Confused about GIF’s and JPG’s? Well, you’re not alone. There’s a lot of misinformation about which one loads faster, which one to always use, and which one lives in the sewer under your house. Here’s my tribute these two web formats along with some examples.

Best for limited colors and text headers.

Best for photos and shaded items.

GIF: 4 colors, no dither; 611 bytes

JPG: 80%; 5k

GIF: 32 colors, no dither; 3k

JPG: 80%; 4k

GIF Banner: 128 colors, dithered; 26k

JPG: 90%; 20k

GIF Photo: 256 colors, dithered; 44k

JPG Photo: 90%; 17k