GZIP Compression and Image Compression

[pmeenan]

In general you should use .png files for page "graphics" (logos, icons, buttons, things with text) and jpegs for things that are more like photos (people, etc). There shouldn't be anything special about the type of file that would make one take longer than the other if they are both the same size (bytes).

For shared vs. grid hosting, the main thing to look at would be your first byte time. If you are looking to speed up the delivery of images and other static content you will be better off using a CDN than switching hosting providers (I use MaxCDN - http://www.maxcdn.com/ and am happy with them and REALLY happy with the pricing).