Explaining How and Why You Should Optimise Animated GIFs on Websites So You Can Keep Potential Customers Engaged
Animated GIFs can be a fun and engaging way to increase user engagement on your website, but they can and do have a negative impact on your website’s performance when not optimised properly. Whether you’re a web developer or a small business owner, understanding how to reduce the file size of your gifs is essential to maintain a smooth user experience. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll cover everything you need to know about optimising GIFs for your website, including why it’s important, what the best practices are and also how you can optimise them!
What does GIF stand for?
First things first, a GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a type of image file that can show a short animation or moving picture. You’ve probably seen them in funny memes or reaction images online. GIFs were originally designed to hold a bunch of images in one file, and when these images are shown one after another, it looks like the picture is moving—kind of like a flipbook!
They’re really popular because they work almost everywhere: in messages, on social media, and on websites. GIFs automatically loop, so they repeat over and over without you having to press play.
However, because they weren’t really made for animation, GIFs can be large and can negatively impact page load times if you use too many. That’s why it’s important to optimise them so your website stays fast and your visitors don’t get frustrated by long loading times.
A Brief History: GIFs Weren’t Always Used for Animations
Did you know, even though GIFs are a super popular file format for animations, they weren’t actually created for this purpose?
Instead, GIFs were originally designed to hold multiple static images in a single file. This meant, in the days before WiFi, it made transferring files super FAST.
However, these days they are used all over the internet for improving visual content…
- In our group chats
- Across our social media
- Online content like blog posts (yep I’ve been there!)
- Even on our websites
But if you plan to use them on your website, it’s important to understand how to optimise them to prevent slow page speeds and a frustrating user experience.
Why Should You Optimise Your GIFs?
Performance matters when designing your website.
Sure, GIFs are an effective tool to capture your user’s attention. But because GIFs weren’t originally designed for animation, they’re not such an effective tool for keeping your website speed up to scratch.
That means, if your website is too GIF-heavy, it’s going to lead to poor user experience from sluggish load speeds.
Causing your potential customers to bounce and head elsewhere.
Key reasons to optimise your GIFs include:
- Improving page load speed: Optimised GIFs reduce page load times, which improves the overall user experience.
- Boosting SEO: Site performance does have a negative impact on your search engine rankings. By having optimised GIFs it can reduce your chances of disappearing from search results.
- Increase your conversion rate: Faster websites lead to lower bounce rates, which can mean more conversions.
How To Stop GIFs Slowing Down Your Website:
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s explore some best practices for optimising GIFs on your web pages. Whether you’re using large gifs or small animated GIFs, these tips will help improve your website’s performance and enhance user engagement.
1. Lessen Your Use of Animated GIFs
Lessening the use animated GIFs is the number one piece of advice I can give you that’s going to make a significant impact on your web page load speeds.
Only use GIFs when absolutely necessary.
I get it.
You’re probably thinking… “How do I choose ONE, when there are SO many good ones?!”
It’s going to be a hard decision to make.
But once you cut them down, your website speed and your potential customers are going to love you and your responsive user experience.
2. Change Static GIFs to PNG Files
There are two kinds of GIFs:
- Static (unmoving images and simple graphics)
- Animated (moving images created through time delays)
Both take up a large amount of space compared to other file formats.
But did you know PNGs can be compressed 5-25% smaller than GIFs?
That means, if you have a static GIF on your website, converting it to a PNG file (another type of image file) instead can relieve your website of some of its bloat.
Plus, changing it over is super simple and free!
Just use a website like this one to upload your image. Press the conversion button and let the website do the rest.
3. Compress GIF Files
One of the most effective methods of reducing GIFs with a larger file size is compression. There are two types of compresson:
- Lossy Compression: Lossy compression… What the HECK is that?! In short, lossy optimisation reduces large file sizes by permanently removing data from the original file. This method is known as irreversible compression. But the data loss isn’t usually noticeable.
- Lossless Compression: This method compresses the file without losing any data, but the reduction in file size is usually smaller compared to lossy compression.
Lucky for us, animated GIFs use lossy optimisation.
And since the human eye won’t usually see the difference. Fewer colours are used and that means the overall size of the GIF becomes much smaller
Check out this blog to find out more and learn how to compress your GIFs.
4. Consider HTML5 Video Instead
Because GIFs were never meant to store video, too many of them will slow down your website.
But there is an alternative we can use…
HTML5 video!
By converting your GIFs to HTML5 before you upload them to your website, your animation can be up to 95% smaller. These video files are much better for loading faster on a web browser. And BONUS HTML5 videos offer higher visual quality, and these formats take up much less space than an animated gif file – so it’s win/win.
Use a converter website like this one and let it do the hard work for you.
5. Use a WordPress Plugin to Compress the File
If you’re using a WordPress site, there are plugins specifically designed to help you optimise images and GIFs. Check out the freemium plugin Shortpixel, with this plugin, you can ensure that the use of gifs won’t negatively impact your site’s load time.
Final Thoughts on GIF Optimisation
In conclusion, GIFs are a powerful tool for adding visual appeal to your website, but they can slow it down if not optimised properly. By following the best practices outlined in this blog post, such as reducing file sizes, compressing GIFs, and considering alternative video formats, you can maintain a fast, responsive website that keeps your visitors engaged and not worry about upsetting search engines.
So tell me, has this blog cleared up your questions about using animated GIFs on websites?
And if you’ve been thinking about setting up a website of your own or need some professional advice click HERE and get in touch with me.
I’m always happy to answer any questions about the process and provide advice tailored to your individual business needs.
