Was the Gif size too big when you were trying to upload it on your social media handles? Don’t worry pals! Here, we have covered everything about Gif optimization and how to reduce gif size without losing quality. You won’t have to compromise with quality ever again if you keenly follow the steps and implement the tips later mentioned in this article.
Gifs are essentially made up of various frames that give out the illusionary moving effect. Numerous images are combined and thus, if you ever want to reduce your Gif size effectively, you have to remove these frames first.
Removing duplicate frames from the Gifs reduces Gif size without compromising quality. Another effective way of reducing Gif size while ensuring Gif quality, is by reducing the colors. We are often under the impression that more colors make up for a good Gif quality. That belief is simply untrue. You need to reduce colors (or stick to solid colors only) to ensure Gif quality.
Keep reading to know more about Gif optimization and how to resize Gifs to ensure Gif quality and reduced size.
What Are Gifs And How To Optimize Them Well?
Gif stands for Graphics Interchange Format and is an image format just like PNG, JPEG, or other popular image extensions. It has a multiplicity of images stored in it which forms the illusions of a moving video. Essentially, Gif is a looped video with no sound which has become a major source of entertainment for us.
Steve White’s efforts to make a small-sized animated file led to the development of Gif in 1987. From then onwards, Gifs has become a popular mode of communication on various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, etc. Using Gifs in professional spheres is also becoming common these days.
However, one limitation to a Gif file, especially stored images in a Gif, is the limited use of colors. An image stored in a Gif only supports 256 RGB colors, unlike other popular image formats that support millions of them. That’s why Gifs aren’t best suited for colored pictures.
Thus, to makeshift various colors outside the RGB range, multiple images are added to get the desired outcome in a single Gif file. This leads to an increased Gif size.
Lossless data compression makes sure image quality isn’t compromised while compressing various Gif images. This method of compressing various image frames in a Gif reduces Gif size while maintaining the overall quality.
Ensuring quality while reducing the size of a Gif isn’t as hard as it may otherwise seem. You just have to keep certain factors in mind about the Gif structure and composition while resizing Gif. A correct method will not lead to reduced Gif quality while ensuring the file size remains small.
One of the best ways to optimize Gif without losing quality is by reducing the composition of frames used in a Gif file. Many times there are endless unnecessary frames that increase Gif size. If only you remove these extra frames, your Gif size will be optimized without compromising Gif quality. This is also one of the best ways to optimize a Gif file in Photoshop.
Another way of improving Gif quality with the reduced size is by using limited colors for your Gif file. People equate more colors with more quality in a Gif. However, that isn’t true. You must work with limited colors to get the best quality Gif file that is easy to load and share.
There are many other ways to successfully optimize a Gif file. Below we have explained how to reduce Gif size without losing quality in Photoshop by the method of reducing frames. Follow them up well to make sure your Gif turns out well after optimization.
Also Read: How To Fix Gifs Not Working On iPhone? 12 Effective Ways To Fix!
How To Reduce GIF Size Without Losing Quality In Photoshop?
Reducing Gif size without losing quality In Adobe Photoshop is extremely easy if you follow up the steps well. You have to keenly look through your frames that should be reduced in a Gif file and avoid removing the ones that are necessary.
Here are the steps that you need to follow while optimizing Gif size in Photoshop without losing quality.
Step 1: Open Photoshop on your device.
Open Adobe Photoshop app on your desktop, tab, or mobile and make sure you are logged in so that changes are synced into your Photoshop account.
Step 2: Select “File” from the top menu bar and then tap on “Open” to select the Gif file.
Click on “File” in the top menu bar of the Photoshop app and then tap on “Open” and select the Gif file you want to edit.
Step 3: Tap on “Window” from the top menu bar and select “Timeline”.
Once your selected Gif file opens, go to the top menu bar and click on “Window”, scroll down and tap on “Timeline”. This will open your frame timeline which needs to be reduced.
Step 3: Check the default frame control data in the timeline.
The most important step before removing duplicate frames in a Gif file to reduce size is to note the default frame time. This time needs to be adjusted later after removing unnecessary frames.
To look for the default frame time, click on the image from the timeline below. A number will be shown and that would be the delayed time data for each of your frames. (remember that time)
Step 4: Delete the duplicate frames from the timeline.
After checking the default frame delay time, look for duplicate frames by clicking on the image timeline. Take note of duplicate images and delete them.
(Note: Remember the number of frames you deleted as you have to make up for the deleted delay time in the next frame)
Step 5: Edit the delay time in the next frame by multiplying the number of the deleted frames to default delay time.
The next important step after deleting the duplicate frames is making changes in the default delay time of the following frame (one which was beside the deleted frame).
If your default delay time was 0.03 and the number of frames you deleted were 20, then you have to delay the frame time by 0.6.
To make the changes, click on the frame and then select “others”. Write the delay time in the “Set Frame Delay” tab and then hit “Ok”.
Step 6: Export your optimized Gif in File > Export.
After you have reduced the number of your frames, export your optimized file. To export your Gif file, go to “File” on the top menu bar and click on “Export”. Choose any option you like under the export settings. For a heads-up, you can save it as “save for web”.
Step 7: Make some changes in the Photoshop settings before finally saving the Gif file.
Once you select the desired export settings, a box with several inbuilt photoshop settings will open. Here, you can edit the colors or change preset changes before saving the final Gif.
Reducing colors makes the gif load faster without compromising quality. You can select any color composition from the color settings and play around with other Photoshop settings. Some of the settings might increase file size while some will reduce it. Do the necessary changes and then hit on the “Save” option below.
Save your optimized gif in the desired location on your device and you’ll note that file size would have been considerably reduced than earlier without losing quality!
Also Read: How To Record and Edit High-Quality Videos On Veed?
How To Reduce GIF Size Without Losing Quality Online?
You can also optimize your Gif online to reduce its size. However, you have to keep in mind that online compressing doesn’t always render the best results. If you don’t want to compromise with your Gif quality, it’s best you work on Photoshop and self-optimize your Gif File.
There are various online websites that will let you reduce your Gif size without a hitch. Some of these websites are Veed, EZGif, Free convert, etc. These sites allow you to upload the Gif file that you want to optimize and then hit on the “Compress or Ok” button.
In the end, you can download your reduced Gif file and upload it to any online platform. Sites like “FreeConvert” let you choose advanced settings where you can optimize your Gif according to your needs.
The best thing about these online Gif compression sites is that it lets you choose the desired “Filesize”. All you have to do is click on the desired range and VOILA! Your Gif size will be reduced according to the setting you selected!
Other best online Gif optimizers to reduce file size are-
- Gifmaker.me
- Kraken.io
- Fileoptimizer
- Remeolihgt GIFmicro
- RIOT
- GIFGIFS
Tips To Make Gifs Better While Reducing Size
You don’t have to be a graphic designer to make stunning animated Gifs. By keeping the necessary things in mind, you can self-optimize or even make Gifs yourself.
Here are some of the important tips that you need to keep in mind while optimizing your Gif. Follow these tips while making and optimizing Gifs and your Gifs will certainly turn out well instead of being trashy or blurry.
- Dither: Dithering is important if you have chosen a Gif with a wide variety of colors. As a frame has limited colors only, Dithering helps make up for the missing colors in the Gif RGB Color Palette.
- Reduce Frames: Gif is made up of multiple frames that create motion illusion. Sometimes there are various duplicate frames in an image that increases the Gif size. Deleting these frames is a good way of reducing the Gif size!
- Reduce Colors: Reducing colors is another important technique of improving Gif quality and reducing its size. Photoshop’s color reduction algorithm provides four color reduction settings namely- perceptual, selective, adaptive, and restrictive. You can select either of these to reduce colors in your Gif.
- Small Dimensions: It goes without saying that small dimensions should be kept while making Gifs to improve quality and reduce Gif size.
- Avoid unnecessary animations: It is understandable if you want to add varying animations to your Gif. However, you should also keep in mind to not overdo it. Unnecessary animations will only increase your Gif size. Thus, keep your animations small and simple.
Also Read: Best Android Video Editing Apps In 2021 | Be a Professional Editor
Wrapping Up
You can optimize your Gif size without compromising quality. There are various ways of optimizing Gifs and the best among them is via Photoshop. Photoshop lets you edit the frame timeline of your Gif which plays a major role in increasing the Gif size. Hence, deleting duplicate frames in Photoshop aids in resizing Gif.
Another common way of reducing Gif size is by optimizing it online via online Gif optimizers. However, here you have to keep in mind that results might not always be upto your expectations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What Are The Best Online Gif Optimizers?
Here’s a list of the best Gif optimizers to reduce file size.
1. Gifmaker.me
2. Kraken.io
3. Fileoptimizer
4. Remeolihgt GIFmicro
5. RIOT
6. GIFGIFS
Q. How Do I Make A Gif Smaller Without Losing Quality?
Removing duplicate frames from the Gifs reduces Gif size without compromising quality. Another effective way of reducing Gif size while ensuring Gif quality remains is by reducing the colors. We are often under the impression that more colors make up for a good Gif quality. That belief is simply untrue. You need to reduce colors (or choose solid colors) to ensure Gif quality.
