I once had a chat with one of my girlfriends back in junior high about why guys always go for hot girls and why girls swoon over hunky jocks. I couldn’t understand it back then because at such a young age, I was already convinced that it should always be a person’s character and not their looks (I have avid churchgoers for parents, so).
Anyway, long-story-short, we ended up realizing that it’s simply because of human nature. How we feel about someone or something is primarily affected by what we see.
I strongly believe this is the principle behind the importance of graphics on websites. If done correctly, they make your website look “hot”! They make people stare and create a need to know more — so really, it’s make or break the second a visitor sees your landing page. No matter how good a person you are, or, in this case, how awesome your product or service is, people won’t get the chance to know about it if they aren’t interested in the first place. So from that alone, you will see how important it is to make sure that your website is packed with great graphics. You don’t want it to grow into a lonely old maid.
Let’s take a look at some websites out there and see how the graphics affect how you feel about them:
Amazon
You’ll see how they have really maximized graphics on their landing page. It looks like an 80 to 20 share of images and words. The images give you an idea that you can buy almost anything from them.
Apple
Apple has perfectly incorporated minimalism in the concept of graphics optimization. In other words, they found out how to make simple images look totally awesome!
Budweiser
Videos can also be optimized to provide great graphics for your website. As you will see with Budweiser’s home page, the snapshots of their videos really make a good mix and add some interactivity to page.
Pinterest maximizes the visual quality of their website in 2 radically ingenious ways. They make the interface incredibly easy on the eyes that you will easily understand how to use it even if it’s the first time you visit. Number two, you’ll get hooked with pictures that other people actually own.
American Cleaning Institute
Here’s one that really takes you home. This website’s images really fit well with the backdrop. You’ll get the feeling that when you get their services, you won’t regret it.