What is an SVG file? SVG: Pros and Cons

Your readers would appreciate nothing more than aesthetically appealing visual displays on your web pages. 

It’s normal if you find yourself crushing on the image resolution on authority sites instead of the washed-out PNG or JPEG logos on some sites. The difference is the use of Scalable Vector Graphics file (SVG) and raster resolutions respectively– you’ll get to know what these are in the second heading of this post.

In this post, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about SVG files. You’ll learn how they function, why you should use SVG files, and its advantages and disadvantages.

What is an SVG file?

A Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) file is a visual display file used for 2-dimensional images online. SVG files use vectors to generate crisp graphics while maintaining picture SEO.

Vector Images:

Vector images are digital graphics created using mathematical equations instead of pixels and color boxes, allowing them to be scaled infinitely without losing quality as opposed to raster images.

Common file formats for vector images include SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), EPS (Encapsulated PostScript), and AI (Adobe Illustrator).

What are Raster Images?

Raster Images store image information in a grid of colored squares called a bitmap. JPEG and PNG images are made of pixels and can become blurry when resized.

Raster graphics are best for high-definition image displays such as photographs because each pixel color is defined. As such, they have a definite resolution, whereby resizing reduces the image quality.

What are SVG files used for?

PNG and JPEG formats are used interchangeably and in circulation because of their shareability, even though rasters lose their quality when shared, whereas SVG does not.

An attempt to re-create a complex photograph with a vector results in unusable SVG files.

Hence, SVG files are used to create images with less detail than a photograph, and here are the most common uses of SVGs online:

Icons:

Icons are simple and well-defined in terms of colors and borders. Some call-to-action elements like buttons are expected to be responsive to any device’s screen; they should be infinitely scalable, and vector images come in handy.

Logos:

Would you rather prefer a zoomed-out blurry PNG or JPEG image at the top of your favorite website to crisp and aesthetically appealing graphics? That’s the more reason SVG is an ideal format for logos as seen in website headers, emails, and prints ranging from pamphlets, and hoodies to billboards. Logos are simpler designs and concert nicely with SVG files.

Illustrations:

Vectors are a good fit for non-photo visual displays. Conserve files and save space by converting decorative webpage drawings into SVG files. You can craft a great deal of visual representation using SVG files.

Animations and Interface Elements:

You can achieve visual dynamics with SVG files and set it to automation With CSS and JavaScript. Have you seen animated SVG graphics? There are not many digital aesthetic beauties like it. It engages the users and adds flair to web pages.

Infographics and Data Visualizations:

Give your SEO effort some wings and try adding informational displays like infographics or illustrated charts to your webpage(s). When you’re ready, SVG files are quite the tool for it. This will result in a seamless design plus the text within this design is indexable.

Pros and Cons of SVG files

Your decision to stick with rasters or end up with SVG formats is essentially based on knowing its advantages against its disadvantages. Let’s see the pros and cons of SVG files:

Pros of SVG files:

Infinite Scalability:

SVG can be zoomed to any magnitude without losing quality, unlike JPEG and PNG. At their natural state, they’re pretty indistinguishable; the litmus test of magnificity brings out the truth. This is an important feature to consider because various screens responding will cause resizing.

Customization:

Designers and developers have control over their visual displays using SVG graphics. Now, you don’t need a text editor to modify your Images, with SVG-compatible editing programs you can change vector shapes, colors, text, and even other visual effects like color gradients and shadow.

SEO and Accessibility:

SVG files are written in XML code, making them easily accessible. With such features, SVG can be optimized for SEO, offering more advantages over raster formats.

Cons of SVG files:

Not for high-definition photos:

SVG is created with paths and points; not pixels. Another way of creating vector images is by using a converter to trace the PNG to vector; however, you won’t get the same detail as you would when looking at your photos.

You need a bit of knowledge of coding:

You must have that technical knowledge of how to make images with SVG files. For example, this SVG code draws a red circle with a black border (stroke) on a 100×100 canvas.

<svg width=”100″ height=”100″ xmlns=”http://www.w3.org/2000/svg”>

  <circle cx=”50″ cy=”50″ r=”40″ stroke=”black” stroke-width=”3″ fill=”red” />

</svg>

If thinking of codes gives you migraines, then get ready to pay for it.

How to Make or Edit an SVG File:

Here are various ways to make or edit SVG files:

• Create an SVG convertible design.

• Trace your design.

• Convert your design into a vector image.

• Resize the artboard as needed.

• Fine-tune your design.

• Export your file as an SVG.

• Copy and paste the XML code to use your design online.

• Here’s a breakdown of how to make or edit an SVG file.

Conclusion

There are two classifications of images; rasters and SVG files.

Rasters cover JPGs and PNGs such as photographs, scanned documents, and digital artwork. On the other hand, SVGs involve PDF and vector visuals involving logos, icons, etc.

Both image files play a vital role in ensuring top-notch online visual display; it all depends on the project at hand and what you want.

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