Webmasters optimize images to make their website load
quickly and reduce bandwidth use. Different image editing software programs
like Adobe Photoshop provide a different method of saving the images so that they
are automatically optimized to use on websites. Here are the top 10 tips that
allow you to easily optimize your images before uploading them to your website:
1 1 Using ‘Save As’ option: By using the
‘Save As’ option under File menu, you can specify the format to save the image
in. The formats normally listed are JPEG, GIF, TIF, PNG, and BMP. Saving as JPEG
makes the file size much smaller than its original size. This is a great tip
for automatically optimizing all your images.
2 2Using ‘Save For Web’ option in Photoshop:
Many people use Adobe Photoshop to edit their images before uploading. It is
interesting to note that Photoshop provides an additional and more useful way
to reduce the size of your images, and that is to save the file as ‘Save For
Web’. Use this option if you’re using image editing software like Photoshop.
3 3Using tools to optimize images: In
addition to image editing software, there are many tools available for free
that are specially designed for the purpose of optimizing website images. Some
of the most popular ones are Online Image Optimizer, SuperGIF, and smush.it!
4 4 Reducing file size in Windows Paint: Sometimes
you have to use high quality images on your website and do not want to shrink
them by saving as a JPEG image. Remember saving as a JPEG reduces the quality
of an image, so if you want to retain the quality of your image, reduce its
size in Paint by using the ‘Resize and Skew’ option.
5 5 Using the blurring option: Another way
to reduce the size of an image without compromising on its quality is to use
the “Blur Out” option provided by almost all image editing software programs
including Photoshop. This option comes in handy when you have to emphasize an
object present only in the foreground.
6 6 Selecting ‘Progressive’ option for image
loading: An image can load in two different ways. Progressive loading means
it appears blurry at first and then becomes clearer as the site is loaded
completely. This option can be checked if you want to give the visitor the
impression of images loading quickly.
7 7 Checking file size: Different types of
images should be optimized according to their role on the website. For example,
a header image should not be more than 30KB in size to load quickly. An image
on the page should be around 40KB. Check the size and optimize it according to
the requirement.
8 8 Optimizing images in PNG format: PNG
images are robust and provide a good alternative to GIF. It is possible to
optimize images in this format by using the ‘Posterize’ option in Photoshop. By
selecting this option, you are required to specify the levels. Set it to the
smallest possible unit to best optimize your image.
9 9 Removing transparency: Photoshop
provides another option known as ‘Remove Transparency’ that efficiently reduces
the size of an image. However, you first have to download and install it as a
plug-in. This is again a PNG-specific optimization technique.
1 10 Reducing colors in the image: This is a
good tip for optimizing GIF images. Using Photoshop, reduce the colors of your
image to get a compressed image by choosing a small number, e.g. 16 or 32.
Read more: http://www.pakka.com.au/web.html
Read more: http://www.pakka.com.au/web.html
