How big is too big?

[Jas]

In terms of page loading time, how big (in kb's) is too big for a webpage to load in a reasonable amount of time? Also, does including a lot a small files greatly increase the loading time (i.e. if you include three 13kb files, will the loading time be greater than one 40kb file)?

I am curious because it's tempting to create a lot of FX for pages, but, being knew to creating web pages, I don't really know where to draw the line (no self control, lol).

[djr33]

There's a slight lag in a request for a file. The transfer of bytes should, on average, be the same rate, overall, though.

It depends on how fast the connection is for the user. Dialup users will take a while anyway.

So.... it's hard to say. Having images as media on a page is needed sometimes. But having them as content that takes forever to load is a problem.

Minimal size is best, using only what you need to have your content work.

There are no specific numbers you can use. But you can figure out how long it will take.

Check this out:
http://www.websiteoptimization.com/services/analyze/