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Shrink Load And Deliver Images For Speed

Jeffery Bell

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Published in High Performance Images: Shrink Load And Deliver Images For Speed

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Images are essential for any website, but they can also be a major performance bottleneck. According to Google, images account for over 60% of the total bytes downloaded on a web page. And if your images are not optimized, they can slow down your website and make it difficult for users to load your content.

In this article, we'll show you how to optimize your images for speed without sacrificing quality. We'll cover everything from image compression to image delivery, so you can make sure your images are loading as quickly as possible.

High Performance Images: Shrink, Load, and Deliver Images for Speed

by Code Well Academy

5 out of 5

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Image Compression

Image compression is the process of reducing the file size of an image without sacrificing its visual quality. There are two main types of image compression: lossless and lossy.

Lossless compression does not remove any data from the image, so it does not affect the image's quality. However, lossless compression can only achieve relatively small file size reductions.

Lossy compression removes some data from the image, which can result in a slight loss of quality. However, lossy compression can achieve much greater file size reductions than lossless compression.

When choosing an image compression method, you need to consider the trade-off between file size and quality. For images that will be used on the web, a lossy compression method is usually the best choice, as it can achieve significant file size reductions with minimal loss of quality.

There are a number of different lossy compression algorithms available, including JPEG, PNG, and WebP. JPEG is the most commonly used image format on the web, and it offers a good balance of file size and quality. PNG is a lossless compression format that is often used for images with transparency. WebP is a newer image format that offers better compression than JPEG and PNG, but it is not as widely supported by browsers.

To compress an image, you can use a free online tool such as TinyPNG or Compressor.io. You can also use a Photoshop plugin such as Save for Web or ImageOptim.

Image Delivery

Once you have compressed your images, you need to deliver them to your users in an efficient way. There are a number of different image delivery methods available, including:

Progressive JPEGs: Progressive JPEGs are a type of JPEG image that is loaded gradually. This can help to reduce the perceived load time of your images, as users will see the image appear on the screen even before it has fully loaded.
WebP images: WebP images are a newer image format that offers better compression than JPEGs and PNGs. However, WebP images are not as widely supported by browsers as JPEGs and PNGs.
Image sprites: Image sprites are a technique for combining multiple images into a single file. This can reduce the number of HTTP requests that your website makes, which can improve performance.
Content delivery networks (CDNs): CDNs are a network of servers that can help to deliver your images faster to users around the world. CDNs can also help to reduce the load on your own server.

The best image delivery method for your website will depend on your specific needs. However, by using a combination of the techniques described above, you can ensure that your images are loading as quickly as possible.

By following the tips in this article, you can optimize your images for speed without sacrificing quality. This will help to improve the performance of your website and make it more enjoyable for users.

High Performance Images: Shrink, Load, and Deliver Images for Speed

by Code Well Academy

5 out of 5