I guess this could be subtitled 'Why Do Something You Don't Have To' because that is what so many new webmasters seem to do when they build sites or galleries.

Let's face it, I'm a minimalist. I don't put any more effort into something than I have to. Why spend four hours building something when after three it can be fully functional and operating to specification while an extra hour only adds some shiny bits to make it look pretty?

I know plenty of people will disagree with me. The shiny bits turn a utilitarian piece of work into a work of art and the extra time spent on making something look pretty can satisfy a deep inner need within the builder to create something beautiful.

"The definition of a long time in porn is a bit like a split second at a set of traffic lights."

I see that approach in all sorts of things, even in porn sites on the Web. More often than not, those fancy shiny bits turn up on free sites and galleries built by people new to the industry.

I'm not sure why they feel the need to add Flash, Javascript, Dynamic HTML, Java and other scripts. Is it because they see all those sorts of things on the sponsors' sites that they are trying to sell? Is it because they think that a site loaded with all that extra flim flam will sell better than a site that has none of it? Or is it because they are just trying to create a work of art?

To try and answer that, let's take a moment to think about and identify the primary reason for building a free site or a TGP gallery. Now the reasons for building a site on the Web can be varied. Perhaps the site promotes a support group that covers a certain need in the community. Perhaps it provides information about a government service or a special interest that appeals to only certain group of people within the community. Perhaps it is a marketing tool for a business enterprise or a multi-national company. It could even be to entertain the surfer.

As I said, the reasons are many and varied and you have to decide what your reason is to build a porn site.

Now as a marketing tool it is quite legitimate for a site to have all types of bells and whistles as long as those bells and whistles have some application to what is being marketed. For instance, if a site is marketing a web design company then you could expect it to contain the latest in effects and scripting because that showcases the talents of the company.

If the site was marketing a plumbing business would it still be likely to include all those fancy bits and pieces? Of course not! Fancy graphic effects are not going to impress anyone who simply wants to find a plumber who can change a tap washer. So you would expect such a site to be basic and fast loading and focused on getting the message across that here is a company that could meet all your plumbing needs.

Ok, let's bring it down to the level of porn. What is the basic purpose of a free site or a TGP gallery? The answer to this one tends to cause confusion with new webmasters.

The purpose of a free site or a TGP gallery is not to entertain the surfer. We may well appear to be entertaining the surfer because we have allowed ourselves to be pushed to the point where we do provide free porn. Never forget that it is for appearance only.

The true purpose of a free site or gallery is to market our sponsors and entertaining the surfer is up to the sponsor, not us. Our job is to build sites that will sell the surfer on the idea of joining the sponsor to be entertained and not to remain surfing free sites for that entertainment.

Now do all the flashy bits of fancy scripting, effects and graphics do anything to sell the surfer on our sponsor? I am yet to see any conclusive evidence to support that idea at all. The surfers that come to us want to see hardcore porn and nothing else. Are they impressed with some wonderful graphic effect or are they impressed by the size of the cock that the blonde in the image can take up her ass?

Another reason to not to use all those fancy bits is because of loading time. High-end graphics, tricky scripts and all those other things that webmasters use for no apparent reason but to show that they have the ability to use them do nothing for a page but slow down its loading time.

Now slow loading sites may be perfectly acceptable to a surfer who is looking for information, or for someone who has a special interest in birds or trains etc., or for someone who needs support for their particular need but it doesn't work like that for free porn.

Porn surfers know that there are potentially millions of sites out there that cater to their needs and those sites are only a click away so what happens when they come to a site that takes a long time to download? They hit the back button and go on their way in search of more porn.

That means that they don't see your site and they don't see your advertising and you don't stand a chance of making a sale.

The definition of a "long time" in porn is a bit like a split second at a set of traffic lights. At a traffic light, a split second is the time between when the lights turn green and the cab behind you sounds his horn to get you moving.

In porn if your page hasn't started to appear in slightly over 20 seconds then you start to lose surfers and at 25 seconds you're bleeding surfers at an alarming rate. So why load up your page with fancy gimmicks that are going to slow down your pages?

Is it to make your site look like a work of art? In free porn, a work of art is a page that loads in under 20 seconds and uses nothing but basic HTML. In porn, a work of art is a page that uses tables, colors and exciting short, sharp text in interesting fonts and various font sizes to get the message across.

If you want to be artistic in porn then you need design a site that not only makes sales but also makes a minimalist like me look excessive.