What resolution for web?

keithostertag · Aug 18, 2015

Getting back into photo after being away for several years...

I'm not sure what size to make images for web display. Seems like several important things have changed- monitors are bigger, display cards produce all kinds of different resolutions, and browsers now seem to (mostly?) auto-size (not sure).

So, what is the current standard for size on images meant for web display? Considerations?

Back-in-the-day I used to limit my height to about 600 pixels since many users were using 800x600, and in fact some of the Internet forums I use still use approx that as a size limit (I assume to limit storage requirements as well as for compatibility with legacy software).

Thanks,
Keith Ostertag

Richard Boutwell · Aug 18, 2015

I've standardized all my jpegs to be between 1200-1500px in the long dimension and saved with a jpeg quality setting between 8-10. Retina screens are between 150-400dpi so images saved at that size won't look terrible if someone is using newer stuff, and sites will feed a lower res file to people with lower res screens/browsers. Wait, 1500px? someone can steal my pictures!? If someone wants to make 150dpi 10 inch print from it then they can have at it.

keithostertag · Aug 18, 2015

Thank you Richard, I was thinking along the same lines and appreciate the benefit of your experience.

Keith

Doyle Thomas · Aug 19, 2015

Richard Boutwell said:
I've standardized all my jpegs to be between 1200-1500px in the long dimension and saved with a jpeg quality setting between 8-10. Retina screens are between 150-400dpi so images saved at that size won't look terrible if someone is using newer stuff, and sites will feed a lower res file to people with lower res screens/browsers. Wait, 1500px? someone can steal my pictures!? If someone wants to make 150dpi 10 inch print from it then they can have at it.

you may be surprised how good an 8x10 can look at that resolution or even less, have you tried printing one? I post at 700px long and watermark.

marton · Aug 30, 2015

I export everything at 1024 long edge and 300dpi.

RalphLambrecht · Aug 31, 2015

I use 480x640 at 72 dpi.:cool2:

Chan Tran · Oct 22, 2015

I think most people have 1920x1080 for their desktop and 1336x800 for laptop. So size the picture for those.

RalphLambrecht · Oct 22, 2015

DOYLE THOMAS said:
you may be surprised how good an 8x10 can look at that resolution or even less, have you tried printing one? I post at 700px long and watermark.

+1 but I'm sure Richard knows that

RalphLambrecht · Oct 22, 2015

Chan Tran said:
I think most people have 1920x1080 for their desktop and 1336x800 for laptop. So size the picture for those.

be careful with thinking to know what MOSTpeople have or do;most people aren't most people and none of them areYou I

RalphLambrecht · Oct 22, 2015

Chan Tran said:
I think most people have 1920x1080 for their desktop and 1336x800 for laptop. So size the picture for those.

be careful with thinking to know what MOSTpeople have or do;most people aren't most people and none of them are you or I

Alan Klein · Oct 22, 2015

marton said:
I export everything at 1024 long edge and 300dpi.

1024 is what counts when you post an image to the screen or save a file. The 300dpi is a reference number only when you print. In other words, the long edge in your case will always be 1024 regardless of what you do with the dpi number.

Chan Tran · Oct 24, 2015

ralphlambrecht said:
be careful with thinking to know what MOSTpeople have or do;most people aren't most people and none of them areYou I

Agree! I have no monitor either desktop or laptop of those resolutions but that's my guess. Since I can not tally the monitors of all the people and I don't know what their resolution are then I or you can't know what size the image should be.

RalphLambrecht · Oct 25, 2015

Chan Tran said:
Agree! I have no monitor either desktop or laptop of those resolutions but that's my guess. Since I can not tally the monitors of all the people and I don't know what their resolution are then I or you can't know what size the image should be.

these statistics are available online but who knows how reliable they are? It remains a guess and most people are not like us;thank God for that.

removed account4 · Oct 27, 2015

72 dpi, save for web and not very big

Alan Klein · Oct 27, 2015

jnanian said:
72 dpi, save for web and not very big

The relative size of the image on a screen is based on resolution - the number of pixels you select to download such as 1200 x 900 pixels. Selecting 72 dpi or for that matter 300 dpi (for printing) has no bearing on what size shows up on the monitor. It's pixel resolution that counts. For example, if your monitor displays 2400 pixels wide, then the 1200 x 900 pixel image will take up one-half the width of your monitor screen. If your monitor is 3600 pixels wide, then the image will be one-third the width. If someone is using a monitor that displays 1200 pixels wide, then the image will fill the whole width of the screen.

Now some sites up-rez or down-rez the images to give apparent increases or decreases to the actual size of the image's true resolution. But that's the server's capability.

removed account4 · Oct 27, 2015

Alan Klein said:
The relative size of the image on a screen is based on resolution - the number of pixels you select to download such as 1200 x 900 pixels. Selecting 72 dpi or for that matter 300 dpi (for printing) has no bearing on what size shows up on the monitor. It's pixel resolution that counts. For example, if your monitor displays 2400 pixels wide, then the 1200 x 900 pixel image will take up one-half the width of your monitor screen. If your monitor is 3600 pixels wide, then the image will be one-third the width. If someone is using a monitor that displays 1200 pixels wide, then the image will fill the whole width of the screen.

Now some sites up-rez or down-rez the images to give apparent increases or decreases to the actual size of the image's true resolution. But that's the server's capability.

not disagreeing with you at all

i don't typically upload images to my website, blog or a website gallery
( like here, apug, or flickr ) with images that are much bigger than 7 or 8" on the long side .. 72 dpi and save-for-web.
from my POV, large images that i can't even see the whole image, because it is bigger than a cinema display
seem to be excessive and over the top.

as always, YMMV

Alan Klein · Oct 28, 2015

John: The problem is probably you're using an older model monitor that has maybe 1000 pixels across. So 7" x 72dpi equals 504 pixels which would take up about half the width. But the 7" does not relate to final actual dimension on the monitor since some monitors have different pixel quantities. Of course, as you see with yours, if someone posts an image 1500 pixels wide, and your monitor is 1000 wide, than the picture is too big to fit. There may be some settings you can use through either in your computer or from the serving web site that will allow you to display the full photo on your screen to alleviate that problem.

RalphLambrecht · Sep 24, 2017

keithostertag said:
Getting back into photo after being away for several years...

I'm not sure what size to make images for web display. Seems like several important things have changed- monitors are bigger, display cards produce all kinds of different resolutions, and browsers now seem to (mostly?) auto-size (not sure).

So, what is the current standard for size on images meant for web display? Considerations?

Back-in-the-day I used to limit my height to about 600 pixels since many users were using 800x600, and in fact some of the Internet forums I use still use approx that as a size limit (I assume to limit storage requirements as well as for compatibility with legacy software).

Thanks,
Keith Ostertag

the question n the title was about resolution but, the discussion drifted into image size. It's an old thread.so, I don't know if still relevant but, the best image resolution for the web is still 72dpi.

Eric Rose · Sep 24, 2017

Sorry to disagree Ralph, but the best resolution for web is considered 100dpi.

Prof_Pixel · Sep 24, 2017

RalphLambrecht said:
the question n the title was about resolution but, the discussion drifted into image size. It's an old thread.so, I don't know if still relevant but, the best image resolution for the web is still 72dpi.

The actual picture size in pixels is what is important. Talking about dpi without specifying the size of the image in inches is meaningless.

Eric Rose · Sep 24, 2017

Prof_Pixel said:
The actual picture size in pixels is what is important. Talking about dpi without specifying the size of the image in inches is meaningless.

So true. For web stuff I usually set the longest side to 1024px. But the original question by the OP was about resolution. Maybe they don't understand the relationship or lack thereof.

Prof_Pixel · Sep 24, 2017

Eric Rose said:
Maybe they don't understand the relationship or lack thereof.

It's been misunderstood since the early days of digital imaging... sigh

What resolution for web?

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