Graphics: Editing Graphics

More Tips About Editing Graphics:

*Tip 1: Graphic size is always an important issue for several reasons. First, the size of the picture is related to the size of the file. Large pictures will take up more disc space than small pictures. Secondly, a larger picture will take longer to appear on a web page than a smaller picture. Visitors with slower internet access will not appreciate having to wait for a picture to appear.

The more you can do to reduce the load time for graphics, the more enjoyable the experience for your visitors. In fact studies have shown that if someone has to wait more than 3-5 seconds for a web page to load, they will most likely leave the website. In addition to reducing the dimensions of a graphic, there are other ways to reduce the file size of the graphic file and thus reduce the load time. One way is to reduce the quality of the graphic. For most pictures on the web, it is not necessary to have the highest quality picture. Save your graphic at a medium picture quality that reduces the file size, but doesn't cause pixilation (that blocky look). Also, some graphic/photo editors have an "optimize for the web" feature. Normally pictures include extra information to allow more versatility for editing. When you optimize a picture for the web, the graphic/photo editor only saves info it needs to display the picture and thus reduces the file size of the picture, sometimes to as little as 1/3 the original file size. The advantage of the optimize for the web feature is that it does not reduce the quality of the picture, just the file size.

*Tip 2: In general it is usually best to keep graphics in a photo gallery at 800px by 600px or less. This is the resolution of some people's monitors, so for them, this would be a full screen picture. For others with a higher resolution for their monitor, this is usually sufficiently large. Have graphics larger than this may cause graphics to extend beyond the viewing space of the monitor for some visitors making it impossible for them to see the entire graphic all at once.

*Tip 3: Graphics being used on your website should be smaller than those used in the photo galleries. It's best to allow the use of the graphic and template you are using to determine the appropriate size of the graphic. It's difficult to give specific dimensions as different templates offer different size spaces for the web pages. However, it's best to make sure the picture can be clearly seen while not extending past the edge of the template.

*Tip 4: When you insert a picture into a page, be sure to describe the picture in the "title" setting. This setting is used primarily by sight-impaired visitors or visitors who prefer to not have graphics displayed. The text in the "title" setting of the picture is displayed in place of the graphic. By describing the picture in the "title" setting visually-impaired visitors and visitors not viewing graphics can still know what the picture was.

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