CSS - using one background image with multiple images on it

Question

I\'ve observed that often the websites use only one background image which contains multiple images on it. For example, instead of using separately icons, all of the icons a

Answer 1

The technique is called CSS Sprites. Basically you use CSS's background-position property and fixed height or width for your element.

If your elemnts are fixed width and fixed height at the same time you can freely create a more compact image. See this site for more complex examples.