"Site load time can be critical to the user experience, which is why so much attention is taken to optimize the images on any site. As an image file size gets larger, it becomes slower to load, which is why ideally most images are kept well below 100kB in size.
Optimization is a trade-off between image quality and a small file size. At some point, the image quality will suffer as the file size is decreased. Finding the ideal point is where the image detail remains sharp but the file size is sufficiently small. Here are some things to consider when optimizing the images for your site.
- Make sure that the resolution of the graphic is set to 72 dpi. 300 dpi is the standard for print (although it can go as low as 150), but that’s overkill on a computer monitor. Newer monitors display at 96dpi, so you can consider using that resolution, but anything higher currently provides no advantage and just makes the file larger.
- Save your graphics in a jpg, png or gif format. Any other format may not display and natively will have a file size that’s too large for a quick download.
- Decrease the number of colors to 32. Most color graphics won’t lose all that much even when decreased from a million colors, yet it can make a big difference in file size.
- Decrease the quality to an acceptable level. Sometimes the difference between a jpeg quality level of three and ten is so small that you can hardly tell, yet it makes a big difference in the file size.
TIP: File sizes are cumulative to a page. Remember that seven 100kB images equals 700kB, which will load much slower than if they all were half that."
To read additional excerpts from Social Media Promotion For Musicians and my other books, go to the excerpts section of bobbyowsinski.com.
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