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Which image type to "save as" – GIF, JPG, or PNG?

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Don’t have a clue which image format you should use when some program asks you to choose?
Here’s a simple guide for when you have a choice of what to “Save as”:
  • GIF (.gif): usually “line art”, drawings, etc., and not photos (though photos often come into play in “animated gifs”)
  • JPG (.jpg): photos and complex art with effects or lots of unique colors/shades
  • PNG (.png): will handle any image style with aplomb, but this can result in larger file sizes than if you chose the applicable one of the first two.

You probably don’t need to (and therefore shouldn’t) use TIF (.tif or .tiff) unless you are making art of some sort or doing design work. Don’t use it on the web; it probably won’t work for anybody who’s trying to view it if you do. (Likewise, don’t send people a TIF unless you like gambling on whether they will see it or be frustrated and disappointed instead.)

There you have it. That wasn’t so bad, right?

Related Posts

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Google Search Engine Ranking Factors 2015  from Moz

Here’s a basic breakdown of the most important factors for ranking on Google, and which ones are more important than others. Happy to see that quality and keywordliness of the page content is still a top factor. (#3 on the list.) That’s the factor that site owners have the most direct control over. If you build the best page on a certain topic, you still have a good chance of ranking well, regardless of your site’s popularity or other factors. However, if Google is comparing your page to competition that’s of similar quality, then links and popularity (#’s 1 and 2 on the list) might be the deciding factor.

Here’s the main infographic behind the survey. MOZ has a lot more info at the Ranking Factors 2015 main page.

MOZ's Google Ranking Factors 2015

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Some key principles that guide my advice to clients

Things I keep coming back to again and again:

  • Everyone has something worth blogging about, and anyone who is willing can gain from having a blog.
  • Small business owners should understand and control as much of their Internet presence as possible. This doesn’t mean you yourself have to do every single thing, but you should understand and control it, as much as you do with the brick-and-mortar side of your business. (If not more.)
  • The individual beats of learning technology and Internet stuff are not difficult; the number one obstacle to that learning is the idea that it is hard. It is not. 70-year-old men who have never used a computer before sit down and learn this stuff. Therefore you can.
  • The power of the Internet and the “social web” is on a par with natural phenomena like electricity, fire, supernovas, and nuclear technology. It is immeasurably and inconceivably powerful. It also has elements of magic, and miracles, and incorporates things like serendipity and synchronicity and karma. It’s the power side of it that scares you, but you can’t do much about that (beyond taking basic safety precautions). Focus on the other stuff – the fun and the magic.
  • Your experience has value. It’s up to you whether you do anything with that or not, but it’s there.