Article Navigation

Click Here for more articles

The Three Principles Of Image Optimization

by: George Peirson

Are you losing visitors to your web site due to slow page load times? Is your site being penalized because the images on your site are too large? Are you able to capture your visitor�s attention in the first 10-15 seconds that they are on your site?

All of these problems can be caused by an improperly optimized web page. In other words, the page loads too slowly and your visitor leaves before you have had a chance to hook them.

Optimizing a page for quick load times can be broken down into 3 broad categories: the basic coding of the page, scripts that are used on the page, and images. Of these three, images that are too large can have the most significant impact on load times and therefore have the greatest potential for improved page loading times if properly optimized.

A brief primer on image types

There are many image formats in common use on web sites, the three most popular being GIF, JPEG, and to a lesser extent Flash content. We will be limiting our discussion to GIF and JPEG images, with a specific focus on still images.

Each of these image formats has their strengths and weaknesses. GIF or Graphics Interchange Format was developed by CompuServe before the Internet boom as a way to share images on the CompuServe service. Due to limitations with screen resolutions and color depths at the time, GIF images were limited to showing up to 256 colors, more colors were imitated by Dithering, a process of fooling the eye into seeing one color by using 2 or more sets of color dots spaced too closely for the eye to distinguish separately.

Imagine a chessboard with black and white squares. When viewed closely we can distinctly see the individual squares, but if we back off far enough we will no longer be able to discern the individual squares and instead we will see one large grey square, the black and white squares merging together in our eyes to form one solid color. This is the concept behind dithering.

The JPEG file format on the other hand is a newer format that can handle millions of colors easily. The initial drawback to JPEG images is that they do contain many more colors, and each color requires some coding for display, making the file size larger.

Speeding up image load times

The main idea behind making an image load faster is to make the file size smaller. This can be accomplished in two ways, you can either make the dimensions of the image smaller, or decrease the amount of coding that is required to display the image.

The easiest way to reduce an images file size is to reduce the image�s physical dimensions. In other words, the smaller the image, the smaller the file size. Imagine an image that is a square 80 pixels by 80 pixels. The number of pixels contained in the image is 80x80 or 6400 individual pixels. If we reduce the image size by one half to 40 pixels by 40 pixels we then have 40x40 or 1600 pixels. So reducing the image size in half reduces the file size to one fourth of the original.

This is our First Principle of Image File Size Reduction: Use the smallest image dimensions that will work with your layout. And likewise the fewer images on the page, the fewer image pixels, therefore the smaller the page size.

Since GIF and JPEG image formats use different methods of saving image information, they tend to be better at showing some types of images and worse at showing others.

GIF images, since they are limited to 256 colors per image, are better at displaying images with large solid blocks of color and images with very small physical dimensions. The GIF format will produce smaller file sizes than JPEG for these types of images.

JPEG images are better at showing gradients or subtle changes from one color to another. Therefore JPEGs reproduce photographs very well, or any other image with gradations. The JPEG format will produce smaller file sizes for these types of images than the GIF format will.

This is our Second Principle of Image File Size Reduction: Choose the correct image format for the image you are using. Most web pages will contain a combination of GIF and JPEG images.

Decreasing the coding is called image compression. Both GIF and JPEG images can be compressed but the process is different. In GIF images we try to limit the number of colors, in a JPEG image we use software algorithms to remove redundant information from the file.

Whenever we compress a file we will lose some image quality. We have to reach a balance between a small file size and acceptable image quality.

This is our Third Principle of Image File Size Reduction: Find the least acceptable level of image quality. Most images can handle some compression with very little quality loss, and all images can stand more image quality loss and still be acceptable. Your job is to decide how much quality loss you can accept. In other words, the lower the quality, the smaller the file size.

GIF images can usually be reduced from 256 colors to 128 colors or less, the fewer colors used the smaller the file size. JPEG images can almost always be reduced to a quality setting of 80
nd frequently can be reduced down to as little as 15-30�So when you use a higher compression level (smaller number) the file size will be reduced. Experiment with the image, try smaller and smaller settings until you find the smallest setting that still displays an acceptable quality.

The fastest loading page will have no images and the slowest loading page will be completely filled with full resolution images. If you work towards controlling your images using the principles outlined above you will have a very lean web page that will load quickly and be viewed favorably by the search engines.

About the author:
George Peirson is a successful Entrepreneur and Internet Trainer. He is the author of over 30 multimedia based video training titles covering such topics as Photoshop, Flash and Dreamweaver. To see his training sets visit

Circulated by Article Emporium

Read Articles:

Business DSL Access Information
Using Technology to Keep Families Con...
The Internet Phone Revolution.
MP3 - a worldwide mania
Expert Guide to DVD Camcorders
Internet Distribution: The Future of ...
Be Inspired to Create Quality Website...
Copy any DVD movie with EZ DVD Copy�
Learn How To TroubleShoot Keyboard Pr...
Know How To Quickly Install A New DVD...
Streaming Media: Why It Works
Google Creates Video "Vending" Machin...
Review: Real world Camera Raw with Ad...
Press Release MF Digital ...
Buying a computer
DVD Authoring Explained
Microsoft CRM Conversation Gateway: V...
Custom Gaming Laptops - Five Things Y...
Get Started In Creating Computer Games
Internet Tutorials are the Teachers o...
Why You Should Care About Internet Ma...
Is Your Music Player Spying On You?
5 Tips For Buying The Right Laptop Co...
What Does 2004 Hold For You?
Tips for Buying a First Computer
Set Up Your Own Blog Free
What Are The Best Uses for Hidden Vid...
Buying a Personal Computer
You Need a Spyware Remover!
Use A Spyware Remover Now
90s Web Design: A Nostalgic Look Back
Picasa.com - Google's new photographi...
Wanadoo Broadband
Internet Dating: Future Internet: Hum...
Choosing the best computer model
A guide to VoIP
What You Should Know Before Buying Co...
How to create your own streaming aud...
Image Pro 9: Powered Desktop Publishi...
San Francisco Web Development - Tools
Linux Display Settings
News Blogs
Vlogs And Wikis And Pods, Oh My!
Get Valuable Computer Based Training ...
Does Google Hire "Mad Scientists?"
Protect Yourself with a Porn Filter
Email Communication Is Dying. What's ...
How to register your domain
The West's Wild Internet
Transfer Huge Files Online Fast And Free
Predicting The Future Online
What kind of processor do you need on...
Is desktop search deserving?
Newsbytes From The World Wide Web
Tiscali Broadband
Does Your PC Have Worms?
Finding Cheap Computer Deals to Upgra...
Be Prepared Before Buying Software
Building Cheap Computers in 3 Easy Steps
Hot multimedia tips
Searching For The Right ISP?
Podcasting: Internet Radio On Demand....
Video Bytes From The Web
Eight Steps To Guarantee A Successful...
Benefits of Integrating Online Chat S...
Gaming Laptops - The Five Essential F...
The Malcontent of the Term �Mobile Co...
Flash MX invades the internet
What Is The Best Digital Camera For Me?
What's in a (TLD) name?

More Article Pages 1 - 2 - 3

How Video can be used Effectively Online

A powerful way to convey your communication messages to your audience is to be able to have your promotional video available on your website.

Yet, we have probably all experienced visiting a website and clicking on a video only to have to been irritated that the content is not viewable or that the sound is inaudible. The result is we leave the website in frustration.

So how do you make sure the video content on your website can be watched by your audience? It all boils down to how you want your viewers to access your video file and the level of video quality you want your movie to be played at.

There are two different ways of sharing your video file on the web:

1. Streamable Video

This is where the viewer is able to download sections of your video (otherwise known as "streaming"), while the video is playing. The main benefit of this method is that the user does not have to spend time downloading the complete video before viewing.

There are three major streaming video formats ? RealVideo (RM), QuickTime (MOV) and Windows Media (WMV). These are playable on Real Player, QuickTime Player and Windows Media Player respectively. Windows Media Player is widely available on most PC's, as it is part of Windows Operating System. The other players need to be installed.

The only negative with streamable video is that the quality of the video is dependent upon Internet connection. In addition, it has the annoying habit of dropping video frames because the streaming software has to adjust the data rate based on the speed of your Internet connection, in order to keep playing the video.

2. Download and Play

This is where the viewer needs to download the entire video first, then play it on their video player application. The main advantage is that the video quality is not affected by Internet connection speed.

However, it can take some time for the video to download if the file is large.

So which format do you choose?

In a world where first impressions always count, it is extremely important for companies to appear professional and trustworthy at all times. Marketing videos with poor picture quality are likely to reflect a poor quality company in the mind of the viewer. Consequently, we always recommend the download and play option. This is because it allows for high quality video content to be viewed.

However, as you don't want viewers to give up on downloading your video, we only recommend that short video clips are inserted onto your website.

This means your website users will be able to download a short video at a high quality picture resolution that will portray your company in the best possible way.

Marie-Claire Ross is one of the partners of Digicast. Digicast works with organisations who are not satisfied that their marketing and training materials are helping their business grow. She can be contacted on 0500 800 234 (Australia wide) or at mc@digicast.com.au. The website is at http://www.digicast.com.au.

This Static Spot is open for sponsor

This Static Spot is open for sponsor

How Video can be used Effectively Online