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[15 Jan 2007|10:56pm] |
I have to rant for a second. This, by the way, is not aimed towards anyone I know personally. I simply observed the usual random, stupid stranger and need to put this out there.
There are so many people who should NOT be allowed to create web content in any form, including blogs. They don't know basic rules of design, they don't understand code, they write for shit or they don't understand technology. It is this last instance that I'd like to address. Specifically, images.
I'm not going to pretend that I can give an in-depth explanation of digital images off the top of my head-- I'm not that knowledgeable. But I know and understand the basics.
A digital image is stored as a file. Files have sizes measured in various multiples of "bytes." Bytes are pretty small, but can easily turn into kilobytes, megabytes and gigabytes.
As logic might dictate, the bigger an image is, the more space it takes up: more bytes. Different filetypes can also affect the number of bytes of space the image takes up. Some common image files are bitmap, JPEG and GIF. Bitmaps are BIG! GIF and JPEG are better-- I personally use JPEG.
Now, let's talk about the internet. Programs like Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc. are called BROWSERS. They allow you to view web documents, which happen to exist as files stored on a computer somewhere (really, a server). The more space the document takes up, the longer it takes to load. Follow me? Okay, here's the connection.
If you fill a webpage (web document!) with images, the browser also has to locate and display those images. Consequently, the larger those images, the longer it takes for the webpage to load.
Here's where it gets a little complicated... just because the image LOOKS small on your page, doesn't mean the file being called up by your browser is as small as it looks. You can set the display size of any image on a webpage to whatever you want. Your image could be huge, megabytes big-- but if you have it set to display as 150 by 300 pixels, well by golly that's what the browser will do.
...Except that setting the display size doesn't change the size of the image file. It's still megabytes big, and is going to take megabytes long for your browser to display. It'll slow everything down, and if you have a large number of large images on one webpage, it can take forever to display. Even if the images are set to DISPLAY at smaller sizes!
If you want to cut down on the load time of your webpage, you change the size of the image in your image editing program, then upload it to your server again. Like magic, the browser will load it much more quickly.
Here's my beef. If you're creating web content, you should have to understand this concept. Maybe it's difficult for you people who haven't been using PCs since they were five, like I have. But my theory is, if you're going to create something, you have to know what you're doing.
If you don't know what you're doing, you make mistakes that will cost you visitors, and also piss me off immensely. I highly suggest you take 5 minutes out of your busy day to learn a little bit about how the internet works, and how you can optimize web pages (and WHY you should!)
The internet is not a right, it's a privilege. Webpages doubly so. Learn how to make them correctly, or I will put voodoo curses upon your tiny brain that will make it itch and itch until finally you can't take it anymore, and shove a pencil up your nose and wiggle it around a bit to finally satisfy that burning sensation. Ahhh, pencil lobotomy.
Thank you, goodnight.
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