How to make a GIF from a video

GIFs are still the lingua franca of chats, docs and README files: they autoplay everywhere and need no player. The catch is size — GIF is a 1989 format with no real compression, so a naive conversion produces a 50 MB monster.

Convert

1. Open Video to GIF and drop your MP4, MOV or WebM.
2. Set FPS to 10–12, width to 480 px and max duration to about 6 seconds.
3. Click Convert and download.

Rules of thumb for small GIFs

• Frames per second is the biggest lever. 10 fps looks smooth enough for a reaction; 24 fps triples the size for little gain.
• Width: 320–480 px covers chat and documentation. Full HD GIFs are never a good idea.
• Duration: every second at 480 px / 10 fps costs roughly 300–600 KB. Keep loops under 6–8 seconds.
• Fewer colours help. Screen recordings with flat colours compress far better than camera footage.

Trim first

The tool's max duration cuts from the start of the video. If the moment you want is in the middle, use Trim video to isolate it, then convert the short clip.

When a GIF is the wrong choice

For anything over ten seconds, or for a website, a muted, looping MP4 is a fraction of the size and plays everywhere modern. Use GIF when the destination only accepts images — Slack reactions, GitHub issues, email signatures.