Professional XP Style Icons in Software and Website Development

Using professional icons in your application or website can bring a modern and aesthetically pleasing appearance to your product or service. This will not only help you to attract potential customers but also give you that "edge" you need to stand out from your competitors. In an internet age, it's important that your interface looks professional or your potential buyer might move on without really giving your product a chance to prove itself.

Besides a professional appearance, relevant XP style icons can greatly increase the usability of any software application or website. Icons are just one of the many communication tools you have to guide a user. With good free icons few and far between, professional icon collections are a cost effective investment and can be purchased for just around $100.00.

For an example check out http://www.VirtualLNK.com/icons.asp

Here are some of the groups that would benefit from using professional XP style icons:

Software Developers

Like I said before, your user interface is your user's "first impression". Your program must look professional if it's going to sell, making the quality of your interface one of your most powerful and important marketing tools. A program with a bad interface will appear of poor quality no matter how good the functionality is.

Relevant images simplify the user experience and create a sense of comfort for the user by providing them with images that they are already familiar with or can easily identify. Making your program easy to understand and pleasing to the eye can increase sales as well as improve your return customer base.

Making use of free or badly designed icons can lead to numerous headaches along with possible licensing issues when icon designers have found their "not so free" icons are being posted on free sites. With professional icons being so affordable, it's best to leave icon design up to the professionals.

Web Designers

With so many internet based businesses, your website can make or break the success of your company. Web designers are faced with the challenge of building a website that is both highly useable and visually appealing. With the right icon collection, it's easy to find common themes that will be readily identifiable by website users. Icons can ease the task of creating navigation and toolbar buttons, and most of all give a unique "personality" to your site.

XP style icons are highly stimulating with their beautiful gradients and 3D appearance. A nicer website means more return visitors and more sales. Professional icons can help your website stand out from the thousands of others selling similar products and services.

Marketing and Documentation Professionals

Marketing and Documentation Professionals can make use of XP style icons in their company brochures, documentation, multimedia presentations, and other marketing materials. Icons can easily spruce up boring text and turn a once simple piece into a colorful and professional looking document. Having unique, professional looking documentation can give you a competitive edge in the eyes of a potential customer.

Finding Quality Icons

So why not look for free icons? Well, if you are one of the many people who have spent countless hours searching all over the internet for good icons, you might already be familiar with a few of these reasons:

They don't show up well or sometimes not at all.

They are targeted for different operating systems (Mac, BeOS, Beta XP, etc.).

They don't match in style, color, and are generally inconsistent.

They don't look professional.

It's hard to find useful icons that match common functions found in most programs.

Sites often contain viruses and require active-x controls to be installed.

Making professional icons requires expensive tools and true artistic talent, so finding quality ones is not easy; that's why VirtualLNK has made the process of finding the collections you need as painless as possible.

.NET Developer and avid writer from Orlando, Florida

---

Spyware - The Internet Devil Of Our Times!

Spyware and Adware infest over 90 percent of computers in... Read More

How Do I Get Rid Of That Darn Spyware?

Ad-Aware and Spybot are probably the two most well known... Read More

IBM Lotus Domino or Microsoft Exchange?

IBM Lotus Domino or Microsoft Exchange?The severe competition continues for... Read More

How To Choose A Fire Wall Software Program

In the real world a "fire wall" is a fireproof... Read More

Lowering The Risks In Developing Do-It-Yourself Software Projects

Mike Dunville* had a decision to make. As the new... Read More

Lotus Domino: Application Integration ? A Programmer View

There are two approaches for application integration:? Programmer's approach ?... Read More

Create ASP in Minutes

DBxtra goes ASPGetting to the information hidden within corporate databases... Read More

Cisco CCNA Certification: Becoming A Truly Valuable CCNA.

I've been active in the Cisco Certification track for four... Read More

10 Things You Could be Using Photoshop For, But Probably Arent

Most people don't use Photoshop to its fullest capabilities. Here... Read More

Pros and Cons of Using FREE Software in Your Business

Itâ??s easy to understand why you might be drawn to... Read More

The End of Spyware?

The US House of Representatives has recently passed the "Spy... Read More

Microsoft Update - 5 Reasons to Update Service Pack 2

Microsoft released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for the Windows XP... Read More

Microsoft CRM Implementation - US Market Lessons

Microsoft CRM is CRM answer from Microsoft Business Solutions. If... Read More

Brief Notes About Mainframe Software Pricing

We don't think about mainframe software pricing anymore, we just... Read More

Fleet Maintenance Software Reviews

Innovative Maintenance Systems (IMS) is one company that offers solutions... Read More

How to Build a Basic CSS Layout

Designing without tables by using CSS layouts is fast becoming... Read More

Spyware, What is it?

Spyware, what it is and what it does. Basically, spyware... Read More

Microsoft CRM Customization Secrets ? Second Edition

This article is for advanced Microsoft CRM SDK C# developers.... Read More

Free Preventive Maintenance Software

While several preventive maintenance software manufacturers offer free trials for... Read More

Microsoft Retail Management System (RMS) SQL Customization ? Overview for Programmer

Microsoft Retail Management System serves retail single store as well... Read More

How To Make Good Use of Spreadsheets

Most computer users use spreadsheets software such as Microsoft Excel... Read More

Microsoft CRM and Great Plains Implementation: Freight Forwarding Business Automation Example

Microsoft Business Solutions offers several ERP applications: Great Plains, Navision,... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Service Business Customization & Integration Example

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains might be considered as ERP... Read More

Internet Relay Chat - A Basic Introduction

What is IRC?IRC is Internet Relay Chat. It is a... Read More

Photoshop Files and Formats

People often ask me: What image file formats will Photoshop... Read More

Algebra Help Software

Need help making sense of algebra? Have algebra lectures in... Read More

New Web-Based HR Tool is Max From NAS, Hannibal, and InfoLink

Three highly respected names in Human Resources have joined forces... Read More

MicroWorld Releases New Version of MailScan Ver. 4.5 - Antivirus and Content Security Software

MicroWorld Technologies, Inc. the leading solutions provider in the area... Read More

When is a Software Engineer Not a Software Engineer?

The title of "software engineer" has got to be among... Read More

IT Strategy for Midsize Business: Microsoft vs. Java, Great Plains & CRM

Midsize business or non-profit organization should decide if one-vendor solution... Read More

Software Piracy - Global Increase

Pirated software is on the increase and now accounts for... Read More

Choose your Java Wisely

Java has come along a long way. Many would agree... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains - Payroll & HR Inexpensive Solution? Not Any More

Microsoft Great Plains is main Microsoft Business Solutions accounting package... Read More