What's that? Every webpage takes up a certain amount of "space"... cyberspace... on its host server. When a visitor arrives at a URL, the page stored must be copied from the host server to the visitor's computer (downloaded). The speed of downloading depends upon the speed of the visitor's connection to the Internet. Not everyone has a cable modem or an ISDN connection. 14.4K modems are still in use. Even with a 56K modem, distance from the ISP via phone line, or modem quality, can slow data transfer speed considerably.

What does it mean to a webpage author or designer? It means that pages should be designed to load in an acceptable period of time through a slow connection, and nearly instantly on faster connections.

ACCEPTABLE SIZE

30 seconds is the maximum. 10 seconds or less is the goal. In terms of page budget, it means that your webpages should contain no more than will download to your visitor's computer within the time limit you set.

For instance, this page (and all of our pages here) are constructed to display our logo table, including navigation options, within 5 seconds of access with a 28.8K connection. Further loading will continue until the page is fully downloaded. Our content is primarily text, javascript, and HTML. Most of our graphics are recycled throughout the website.

The average webpage budget should be around 30K - text, images and HTML/Javascript TOTAL. 20K or less is better!

GRAPHICS VS. TEXT