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Many different types of graphic file
formats exist, but three graphic file formats are generally
used in web pages—GIF, JPEG, and PNG. Currently, GIF and
JPEG file formats are the best supported and can be viewed
by most browsers.
PNG files are best suited for almost any type of web graphic
due to their flexibility and small file size; however, the
display of PNG images is only partially supported in
Microsoft Internet Explorer (4.0 and later browsers) and
Netscape Navigator (4.04 and later browsers). So unless you
are designing for a specific target audience using a browser
that supports the PNG format, use GIFs or JPEGs for broader
appeal.
GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) files use a maximum of 256
colors, and are best for displaying noncontinuous-tone
images or those with large areas of flat colors, such as
navigation bars, buttons, icons, logos, or other images with
uniform colors and tones.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) file format is the
superior format for photographic or continuous-tone images,
because JPEG files can contain millions of colors. As the
quality of a JPEG file increases, so does the file size and
the file download time. You can often strike a good balance
between the quality of the image and the file size by
compressing a JPEG file. |
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