Why do most theme designers do not use CSS Sprites and Compression of the png images? I think that alone would increase the sales. I am tired of buying themes and then generate CSS sprites and Compress all the PNG Images of the layout.
Because it would be harder to modify, I’m sure this won’t increase sales.
Compressing images and css sprites would stop people from customizing? most themes get uploaded the way they are.
silencespr said
Compressing images and css sprites would stop people from customizing? most themes get uploaded the way they are.
in reality yes it is, but my themes are submitted in “development” stages for people to customize, add to a custom CMS etc(if they are site templates) now WordPress themes I believe should be optimized with compressions and sprites (at least icons.buttons etc)
I’ve always created sprites myself with Gimp.
Gimp’s compression is the best I’ve seen. I get smaller file sizes than Photoshop and other stuff I’ve used. ![]()
- Exclusive Author
- Has been a member for 2-3 years
- Sold between 50 000 and 100 000 dollars
- Bought between 1 and 9 items
- Referred between 50 and 99 users
silencespr said
Why do most theme designers do not use CSS Sprites and Compression of the png images? I think that alone would increase the sales. I am tired of buying themes and then generate CSS sprites and Compress all the PNG Images of the layout.
It’s personal references 
But i’m using CSS Sprites in my project
jmsmrtn98 said
I’ve always created sprites myself with Gimp. Gimp’s compression is the best I’ve seen. I get smaller file sizes than Photoshop and other stuff I’ve used.![]()
- Microlancer Beta Tester
- Sold between 250 000 and 1 000 000 dollars
- Most Wanted Bounty Winner
- Author was Featured
- Has been a member for 3-4 years
- Referred between 200 and 499 users
- Bought between 10 and 49 items
- Netherlands
I optimize all png’s in our themes with a png optimizer, which cuts the size by around 50%. We only use sprites on icons and such, since basic users have no clue how to edit or make sprites. Remember, these are themes, not tailor made websites 
I would avoid using sprites as this is an “open” project that is very likely to be modified. Most users won’t understand what a sprite is and how it works and will most likely mess up the positioning of the sprites when they edit/add to it. It’s just a mess. If they are the 1% that know how to use sprites, they will make one themselves once they’re done customizing.
I agree. Compressing images is a must and its super easy using something like yahoo’s smush it. However, sprites gets tricky because a lot of buyers actually want to change images and they don’t know how to use sprites (buyers from my experience are quite novice with CSS ). On the other hand, if a buyer is experienced they can easily create the sprites themselves – I try, and I am sure most authors try to keep the majority of their buyers happy. You can’t please everyone!
