I'm excited to share this new series with you, called "101 Blogging Tips". In the series there will be 101 quick, short and sweet blogging tips that you can begin applying to your blog right away!

Tip #4: Be Conscious of Image Size.

Simply said, the larger the images the longer they take to load, the more space they take up.  Therefore, be sure to resize any images you create or take off from your camera. Or at least begin by setting the "size" setting in your digital camera to "small" (some have "large" as a default).

General image tips for your blog:

• All web images (banner, signature, sidebar buttons, etc.) can be 72 dpi (high resolution is not needed for blog work). High resolution images are larger in size. and typically used for print/ad work.
• Setting a width of 400 pixels is a nice size image and fits nicely, centered into your posts.
• If floating images to the left or right, then 200 or 250 pixel width would work best (although a smaller image).
• Sidebar images typically have a width of 125 to 200 pixels in width. These are for promotional buttons or badges on your site.

Here are some free programs, as well as tutorials, you can use to edit your images, resize and watermark them as well:

• FastStone
• GIMP
• Paint.Net

NOTE: You may also use Photoshop Elements or Photoshop if you own those programs to resize and create images for your site.