Professional Web Design: Techniques and Templates, Fourth Edition

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Chapter 2 ■ Designing for the Past, Present, and Future
Figure 2.11
Menu items saved as images in the On state (a white glow around the text).
4. Search engines: When text is saved as an image, search engines don’t read
it, although they can read the Alt tags. It’s almost always a wise idea to
make your site as search-engine friendly as possible.
Note
CSS menus can use background images in menu items. Using such a method also enables the
designer to lay text over the image, allowing for the best of both worlds. Such usage of background
images is incorporated in many designs included with this book.
Background Images
Background images can enhance a Web site to give it mood and depth. While the
use of background images has changed slightly over the years, the concepts are
fairly similar. There are several uses of background images that the designer can
be creative with. The first of which is using a background image to serve as the
majority or entire backdrop of a Web site while layering the HTML and graphics