About Graphic Types and Formats

Article ID: KB101111

There are two main file types for web images - .gif and .jpg. Some browsers also support .png formats. Most photo editors will have an interface that allows you to optimize for the web.

• Save an image as a .gif if it has few colors (think a cartoon or a 'flat' logo) or if you want a part of the image to be transparent. The more colors a picture has, the larger file size it will be.
• Save an image as a .jpg if there are many color gradients (photo-realistic graphics, for example). There are different quality levels (compression levels) that you can choose. Twiddle with the settings until you find one that is a good compromise between file size and quality.
• The .png format also supports transparency and is a lossless format, which means that there is no loss of image quality. However, IE6 and lower does not support png transparency.

It's also possible to put an animated gif into your web page. This is a .gif file that displays an animation, which is made up of several different images outputted into one .gif file. You will need a graphics program to create your own animated gif.

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