Media Size
Choosing images that compliment your website's professional content
and underpins its message, takes careful thought. A perfectly chosen
image can make a site stand out from its competitors.
File size however is more important, as they will not stick around to view it, if it takes too long to appear (See our Internet Speed Download Chart below).
The same applies to other media (MP3, MP4Movies, PDF's)
Downloads Speeds Chart for typical media
| Internet Connection Speed |
Time to load a typical web page
(assuming 100 kilobytes of data) |
Time to download a typical 5-minute song
(assuming a 5 megabyte MP3 file) |
Streaming Video Quality |
| 56K dial-up modem |
14 sec |
12 min 30 sec |
|
| 256K broadband |
3 sec |
3 min |
Low Quality |
| 512K broadband |
1.6 sec |
1 min 30 sec |
|
| 1Mb broadband |
0.8 sec |
41 sec |
|
| 2Mb broadband |
0.4 sec |
20 sec |
Medium Quality |
| 4Mb broadband |
0.1 sec |
5 sec |
|
| 6Mb broadband |
Instantaneous |
Instantaneous |
|
| 8Mb broadband |
Instantaneous |
Instantaneous |
TV Quality |
| Note: all figures are approximate and represent best-case download speeds. Actually speeds will generally be lower. |
Products
'Digital Products', i.e. products that are downloaded via a page or email once purchased, can afford to be a little bigger.
However, they still need to be transferred over the net, and customers will slow connections or others with irregular connections, may face problems.
The customer services involved in solving these problems, will add to your costs, even if you offer 'contact forms made especially for such communications
(A 'form maker' is standard with our CMS Websites).
- Reduce your products file size to the minimum (by zipping them into a folder if necessary)
- Consider dividing your products into portions. It often makes them feel better value for money and may allow them to be 'specialised' for specific customers, increasing sales opportunities.
- Consider your likely custom. 'Business Users' are likely to have access to faster Internet connections and the old tend to upgrade less often, to the latest speed.
- Consider giving both options. A full download and a split download. The smaller may be good for them to use on their media player. Adding to the flexibility of your products and encouraging sales.
See our Internet Speed Download Chart above:
Image layout and size
Images can look awkward if their size, proportions and backgrounds
do not match their intended use. Consider that big is not always necessary, especially if the image or PDF is not for printing.
Your project manager can provide consultancy services to help in deciding such factors.
Not all web companies have creative personnel in-house, our graphic designers
will be on hand and can offer a content maintenance program for areas
our clients wish to outsource.
Downloads Speeds Chart for different sized media
| Broadband1 |
Dial-up |
| 4-minute song |
4 MB |
4-5 seconds |
20-30 seconds |
About 10 minutes |
| 5-minute video |
30 MB |
30-40 seconds |
About 3 minutes |
About 1 hour, 10 minutes |
| 9-hour audiobook |
110 MB |
2 minutes |
About 10 minutes |
About 4 hours, 15 minutes |
| 45-minute TV show |
200 MB |
3-5 minutes |
15-20 minutes |
About 7 hours, 45 minutes |
| 45-minute HDTV show |
600 MB |
10-15 minutes |
About 45 minutes-1h |
n/a2 |
| 2-hour movie |
1.0-1.5 GB |
18-24 minutes |
About 1.5-2 hours |
n/a2 |
| 2-hour HD movie |
3.0-4.5 GB |
54-72 minutes3 |
About 4.5-6 hours3 |
n/a2 |
| iPod Game |
10-60 MB |
About 30-70 seconds |
About 3-6 minutes |
About 1-2 Hours |
Notes
- Broadband speeds can range from 256 kbit/s and up. These estimates are based on both a 5 Mbit/s and a 1 Mbit/s broadband connection. Download speeds will vary depending on your Internet connection.
- Broadband required for movie and HD downloads.
- Refer to the Apple TV Technical Specifications page for more information on the time.
What to do next
If your site site is slow, we can help improve the media and graphics.
Please contact
us to discuss the best way forward. |
Time is money
Having great media or digital products, are important. Enabling visitors and customers to view and download them, quickly, is essential.
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