How to Reduce GIF File Size for Better Website Performance
To make your GIF as efficient as possible:
GIF Images and the Web
GIF images aren’t a one size fits all solution. GIF images have a maximum of 256 colors, meaning you can expect severe image and color degradation if you aren’t careful. The GIF file format, in many respects, is a legacy format that goes back to the earliest days of the web. Before the introduction of the GIF format, web images were black-and-white and compressed using the RLE format. GIFs first appeared on the scene in 1987 when Compuserve released the format as a web-imaging solution. At that time, color was just emerging on the desktop, and the web was accessed by modems connected to the phone line. This new infrastructure created a need for an image format that kept images small enough to be delivered, through a phone line, to a web browser in short order. GIF images are ideal for sharp-edged graphics with a limited color palette, such as a logo or line drawing. Though the GIF format can be used for photographs, the reduced color palette introduces artifacts into the image. Still, the Glitch Art movement and the rise of the cinemagraph have sparked a renewed interest in the GIF format.
