What do you think about adding your original photos to your website? If you’re into photography, then it makes sense to have a compilation of your great works and make yourself proud. Let’s say you are a business owner who wants to set up an online store for quality fabrics. It’s time to show your customer what you got in stock. Regardless of the purpose of building a website, images play a big role to bring your site to life.
Did someone ask you what image format you use to upload photos on your website? What photo file types are accepted in the website editor section?
Unless you are a web designer by profession or training, you won’t really care about these kinds of technical questions. But, why do we need to know the best image format for the web? Which is better between png vs jpg or png vs gif? What are the qualities of these image file types? There is so much to learn about image format stuff that affects the quality of the pictures uploaded on your site. After you learn about image format, you’ll know which way to go the next time you add pictures.
What are some of the Image File Types?
The question about which of the format image format is suitable for your web page also depends on what you’re concerned about. Are you concerned about the transparency, storage space, resolution, animation, etc.?
• PNG or (Portable Network Graphics)
When transparency is one of your concerns, PNG is the image format for you. Among the other raster photo file types, it supports transparency. This is the best choice if you’re working on a more complex image that needs to undergo some editing work. One of PNG’s good characteristics is being “lossless” or you can actually make edits on this image format without losing the quality of the picture.
If you are looking for a web-quality image format, where you can save your image with more colors on a transparent backdrop, this is one of the frequently used and the best choices. Just take note that it can take a larger file size than the JPEG format, so check on your storage space before you go for PNG.
• JPG, JPEG or (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
You can actually choose JPG or JPEG format, it doesn’t matter because they’re just one. JPG is obviously the shortened version. It is one of the popular picture formats and the best thing about JPG image format is the little amount of space it takes up on your storage. You’ll be amazed by how quick and easy it can be uploaded or downloaded on your file. JPG is ideal for website images and social media photos. Supporting millions of colors, it is ideal for background images, product photos, and photographs on your website gallery.
• GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
Animation is the first thing to know about GIF image format. You are probably seeing a lot of this on social media posts and comments sections when people react to something. Did you know that GIF became known in 1987? Just like JPG, GIF is also a “lossless” image format. This image file format is also very popular and powerful because of the animation effects. Website pages with GIFs appear more lively and interactive.
• BMP ( Bitmap File)
Unlike the JPG and PNG, BMP file is not a widely used format but only in special cases in web applications. This format is rarely supported in web browsers so it would be better not to use it for your website materials. It can take up a larger space than the commonly-used image format mentioned above.
What are the Image formats supported by Strikingly Website Editor?
Generally, the file types we support are txt, pdf, doc, xls, ppt, pages, key, numbers, wps, jpg, png, gif, mp3, mp4, wav, flac, m4a, docx, xlsx, pptx, odt, odp, epub, zip, zipx, 7z, rar. If your file type is not above, you can convert it to zip, rar file. Remember that the file size should be less than 10MB and each plan has a limit for storage as follows:
- Limited Plan- 1GB
- Pro Plan- 3GB
- VIP Plan - 10GB
Strikingly User’s Website Ideas
Rosa Villa is a craft website built with Strikingly. The image background used is a photo showing how the actual craft making is done. This is a very effective strategy to market your hobby that turns into a business opportunity. You see the colors in this image background are vibrant. What image format did the owner use to upload this photo? Do you think it’s PNG or JPG? Only the person who built the website can tell you about this stuff.
For a photography website like Zinzi Colonna Photographe, the image format is such a big deal. It is important to have quality photographs with high-resolution and non-pixelated images. This photo collage layout that is set on the ‘Cabinet de curiosite(s)’ section looks very professional on a transparent background. It helps to have a clean or transparent background if you’re adding images to your website. A transparent background emphasizes the image and adds more quality in terms of colors. Another question you might ask is the type of image format used to upload these photographs. Did you know that smartphones and digital cameras use JPG format to save your photos? Well, at least you can still convert it to different picture formats when you transfer it to your computer. Keep that in mind the next time you add more products to your online store or when you finally decided to build a portfolio site with Strikingly.
You realize now that the type of image format you used to upload your photo has a great impact on how the picture looks like. JPG, PNG, and GIF have their own unique qualities depending on the aspects you are looking for. It may be the storage file space, transparency, or animation that you’re worried about, that is why you choose a specific image format.
Some people may not see the difference among these image file types, but the people who have the knowledge about it are very meticulous. You can’t blame them to be mindful of the file size, the image resolution, and the overall quality of their website because of the photos they put on it. This is true for ecommerce websites like online shops. Store products should appeal to the customers' interest. Bad image quality of a certain product may add up to your sales. It is important to display high-resolution images with complete specifications to attract more buyers.
The elements you put on your website such as images and contents are important factors that need to be presented carefully. When you think that the blog content you’ve recently posted on your website lacks a certain quality, you find ways to improve it. Probably, make changes to the images so it would look more appealing to your audience. By the way you can make quick and easy edits on your images with Strikingly website editor.
Share your captured moments with the world. Add images to your website and attract more visitors to your page. Good visual images and effects can help your website to get more traffic. Now, can you imagine looking at a website without any pictures and just plain texts? Really you will end up sleepy just by staring at a blank sheet. Make your website stand out by entertaining your viewers with quality images. Strikingly have multiple templates, user’s website, and layout designs that you can simply pick to create your own website.
