You've likely heard the term Save for Web before. Is it really that important? The short answer? Yes! But let’s take a quick look at why. When you take the extra step to Save for Web in Photoshop or any other similar application, you are optimizing your images for best performance on your site. It’s more than likely that you have way more than just a few website photos and even just having 5 that are not fully optimized can really have a harmful impact on your site. When an image is not properly optimized, the results can put a damper on your overall loading time, causing the use of more memory than needed or a noticeable loss in resolution. Because of this, you sometimes have to consider adjusting the size and quality of the photo itself.
To do this, your graphic editor will likely have a navigation similar to File>Save for Web or File>Export As
How to Optimize Your Image
1.
First choose the file format you are using (your three main options should usually be JPEG, PNG or GIF).
- As a reminder, JPEGs are good for saving images with lots of colors, shading, and other details such as photographs. PNGs are best when your image something simpler like a logo, or you want to preserve any amount of transparency. GIFs may contain more than one frame which makes it ideal for creating a simple animation.
2.
Adjust your quality level to High if you want the image to be clearly visible and showcased. Change it to Medium or Low if it has less detail and will likely be used as a background.
3.
The tricky part now is adjusting the quality field manually. Experienced designers like to find the ultimate sweet spot by adjusting the numerical value to one that fits best for their purpose. They often do this to get away with having the maximum highest quality while keeping the file size at a specific minimum. Follow these guidelines:
- Background: <5KB, keeping it at 2KB is even better
- Header Image: <40KB
- Regular Site Image: <70KB
Once you’ve hit that perfect balance between compression and quality, Save, Save, Save!
We can guarantee that the images on your website make a much bigger impression than you may think. Do it right the first time and upload only images of the best quality and sizes. This will ensure you’re saving on both memory and load time while letting your visitors see only the best quality images to support your site. Don’t get dragged down with your images! Contact Informatics today to let the experts provide you with the best content for your site.
