used a graphics set, check with the designer to see if they can make custom graphics.  For standard banners (468 x 60), there is a nice free banner making tool located at Addesigner. However, once you make a banner, it must be saved to your own server. Addesigner will delete the image from their files after a short time - they will not host the image for you. Graphic designers can create nice looking images quickly, and prices are almost always very reasonable. To the right is a list of designers we are familiar with. If you have them create an image for you, please make absolutely certain they understand the size parameters involved. There is no need to pay someone to make a custom graphic that is five times our size limit and cannot be used. Professional Graphic Designers Moon & Stars Web Design ReadyBanner.com Black Crow Designs Wildwood Rose Designs  (authorized DIYeStores.com Graphic Artist) Gone Country Graphics In A Pickle Web Design EZShoppes.com  Heartland Graphics Prim Graphics Grammy's Country Craftisan Graphics  If there are other designers you would recommend, please let us know.