Preparing Text for the Web

HTML Web standards include a handful of type sizes and fonts, some for headings, some for text, and some for emphasis. Uh-huh. "Bo-ring," to quote the kids . However, you're not necessarily limited to what HTML has to offer. If you want an elaborate title for your page, create it in Photoshop, using filled letters , filters, drop shadows, glows , or whatever other special effects you like. Crop it tightly and save it as either a GIF or JPEG. Figure 24.18 shows a logo created for a small business web page. Compressed, the file is only 6.3KB.

Figure 24.18. Eye Candy 4000's Bevel Boss filter created the three-dimensional effect shown here.

You have the option of converting your file to JPEG or PNG or to GIF. One good thing about text is that it usually, but not always, is applied to a white background. If this is the case with your website, there is no need to go through the trouble of exporting a transparent GIF89a file. Just make sure that your background is white and save it as a plain GIF file.

GIF or JPEG?

There's one rule of thumb that professional web page designers apply to choosing formats. With line art, or anything with a limited palette (fewer than 216 colors), choose GIF or PNG-8. With photos or full- color art, choose JPEG or PNG-24.