Image maps - advantages and disadvantages

An image-map is an image whose different parts link to different locations. There are two kinds of image-maps, client-side maps and server-side maps. Client-side image maps are supported by all modern browsers. Since the usage of old browsers, that did not support client-side image maps is negligible, there is no longer a need for server-side maps. Also, creating server-side image-maps requires a decent working knowledge of server-side programming. Client-side maps, on the other hand, can be made using simple HTML tags.

Advantages of Image Maps

• Since an image-map is one large image, you can place links in it the way you want without worrying about layout issues.
• Lesser HTML scripting is involved since there are programs available that will generate the code.
• Image map creation is quite simple if you use a program such as MapThis.

Disadvantages of Image Maps

• An image-map takes only one ALT tag. Thus, it's not possible to have different ALT tags for different links. Visitors with disability or those using text based browsers might not appreciate this.
• No interactivity is possible. You can't have separate mouseovers for individual links.
• An image map is one large image and if its not optimized properly, will take a long time to download.

Many developers prefer to splice their image-maps and place the individual images using <TABLE> tags. Though, this process may involve a lot of coding, you do get to create mouseovers and provide individual ALT tags.