Benefits of Using PNG images in your website design

27 June 2012

Building a proper website is kind of like exploring the cosmos. You need much more than one discipline to do it. You need astrophysicists, particle physicists, biologists, electrical engineers, and a host of other help. With a website, you need to worry about coding, content, videos, text, and, of course, images. And that’s before you even get into marketing and working on the upkeep of the site.

Having the proper images on your website is very important. Whether you’re talking about your site’s banner image, various thumbnails loaded up, or any other type of image, quality and size are incredibly important when other people stop in to view your site. Remember, we’re also speaking about graphic images here. It’s not like you’re just showing a picture of your face or your pet.

So, which format is better for images on your website – JPEG or PNG? Without a doubt, PNG wins out across the board. And although the file size is larger, you will find out below why using PNG images is just the smart move.

Why You Should Choose PNG

Graphically Superior

PNG images can be adjusted for quality with gamma and interlacing settings, so they can be fine-tuned for anyone’s monitor or graphics units. You’re also getting a lossless image with high levels of transparency. This is good for eye-popping detail, especially when attempting to toy with the size of the images. And for backgrounds and such, PNG is scalable compared to other formats.

Newer Format

Okay, so we’re not talking new as in iPad2 new or anything. But compared to the antiquated GIF format, PNG is like that flat-screen TV hanging on your wall and GIF is that old rear projection monster you have in the basement that you can’t even see if the lights are on. Because of its newer format, PNG just gets along better with computer language and you won’t have to fuss quite as much to get things just right.

Widely Accepted

Save IE, which is a colossal failure as a browser to begin with, PNG files just offer better quality and transparency on every other popular browser. Compared to JPEG, the file is larger, but we’re still talking a very slim size when compared to GIF files and other bulky formats. A lot of today’s browsing market has gone mobile, meaning that they’re using Smartphones and Tablets to search the net. Given that most of these devices have high-definition monitors, PNG image files definitely get along better with these devices than most other formats.

When it’s all said and done, you’re talking about a very negligible difference from one category to the other. However, if you’re taking your time to build a great-looking website, you might as well make sure that you’re uploading the best of everything. JPEGs aren’t going to hurt. GIF images are still okay. But PNG is just a better format.