Whenever you are posting images, either on a message board or your own site, be sure to use a web friendly format. The best options are PNG, JPG, or GIF at a size no larger than 800×600.

The reason is simple, other image formats (such as BMP or TIF) are extremely large and take a long time to download. Additionally, by confining the image to 800×600, you are virtually assured the browser will not auto-shrink the image, which makes it appear distorted to the user. There is some quality loss endured by using a web friendly format, but overall the pro’s far outweigh the cons.