Does preloading images really make a difference?

[meckeard]

I only had to use JS to preload images due to the amount of images on a site and I didn't notice any difference.

With this said, is it really helpful to preload images? Has anyone noticed a difference afterwards?

Thanks.

 

[shu745]

Usually preloading images is good for image swapping like on a mouseover and it makes a ton of difference in that case. But it only works for your current page so you cannot preload/pre-cache another page's images.

- Shu

 

[shu745]

Oh yah, preloading all the current pages images will not make any difference when the page is initially loading. It only will make a difference on images that are on the page but are not seen until you preform some kind of event.

I know there's probably alot more to it. Hopefully an expert and enlighten both of us a bit more. =)

- shu (again)

 

[meckeard]

I was looking for ways to speed up a page that has a lot of graphics and none that swap.

Thanks.

 

[shu745]

Hmm.. there are some javscript programs that do pre-cache the images on a page but none that I found are free. You would need a script that does that as image preloading will not help a page inititally load any faster. You just have to optimize your graphics as much as possible.

-Shu

 

[HigherHigher]

To speed up a page.
Do the followings.
- do not embed Javascript. Make an external Javascript link to both pages.
- if your site is transitional, convert it to HTML strict. Less data this way.
- use Photoshop to optimize your graphic.
- do not embed Cascading Style Sheets. Make an external CSS links to both pages.

 

[adam0101]

If the page containing the images isn't your home page, you should be able to preload the images on the home page. That way when the user visits the image page, the images are already in their cache.

Also, I agree with everything HigherHigher said.

Adam