:: WEB 101 - PREPARING WEB GRAPHICS :: |
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If you are preparing graphics for display on a website, there are a few basic guidelines you should follow.
- Resolution: web graphics should be created at a resolution of 72 dpi (dots per inch).
- Format (GIF vs. JPEG): The JPEG format is best for photographic elements, while GIF format is better for line art, type and graphics with solid colors. Graphics with gradients (gradual transitions from one color to another) will look better as a high quality JPEG. Only GIF images can be animated or partially transparent. For more in depth information about graphics file formats, try this Wikipedia article.
- JPEG Quality: When saving in the JPEG format, most graphic programs will give you a choice of what quality to use. Using very high quality settings might slow the loading time of your website, even for broadband users, and make it unusable by low bandwidth visitors. A setting around 50% is usually a good compromise between quality and file size.
- Size: Most people have their monitors set to 800 x 600 resolution or higher. Although average resolution steadily increases, it's still best to use 800 pixels as the average screen width. With an 800 pixel wide monitor in mind, you can estimate how big your image will be. For example, a 200 pixel wide graphic will take up one quarter of the screen. Images over 800 pixels wide should be avoided.
- Color Space: If your graphics program allows you to choose a color space, you will want to use the "sRGB IEC61966-2.1" setting for the best color accuracy. Click here for an article (at another website) discussing web browsers and color space.
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