Web Design in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

Minimizing GIF File Sizes

When you are designing and producing graphics for the Web, it is of utmost importance to keep your file sizes as small as possible. The standard “lowest common denominator” guideline for estimating download time over a modem is one second per kilobyte. Of course, actual download times will vary widely, but this gives you a ballpark number to use for comparisons.

Following are a few simple strategies you can follow to minimize the size of your GIF files while keeping an eye on image quality.