| Top Web Hosting Provider of The Month: |
 |
| Visit Bluehost.com | Read Bluehost Review |
|
|
| >> Web Hosting Geeks // Web Hosting Articles // Web Development |
|
|
 |
Web Site Optimization: How To Speed Up Your Web Site By Minimizing Your GIF and PNG Image Bit-Depth
Are bloated images slowing down your web site and causing you lost business? Images comprise over 50% of the average web page so putting them on a diet is essential to improving web performance. One of the best ways to optimize GIFs and PNGs is to minimize the "bit-depth" or the number of colors within your images. For palette-based formats like GIF and PNG, file size is directly related to the size of the color palette, or the number of colors in the image. As the number of colors in an image crosses a power of two, the file size jumps. A 33-color image must use a six-bit palette, while a 32-color image can use a 5-bit palette. Smaller palettes mean smaller codes (representing pixel patterns), which makes for smaller files. So minimizing the number of colors in index-color images like GIFs and PNGs will minimize file size. The compression schemes used in GIFs (LZW) and PNGs (Deflate) are dictionary-based encoding algorithms. Dictionary based compression algorithms substitute shorter codes for longer patterns of strings within the data stream. Pixel patterns (substrings) in the data stream found in the dictionary are replaced with a single code. If a substring is not found in the dictionary, a new code is created and added to the dictionary. Compression is achieved when smaller codes are substituted for longer patterns of data. The code size is based on the number of bits per pixel, and depends on the maximum length code within your dictionary. Thus the smaller your bit-depth, the smaller the codes representing your pixel pattern strings, and the smaller the file. Choosing the right format for your images is the first step in optimizing web graphics. At lower bit-depths, banding can appear in smooth-toned images. Try quantizing your image to different palettes to minimize banding. PNG Compression PNG uses the deflate compression algorithm which is a newer, more efficient cousin of LZW. Deflate is designed to be free of patent problems. Deflate is a combination of the LZ77 algorithm found in zip programs like WinZIP and gzip, and Huffman coding. Deflate typically compresses files 20 to 30 percent smaller than LZW, which is the difference you'll find between gzip and compress. PNGs use a similar substitution technique, but are generally 5 to 25 percent smaller than GIFs, although there are exceptions. In addition to horizontal "scan-line" pattern substitution PNGs sometimes substitute for vertical patterns. PNG can also truncate color palettes. In general, the smaller the color palette, the smaller the overal file size. Conclusion To minimize the file size of palette-based image formats like GIF and PNG, minimize their bit-depth, or number of colors. Each time you pass a power of two, file size jumps higher. By minimizing the number of colors, and maximizing the flat-color areas you will create smaller, more efficient images destined for the Web. Further Reading: LZW Data Compression
Multimedia: Use Lossy Compression for Smaller GIFs and PNGs http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/lossy/
Multimedia: Use Weighted Optimization
Optimizing Web Graphics
PNG Home Site
About The Author Article by Andy King, author of the popular new book titled "Speed Up Your Site - Web Site Optimization". Visit Andy King's web site to learn the best Web Site Optimization practices for higher traffic and speed guaranteed. www.websiteoptimization.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
4 Rock Solid Reasons For Building Your Own Website What is the point of having a website, you may ask, when the affiliate programme you have joined has provided you with your own web page to promote? This is a fair question. The answer has to be that with your own site - and of course your own domain name - you will have a lot more control over your business. How Your Own Website Helps Your Small Business Grow What do you mean, you don't have a website for your small business? Now that the Internet age is well and truly upon us, small business owners who haven't yet realised what a well-designed website could do for their business are getting harder and harder to find. If you're one of them, though, read on to find out how starting your own website could help your small business grow. How to Create Sizzling Sales online "Don't Sell the Steak, Sell the Sizzle."Have you heard of this phrase before? It has been widely regarded as "principle number one of salesmanship" as far back as 1936. 5 Tips For A Better Website Having an eye catching website is great, but are you optimizing your website to allow the best performance possible? I receive several emails a day from clients asking how they can get more hits to their websites, what can be done to increase sales, and how to prepare their sites for search engines. There are very simple things that can be done to help your website perform its best. Creating Websites that Cater to Exam Preparations One of the things that Internet excels is disseminating information and knowledge across many brains and continents. In this global economy the aspirations of the younger generation is not bounded by countries or continents. Increase Hits to Help Increase Your Business In this day and age most businesses consider having their own website; from informational based to the most advanced and complex e-commerce site. For the large enterprise, this become a vital part of their day to day operation, their web site embeds complex applications that exchanges critical information between their partners and clients. Give Your Business a Cash Infusion Whether you have your own business already, or are looking for a way to cash in on the profit potential of reaching millions of internet users - you can't afford NOT to read this??.. 9 Simple Steps to Create a Background Tiled Image Branded with Your Name You have seen those web pages where they have the name of the Name Web repeated over over over in square tiles as the background. Now by following these 9 Simple steps you too can create a web page Branded with your Name, or Company Name. Make Your Artist Website Sell! SummaryHere's the scoop on what you must know when designing a website to showcase your art, impress galleries, and win over collectors. Learn how to avoid the mistakes most emerging artists make when creating their online portfolio. Study Your Sites Performance Via Hit Tracking Knowledge is power.And undoubtedly, it is the key to making a substantial fortune online. Setting Up Your First Website Q. Hey, Cathy: I'm just setting up a website. Building a Web Site Requires the Right Software to Eliminate Headaches and Keep Money in Your Pocket When most people build a web site, they think one simple thing. "If I build it, they will come". CPanel Fantastico - Features and Benefits Fantastico is a 3rd-party cPanel add-on and can be purchased and added to the standard cPanel interface. Fantastico allows you to quickly install a variety of open-source scripts. Improve Web Sales Figures Forever And Ever Amen! "How do I improve web site sales figures?" The CEO roared at the web developer. The web developer looked at his boss a little confused and mumbled something about it not being his core competence with him being a programmer and all. Better Web Site ROI: Efficient Online Business with SEO, PPC, Split Testing, and Forums If you're looking for better web site ROI, chances are, the web is only one part of your business, you have a specific budget for your web site, and you want the site to not only carry its own weight, but why can't it make you some extra dough, too?The corporate situation: budgets need to be closely watched, and tech people can't get carried away with unnecessary frills.My own experience making money online and becoming and SEO expert was more guerilla than corporate. Selecting a Web Content Management Product So you want to take a look at a real Web Content Management (WCM) product. How do you go about evaluating all the different products and vendors? What should you be looking for in a WCM package? Is it better to build your own, buy or use Open Source?The best way to answer this question is to compare the products on an apples to apples basis. Flash Deadly Sins (That Can Kill Your Web Business) Looks like every client wants a Flash site these days but the reality is.. You Need a Website! No matter the size of your business, having a web site is a low cost way to market your services and products twenty-four hours a day. Web sites are a constant advertisement for your business and will help you reach your targeted customers effectively. What Your Customers Say About YOUR Site! Part 1 The following is a list of patterns that many visitors follow, and you can use these suggestions to better your site.1. How Disabled Users Access The Internet In 1995 a new era of accessibility for disabled people began. The Disability Discrimination Act was passed, stating that:"It is unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to members of the public.
|
|
|
|
|
| © 2004 - 2008 "Web Hosting Geeks" | Web Hosting Reviews | Customer Reviews | RealMetrics Reviews | Hosting Articles | Directory | Partners | Contacts Over 7000 articles: web hosting, web development, domain names, ecommerce, web design, site promotion, ppc advertising, seo, site promotion and many others. Web hosting reviews, ratings and awards are not based on any incentives or commissions. Names and trademarks are the properties of their respective owners. A direct link to Web Hosting Geeks (http://webhostinggeeks.com) must be provided in order to use any of the above information. Contact us for more info. Partners: Hosts by speed, Cheap Website Hosting, Free Website Hosting, Cheap Web Hosting, Top 10 Web Hosts, Top 10 Web Hosting Deals, Best Website Hosting, Free Web Hosting, Free Web Hosting, Dedicated Server Hosting, Adult Web Hosting, Web Hosting Discussions, Dedicated Server Reviews, Best Web Hosting, Web Hosting Discounts, HostProfessor.com, rsuog, halyava, PHP Website Hosting Services, Web Hosting Reviews, Hosting Uptime, Best Web Hosting Reviews, Cheap Webhosting, Web Hosting, Flash Templates, CMS Templates, Web Hosting Reviews, Website Hosting Reviews, Web Hosting Providers, Best Web Hosting, Top Web Hosting, RSUOG Web Hosting |