Website speed optimization can be the difference between converting a potential client or driving them off your website. If you operate an online business, have a blog, or an online store, the chances are that a large part of your website content is in the form of images.
Visual content is the single most crucial factor when trying to get eyes on your site, yet, most website owners upload large-size high-resolution photos on their websites without considering the effect that the size can have on the loading time. Website loading speed is an integral part of your website performance, and files such as images affect your site performance.
Large images can affect the site speed, conversion rate, Google rankings (Check Web-Vital's), and overall user experience. Luckily, there are multiple ways to optimize the images on your website. And we've put together a list of the best for you.
What does it mean to optimize images?
Image optimization is the process of reducing the size of an image file and making it lighter so thatyour page loads fast.
One of the essential aspects of optimizing images is to minimize the file size so that it does not affect the page load speed.
Benefits of Optimizing your Images:
- Optimizing your images will make them load faster. Smaller files mean faster load times.
- Smaller files mean that there are fewer bytes for search engines to crawl. Thus, making your website more SEO Friendly.
- Better conversion rate and higher search engine rankings
- It makes your site look more professional and user-friendly.
Understand the Image File Types:
Should you upload images like Jpeg, PNG or GIF? Does it even matter? When building websites, the file-type of the image files does matter.
There are many image file formats, and you shouldn't bother to know all of them unless you are a graphic designer. Since this article aims to teach you how to decrease the image file size, the focus should be on the three main file types commonly used on the web.
JPEG OR JPG:
JPG is a popular image format, mainly because it preserves sufficient detail and clarity. JPG can store images with millions of different colours, which makes it ideal for photographic images.
JPEG or JPG Files features:
- You can use your Jpeg/JPG files when uploading pictures of your products.
- Jpeg/JPG files can be compressed with the Lossy Compression method. The smaller the filesize, the higher the quality loss.
- You can use compression tools and plugins to bulk-compress Jpeg Files.
What is PNG File Type?
The PNG file type is an image format used to store bitmapped images. The "PNG" stands for "Portable Network Graphics".PNG file type replaces the use of the older GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) file type. Both formats retain an image's original quality while maintaining a small file size.PNG file format also allows transparency, which can help display images on a web page with multiple layer effects.
PNG features:
- PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is one of the most widely supported lossless image
formats. - PNG files can be opened in almost all graphics software.
- It supports transparent backgrounds.
GIF File Type
GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format, which is a bit long to say, so most people call it GIF.
GIFs are a type of multimedia file mainly known for their use in animating images. The GIF format is a great way to turn static pictures into moving images.
Gif Features:
- Animated GIFs can add personality to your website, blog post, or hashtag.
- It's great for images with just a few colours.
- You can use it for small website icons.
Our Suggestion:
Use jpeg files for:
- Colourful pictures
- Banner images
- Product images
Use PNG Files:
- Simple images
- Logo
- Icons
- Transparent images
Use GIG Files for:
- To animate an image
- To make your content more playful with animations
Resizing the images:
Resizing your images is essential for creating a website that loads fast. It can make images web-friendly, so they'll look great on any device and help improve your overall site speed, which will give you a boost on your SEO.
There are many tools and methods that you can use to optimize your images and reduce the size. Firstly, let's see the two main methods of compressing images.
What is Lossless Image Compression?
Lossless image optimization refers to optimizing images without reducing the quality in any way, which means that you can reduce the size of the image without losing its quality. There are many tools, plugins, and online websites that you can use to compress your pictures with the Lossless method.
What is Lossy Image Compression?
Lossy image compression is a technique that removes some data from the original picture (lossy meaning to lose information). The primary intent of lossy compression is to reduce the size of images. When done right, your photos will not lose much quality even when compressed with the Lossy Compression method.
Top 5 WordPress Plugins for Image Optimization?
More than 80% of the websites online use WordPress CMS as their content management system. If you happen to be one of them, read below to see which plugins may help you reduce your image file size by either using the "Lossless" or "Lossy" compressing methods.
WP Smush Plugin:
WP Smush is a plugin that compresses and optimizes your images for faster loading speed. It is one of the most popular plugins among webmasters and developers.
The free version of the plugin allows you to bulk-compress a maximum of 50 pictures. The premium version has more options, such as bulk-optimizing all of your images.
It optimizes new images added to your images folder and automatically optimizes all old images already uploaded to your WordPress site.
If you have a site that doesn't have many images, the free version will work perfectly.
How to install WP Smush Plugin?
- Go to your Plugin section on your WordPress dashboard.
- Click on Add New Plugin
- Search WP Smush in the search section
- Select the WP Smuch Plugin and click install
- Activate it
- Start Optimizing the Images
Imagify
Another famous plugin to optimize your images is Imagify. The Imagify plugin optimizes your images before they reach users' browser. This includes lossless compression of PNGs and JPEGs, conversion to WebP, automatic resizing, color correction and much more.
How to install Imagify Plugin?
- Go to your Plugin section on your WordPress dashboard.
- Click on Add New Plugin
- Search Imagify Plugin in the search section
- Select the Imagify Plugin and click install
- Activate it
- Start Optimizing the Images
ShortPixel
ShortPixel Image Optimizer is a plugin that reduces image file sizes by up to 80% without affecting visual quality. Additionally, you can automate your image optimization with the included Scheduler
How to install ShortPixel Plugin?
- Go to your Plugin section on your WordPress dashboard.
- Click on Add New Plugin
- Search ShortPixel Plugin in the search section
- Select the ShortPixel Plugin and click install
- Activate it
- Start Optimizing the Images
Optimus Wordpress Plugin:
The Optimus WordPress Image Optimization plugin automatically optimizes your images by resizing, cropping, and optimizing them. It also lets you optimize entire folders at a time, which is a great time saver
How to install Optimal Image Optimizer Plugin?
- Go to your Plugin section on your WordPress dashboard.
- Click on Add New Plugin
- Search Optimal Plugin in the search section
- Select the Optimal Plugin and click install
- Activate it
- Start Optimizing the Images
Top 3 Sites for Compressing Your Images:
If you don't have a wordpress website, or you want to avoid using plugins (Another factor that affects site-speed), then there are plenty of online tools that can help you with the image compression, and based on our experience, the best are:
TinyPNG:
TinyPNG is a free lossless image file compressor that can reduce the size of your PNG files. It uses smart lossy compression techniques to reduce the file size of your PNG and JPEG images.
It is very easy to use, you just need to drop your images on the "DROP YOUR .png or .jpg files here!" section, and the tool will automatically compress your image, after the compression is completed, you will be able to download your compressed image and upload on your website with a smaller file size.
Compressor.io:
Compressor is another great online tool that lets you re-size your image files. With compressor.io you can quickly scale, save time, and optimize your image delivery. There are three methods that you can use to compress your images. You can choose the Lossy Compression, Lossless compression or you can even customize on how much you want to compress your files.
It is very easy to use, and as a big plus is that you can upload more than one image at a time. All you have to do is "Select the files", upload them on Compressor.io, select the compression method you want to compress your files, and wait until the compression finishes.
Imagecompressor.com:
Imagecompressor is another great tool similar to Compressor.io which lets you compress your PNG & Jpeg images. You can choose to either use the Lossy Compression method, or the Lossless.
A great feature is that you can upload many files at once and download all of the compressed images at once. This online tools are going to make your life easier, especially if you choose to optimize your images by yourself.
SEO Your Images
The last, but not least, do not forget to SEO Optimize your images. There are few ways that you can make your images more search engine friendly.
Using Descriptive Names on Image Files:
By having descriptive file names you can help your content rank on search engine but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Naming image files with descriptive names will help your clients/users understand what's on that image even if your site doesn't load correctly. It is a great practice to name the image files with the descriptive names.
Use Alt Tags for Better SEO performance:
Alt tags are a great way to improve the SEO of your images without adding any extraneous HTML or CSS code. Even if you don't have a lot of experience using alt tags, you'll find that they are straightforward and fulfilling to update. Image alt tags are crucial for organic search to determine the purpose and relevancy of an image. This will help search engines know what the image is, and you'll have an easier time in organic search results.
And that's all about optimizing your images, if you do it right, your site will have a better load time, your clients are going to stay more on your page, and Google will favor your site over the sites that are not optimized.
Our agency always takes in consideration the best practices and on each website that we work, our client's sites are well optimized, and as part of the content, the images are also well-structured and optimized for both search engines, and users