Optimize your Graphics
OK, you've drawn a nice graphic that you want to put up on your page.
Being considerate, you've only used 16 colors, to try to keep it
useable for people with minimum systems. Now take it a little
further.
Since you're only using 16 colors, why save
the whole 256 color GIF palette? Take your graphic into one of the
many graphics manipulation programs available for your operating
system, and reduce the number of colors to the appropriate level. You
might be surprised at how much smaller the file size becomes. And a
smaller file size means less bandwidth. Less overhead for your
visitor, and maybe a better impression of your site.
Here is an example:
I use the 
graphic to allow people
to jump directly to the welcome page of sites that I link to specific
documents on.
As an IMG file, straight out of Truepaint: 1,854 bytes
Converted to a 256 color GIF: 884 bytes
Converted to a 2 color GIF: 90 bytes
This one was made transparent, so it added a bit: 98
bytes.
Quite a difference between 884 bytes and 98 bytes, wouldn't you
say?
Terry K. Ross
Take me back
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visitors since 14 July, 1999