Optimising Images For Improved Web Design

While more and more of us have embraced the joys of 21st century broadband connections, many more of us have yet to make the switch. Dial up users, as well as those that rely on some mobile phones and other mobile devices, rely on pages that are optimised to load quickly and reduce the wait time that is sometimes associated with graphics heavy websites.

Images are one factor of web design and development that can be optimised with the aim of improving the page load time. Smaller images that take up less room on your server will be downloaded by a browser quicker, thus reducing the overall time that it takes the server to compile the contents on the page.

Images can spruce up an otherwise dull site and offer invaluable supporting content to users. Large images with only a small focal point, though, are no more useful than a blank space and can reduce load times significantly. Crop any images down to include the relevant sections and remove any blank expanses of space. Serving smaller images also enables you to use less intensive image formats, further reducing the load on your server and reducing load times.

The Internet has come a long way and while images are both commonplace and small in size when compared to other online elements, ensuring a quick page load time is still an important part of web design and development because it ensures that visitors have a stress fee visit to your website and won't be left with no other choice but to click the exit button.