Question about Image maps

[graywolf]

We are looking at some new designs for the homepage of my site, and the designer, and advertising director come from the print world and don't want to deal with the HTML complexities. I think I can acomplish what they are trying to do with image maps.

I know this forces the page to be a fixed sized instead of a liquid layout, but are there any other issues with image maps anyone has come across.

[Nick_W]

Yeah, search engines will be thrown out the window and it'll probably take an hour to download the page..

Are you the designer here?

Nick

[Macguru]

Hi graywolf,

What kind of windows does 'hot spots' are supposed to open?

>>search engines will be thrown out the window

Do you mean by this SE wont follow the links? I doubt it very much...

[korkus2000]

Why not chop it up?

[graywolf]

they have all sorts of different sized rectangular pictures, some with copy and some pictures are nested inside of other images. The advertising director is fairly particular about things lining up.

I'm not the designer on the project. I get the layout from the desgner and then have to make it work in HTML

[korkus2000]

IMHO the the site will be highly ineffective if it has to follow print standards. I have had to do similar things before. They don't care what you think, it is about the brand and it must mirror the collateral. I see you having no other real problems with image maps except the obvious.

[Nick_W]

Agreed.

What a shame! No way of convincing them that the web isn't print?

Nick

[graywolf]

" ... we want a homepage that doesn't look like everyone else's, I want something that is as beautiful as our catalog covers and magazine ads ..."

The vice president of advertising outranks the webmonkey, but hey otherwise its a good gig and there is a paycheck in it.

[korkus2000]

good gig and there is a paycheck in it

nuff said

[Nick_W]

Image maps it is then ;)

Just remember to enjoy the i told you so enevitability when they start getting complaints from the 3-4 visitors that actually manage to find their site ;)

Nick