Thumbnails should match photo galleries' first picture

Two Florida news sites I regularly check at work — one a partner, one a competitor — have an annoying way of linking to photo galleries. You click on the thumbnail of one image to enter the gallery, but you often get a different image when the page loads.

For instance, Sun-Sentinel.com is using this thumbnail of a man holding his Purple Heart medal to link into the site’s daily photo gallery:

But when you click the thumbnail image, you get a picture of Saddam Hussein!

Similarly, PalmBeachPost.com has a thumbnail of state champion high school football players dousing their coach:

But the first picture in the photo gallery is of a fumble during the game:

When readers click on a thumbnail image to enter a photo gallery, they want to see that image — for more detail or to read the caption. Even if the thumbnailed image is just a few clicks of the “next” link ahead in the gallery, readers may be very confused. If you’re building photo galleries, make sure thumbnails match the first gallery image readers will get.

Job opportunity: Online producer

TCPalm.com, the Web site for three daily newspapers on Florida's rapidly growing Treasure Coast, seeks an online producer with the ambition and vision to make major improvements to our site. This position, working with me on our online editorial staff of three, will play the lead production role four to five nights a week while also having key responsibilities for redesigning sections, creating unique online content and adding more breaking news and multimedia.

The position requires a creative, self-motivated journalist with a superior understanding of Web coding, design and scripting, as well as strong copy editing skills and news judgment. The ideal candidate would have knowledge of Photoshop and Flash, intimate familiarity with HTML and CSS, and programming experience, preferably in Javascript and Cold Fusion or ASP. Prior online news experience would be a big plus, but recent college graduates with the right skills are strongly encouraged to apply. Candidates must be able to work a flexible schedule and take the initiative to solve problems and make improvements.

To apply, e-mail a cover letter, resume, references and URLs of your work to my work address: nathan@tcpalm.com.