Most graphic images for the Web are constructed in one of two formats. These are GIF, or Graphics Interchange Format, that is used primarily for computer generated images, and JPEG, or Joint Photographic Experts Group, usually abbreviated JPG, that is designed for compressing either full-color or grey-scale digital images of natural, real-world scenes like photographs.

One of the features of GIF is the ability to make backgrounds transparent. In the first example, you can see the white background surrounding the Internet Brothers logo. In this sample the speckled page background shows through because the white has been made transparent. Most modern graphics editing software offers an option to make GIFs transparent when saving.

The IB logo at left is a JPG file that seems to inherit the transparency feature of the GIF above, but instead was created with the same background as the page. Perhaps the best feature of JPG is its superior file compression capability. The JPG at left uses 2949 bytes of data storage while the transparent GIF above uses 3737 bytes, but if you look closely, you'll notice the quality is not as good. JPEG's strong suit is Web photography.

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The Internet Brothers have implemented hierarchical menus for navigation. Easier done than said.

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