Advantages and disadvantages of using base64 encoded images

Question

I am thinking of using base64 encoded images for a site I am working on to optimize the load time.

Anyways, before I start, I was wondering: what are the advantages

Answer 1

It's only useful for very tiny images. Base64 encoded files are larger than the original. The advantage lies in not having to open another connection and make a HTTP request to the server for the image. This benefit is lost very quickly so there's only an advantage for large numbers of very tiny individual images.