Optimizing Documents for the Web
Make Your Documents Smaller, for a Faster Load
When creating documents for the web, consider your users. The larger the
file, the longer it will take to load. Users can become frustrated if a file
takes long time to download, especially for users who access the web by modem.
You may avoid this by following some basic guidelines of what and whatnot,
to do. They are:
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1.
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Scanning Documents
Whenever possible, scan or change documents to grayscale or black and white.
This will eliminate much of the color information, reducing the size
of the file. If the document is intended to be accessible through the web,
you should use a resolution of 72 dpi (dots per inch).
Keep in mind that, file size increases as scanning
quality increases. You need to find the right balance between
quality and file size. In addition, most editing packages provide
optimizing features that will help you reduce the size of the file.
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2.
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Small or Large Documents?
As a general rule, you should break large documents into smaller documents.
Users accessing documents only have to download one document or section at a time.
This minimizes the traffic on the network, avoids unnecessary downloading
of unwanted material, and lessens the likelihood of the browser timing out.
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3.
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Including Graphics
While graphical images make documents more attractive, you
should be careful not to include unnecessary images. The more graphics you
include in a document, the longer it takes for the document to download.
Images resolution should be of 72 dpi (dots per inch).
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4.
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Use Appropriate File Format
Finally, the format you choose to save your file as will also impact
your final file size. Deciding on which format to use to save documents
is more a question of selecting the one that will give you the best
results. Don't be afraid to be experiment. If you're not sure about the
size of a document, try a few different formats.
An example of a good file size for a 1 to 3 page document would be 1-2K.
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