Overweight Web Graphics May Cause Browser Sluggishness
by Robyn Harton
We've all had the less than exciting experience
of waiting several minutes for a web page to fully show
up on our screen. Sometimes the internet itself is to
blame. Many times though, it's the website itself that's
the problem. Specifically, "overweight" web
graphics are the problem.
When you go to a web page, your pc has to temporarily
download a copy of everything on that web page. That includes
graphics.
If the graphics are "heavy", meaning they have
a large file size, they take longer to download. If they
take longer to download, the web page they're on takes
longer to show up on the viewer's screen.
There are many different resolutions, dpi's, and compression
ratios that can be used to create web graphics. If the
right ones aren't used, the graphics may slow down the
whole site.
Heavy web graphics and a slow site may not be a problem
in some cases. You're likely to look at your sister's
wedding website regardless.
Be careful with other types of sites though, particularly
commercial sites. Make sure that you or your graphic designer
creates fast loading graphics for your site and uses them
properly. You don't want potential customers to leave
because they get bored waiting for your index page to
load.
