Understanding Image Optimization

Image optimization is complicated and a multi-tiered process that takes months of study and practice.

Just kidding. It’s easy.

First, make sure you’re images aren’t huge. Most digital devices take pictures in high resolutions and most stock photos come that way. Always size your images to the exact size they’re going to be online. If you’re using relative widths with a responsive design (eg 100%, 90%,) then size it to the max width you’re using and consider using media queries to  scale down the image if possible for mobile devices and tablets.

Second throw your images through an optimizer to reduce their overall “weight”. This won’t affect image quality most often and will reduce the KB of your image by up to 95%. So a 100KB image becomes more like 5KB. This is significant. The best image optimizer (free) on the market it RIOT. http://luci.criosweb.ro/riot/ RIOT is easy to use and does a great job on jpegs … not so much on transparent png’s. Still it is very useful and best of all, free.

Ultimately, that is it. Size your images and run them through an optimizer …. aaaaaand…. you’re done. Simple. Livewire.

More Web Design Blog Content

How To Win Visitors And Influence Traffic

Is there anything more of a turn-off than a untrustworthy website? Not in our world. Increasing the trust in your website is key to making conversions (calls, emails…. sales … you know, money). There are a number of factors determining the level of trust on your website. Here’s

CSS3

Lots of new fun with CSS3. CSS makes styling web pages a snap. Now CSS3, the third “version”,  allows for incredibly robust styling possible. For instance, background gradients are a breeze when before developers had to create them as images or use CSS ‘hacks’ to accomplish those goals.

Code School: Woo Shipping Per Product Count Script

Here’s a little snippet that has been useful for woocommerce development. This regulates shipping charges from a simple fee based system to a fee per quantity output. We modified this to allow for a couple of different shipping charge options based on quantity – first by three’s and

Even More Internet Marketing Success

We’ve been working with attorneys all over town. None more than Fisher, Butts, Sechrest and Warner. They’re great folks located over in Haile. They have a successful law firm and are enjoying much success online. When we met, they were basically nowhere online … maybe somewhere back on

Project Gutenburg

Every heard of it? If not, make sure to check it out. They have tons of books online, free for anybody. Our favorite? A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/86 Got a smartphone? Just download a free e-reader and you’re all set. Download the

Why are most government websites so terrible?

The recent debacle with the Affordable Care Act has made headlines but those of us in the development world are just seeing more of the same old thing. Government websites stink! Why is that? I can assure you that their cost structure is very similar to the outrageous