Performance budgets decide if the loop ships
Hero and landing restraint
A GIF for website heroes should explain one product beat. Prefer under 1MB above the fold. Multiple autoplaying loops stall first contentful paint. Decorative noise is not worth the jank on a mid-range Android.
How to actually shrink the file
Reduce size by cutting resolution toward ~1200px earlier, then frame count, then quality. Target-size budgeting is the last pass. When the file is still too big for a CMS, crop empty margins before you crush the slider into mud.
Blog embeds and email
Docs and newsletters need fast-loading behavior. Many mail clients pause GIF — design frame one as a poster. A banner campaign can sit closer to 5MB only if the host allows it; 10MB is a last resort, not a plan.