CSS image Sprite

The sprites are 2D (two-dimensional) images that are created by combining multiple small images into a larger one.

A CSS sprite is a method used to reduce the number of the HTTP request which are created for multiple image resources by combining them into a single file. This will loads the web page faster and also reduce the bandwidth which is used to load multiple images.

It is mainly used to design a navigation bar by putting images into it.

Example: Suppose, a web page that consists of several small images like icons, buttons, etc. take more time to generate and load multiple server requests. By using the image sprites we can reduce the number of HTTP requests that helps in reducing the loading and also, improves the performance.

Live Example: Creating image sprite using CSS

In this example, we have taken an image that consists of multiple icons. Each icon present in this image behaves as a single image. The practical implementation of this along with its explanation is given below:

To make the icon behave like the individual image we use the <i> element. Then we have specified the .sprite class and then specify the background image inside this class. Then, we have specified the CSS properties for each icon individually.

Advantages of CSS Sprite

• The advantages of CSS Sprite are given below:
• It reduces the number of HTTP requests that are created for images.
• It reduces the load time of the web page and enhances the overall performance.
• We can use one image instead of several images.

Conclusion

The CSS sprite is a combined graphics that help us to display the particular parts of that image. It combines the number of images into a single image. The webpage with a number of images takes a lot of time to load and also generat6ed more server requests. So, by using the CSS image sprites we will reduce the number of server requests and also the load time.