Standard: Graphic File Size
On this page
All standards and guidance
Definitions
A graphic is an image, including photos, logos, banners, icons, maps, charts (including bar charts, pie charts, flow charts and organizational charts), graphs and other images.
Top of page
Content requirements
- File size
- Reduce file size as much as possible while retaining acceptable visual quality.
- To avoid long download times, make the total size for a page as small as possible, including the HTML and all graphics files.
- Total file size for an entire HTML page, including all graphics, should not exceed 50KB.
Top of page
How to
- JPG: start at 60% quality, and increase or decrease to get the smallest file size with acceptable visual quality.
- GIF: start at 64 colors, and increase or decrease to get the smallest file size with acceptable visual quality.
- Experiment with settings to get the smallest possible file size; most graphics in both formats look good even when they are less than 10K in size.
Top of page
Rationale
Large graphic files greatly increase download time, frustrating readers. Many graphics currently on epa.gov could be reduced to 5-10% of their original file size with virtually no loss in visual quality.
Top of page
See Also
Web Workgroup guide on shrinking graphic file sizes: http://intranet.epa.gov/webgroup/resources/graphics/filesize.html
Top of page
Related governance documents
EPA
Related Policies
Related Procedures
Related Standards
Related Guidance
Non-EPA
Top of page
Full Metadata about this standard
Name Graphic File Size
Tracking number NT00000000
Type Standard
Required or Recommended Required
Effective date 09/28/2005
Date approved 09/28/2005
Category Graphics and Multimedia
Web Council review by 09/05/2008 (or earlier if deemed necessary by the Web Council)
Governing Policy Web Governance and Management (PDF) (4 pp, 339K, About PDF)
Top of page