1x1 .gif as tiled background image

what is this good for?

[ScottM]

I have a larger website and I'm looking to make each page size smaller.

As a background on each page I have a 4k .gif

Rather than going through each page and updating the background to a color, I've seen people using a 1x1 .gif.

What is the reason for the 1x1 .gif?

Do plain color backgrounds load faster?

[tedster]

One good reason for the tiled 1x1 gif is that you get better color matches with your foreground images than if you only declare a hex bgcolor. A 1x1 gif is a very small file and adds very little to download time.

With bgcolor, if you check lots of different setups (16-bit color, 24-bit color, different browsers, OS, etc) you may see that ugly old boxy border around images -- instead of the seamless "floating" effect you hoped for.

[brotherhood of LAN]

I suppose if you want a unique colour outwith the hex ranges 1x1 is good

using them for alt text, shady links etc is not really a good idea :) I used to use em a bit but found it incredibly slow to scroll the pages in WYSIWYG.....

[ScottM]

Thanks guys.

It seems that a 1x1 gif is a good replacement to my 4k one.

I'll try it!

Thanks again.

[AlbinoRhyno]

I believe that you end up causing more parsing/tiling problems for the browser by tiling such a small graphic that if you used a larger one. I remember reading that a 1200 or 1600 x 1, 1600x10 gif is the "best of both worlds" solution - you get a smaller file size and a smaller amount of tiling.

[tedster]

Nice tip, A_R_. I've been using 10x10, but I will "upgrade" and give this a shot!

[JamesR]

1X1 colored gifs used to by great ways to hide text...not a good idea now.