What is the impact of large images on web page performance?

Large images can significantly slow down page loading times due to their file size and the amount of data that needs to be transferred over the network. When a web page is loaded, the browser requests all of its resources—including images—from the server. If the images are large, they take longer to download, leading to increased loading times. This can result in a poor user experience as visitors may leave a page that takes too long to load.

Optimizing images by reducing their size without sacrificing quality—through compression and proper formatting—can help mitigate this issue. Other techniques, such as lazy loading images (which involves loading images only when they are needed), can also improve performance for pages with large images.

While large images might visually enhance certain aspects of a website, the critical impact they have relates to performance, specifically the loading speed, which is essential for retaining user engagement and optimizing the overall website experience.