Chapter 28. Optimizing Web Images
| Optimizing a graphics file for the Web means reducing the weight of the file as much as possible while maintaining image quality. This is an important step in creating Web graphics, since you should always be mindful of the download time of the pages on your site. Even though more and more people connect to the Web over high-speed DSL and cable lines, regular old dial-up modems aren't anywhere near obsolete, and graphics are still the number-one bandwidth bottleneck. No matter how many images you use on your site, you will see an improvement in performance by optimizing your images specifically for the Web. At the same time, you don't want to reduce file weights so much that image quality deteriorates. Fast-loading graphics that don't look good are worse than beautiful graphics that take too long to download. Make no mistake: Your visitors want graphics. Sit them down in front of anything that looks like a TV, and they expect to see pictures. Remember that the Web didn't explode into the mainstream until it shifted from pages and pages of pedantic HTML text to graphic designs with full-color images. If your graphics look blocky, cheesy, grainy, or muddy, your visitors will draw similar conclusions about the quality of the information on your site.
This topic suggests several ways to optimize your image files for the Web using all but the most rudimentary graphics-editing applications. If your graphics software doesn't allow you to perform these operations, it's time to think about an upgrade. You don't have to break the bank here. Adobe Photoshop Elements, a scaled-down version of granddaddy Photoshop, is an excellent Web-graphics tool for about $100 U.S. Another good one is Jasc Paint Shop Pro, which costs about the same. If designing Web sites is your profession, try to get your employer to spring for the full version of Photoshop or Macromedia Fireworks. These apps cost more, but they're worth it.
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