Khaled Khan 2 years ago
Images cause your website to load slowly. Simple as that. Images, on the other hand, are still necessary for their visual appeal, therefore you can’t dismiss them in the name of performance. Use the best wordpress plugin to optimize images to compress and optimize photos for maximum efficiency to get the best of both worlds.
As a result, readers appreciate the lovely photos, and your site continues to load quickly. It’s a win-win situation. There are numerous reasons why you need to include photos in your WordPress post. Images keep your readers interested. They’re also a good technique to break up big pieces of text while also improving SEO (SEO). They can, however, cause your website to load slowly.
One of the most effective strategies to speed up your WordPress website is to optimize its images. The rate at which a website loads is referred to as its speed. According to Google, it is a ranking indication for both mobile and desktop searches. Users demand speedy answers to their questions, and statistics show that page loading speed is important to them.
The website that loads in less than three seconds is considered the best, as it results in increased traffic, engagement, and a lower bounce rate.
Everyone is concerned about a slow website and wants to improve the website speed. It not only repels visitors, but it also has an impact on your SEO. Keeping it ‘in shape’ is one of the most important things to remember when running a business or even a personal website.
There are a variety of methods for speeding up your WordPress site, one of which complements the others. There is no universal approach. Improving the speed of your website is the result of combining several of these techniques. One of them is picture optimization, which we’ll go over in depth in this article. So keep reading to learn how to optimize all of the photos on your WordPress site manually and automatically.
Fortunately, there are numerous resources accessible to assist you with picture optimization. This means you’ll be more likely to overcome poor page speeds, which might hurt your website’s overall success.
By optimizing your photographs, you may avoid these problems while still reaping the benefits of images. This is accomplished by shrinking image sizes and improving the way your site handles image loading.
If done manually, the procedure can take a long time, but WordPress users can use the best wordpress plugin to optimize images in 2022 as mentioned below to speed up the process.
One of the most commonly used best image optimization plugin wordpress is Smush. It uses lossless compression (which means no quality is lost) to reduce the size of your images by up to 5 MB, either separately or in bulk. It also uses techniques like lazy loading and auto-resizing to boost page performance.
For novices, Smush is a simple plugin. If you install this plugin on a current website, all you have to do is navigate to the plugin’s settings to activate it. It will then optimize all of your current photos. As long as the plugin is installed, any new photos you submit will be automatically optimized.
Smush’s free edition and its premium counterpart, Smush Pro, are fantastic all-around alternatives for most WordPress users who want to compress their photos but don’t have the time to do so manually. Smush Pro ($6 per month) shrinks files much more than the free version and removes file size restrictions (the free version only allows converting images under 1 MB).
The EWWW Image Optimizer plugin optimizes photos as they are submitted to your site, and you can also optimize previously uploaded JPG files individually or in bulk. The compression of EWWW is flawless. However, EWWW has certain unique features that set it apart.
You won’t have to worry about enormous, uncompressed photographs because the plugin allows for infinite file sizes. Furthermore, the premium API version supports PNG, GIF, and WebP files, which is ideal for sites that use a variety of file kinds. Finally, EWWW Image Optimizer offers a customer service team that responds to all inquiries, even those from free users.
Every plan comes with a 7-day free trial so you can try out the plugin’s functionality and convenience of use before investing, and you can then purchase EWWW image optimizer separate plan for $5 to $10 per month.
ShortPixel, a freemium image optimization plugin, offers lossless and lossy image reduction options. Lossy compression reduces the size of a file by removing some data, resulting in smaller files with slightly worse image quality. Try ShortPixel if you can’t decide between the two ways.
One of the best features of this plugin is that it saves the original image copy, making it simple to restore if necessary. It also has a few extra features, such as CMK to RGB conversion and image resizing. ShortPixel also enables unlimited compression of JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, AVIF, and PDF files.
ShortPixel offers 100 free picture optimizations each month and costs monthly for additional images. You can, for instance, pay $3.99 per month for 7,000 photographs, $8.33 per month for 16,000 images, and so on.
Compress JPEG & PNG Images integrates with the image compression services TinyJPG and TinyPNG to automatically optimize your JPGs and PNGs. These programmes examine the image’s content and select the best compression approach without sacrificing image quality. This compression comprises removing unnecessary data, lowering or eliminating information, and annoying artifacts.
Compress JPEG & PNG Images can optimize any images in the background as you submit them, as well as images existing on your site. There are additional plugin options to maintain copyright and geolocation metadata in your photographs, as well as a CMYK-to-RGB converter and no file size constraints.
However, for free, you are limited to about 100 photographs per month. You’ll need to upgrade to a paid account after that.
Imsanity is an image optimizer plugin that instead of compressing images, resizes them. As you upload photographs to your WordPress site, this free plugin alters their dimensions. It’s unusual in that you can set a maximum width, height, and quality level, and it will identify and resize any images that go beyond those limits, making it great for websites with a variety of image requirements.
Imsanity also has a batch resize tool for any previously submitted photographs, as well as the ability to convert less optimal file types (such BMPs and PNGs) to less bulky JPG files. Overall, this plugin is excellent for sites with a lot of material, like blogs, where authors must post their own photographs.
Imagify compresses photographs you’ve just uploaded as well as those in your WordPress media folder. Everything is automated, saving you time and streamlining your process. Imagify’s three optimization levels, which you can choose in the plugin settings, are a standout feature.
For the smallest image files with the lowest image quality, there are three options: lossless compression, lossy compression, and strong lossy compression. This provides you more control over the file size and quality.
Imagify is compatible with WooCommerce, NextGen Gallery, and other popular plugins, making it excellent for sites that need to compress a large number of photos. Imagify also features a backup feature that allows you to restore the original version at any moment and start over.
It’s the reSmush’s official WordPress plugin. It is an image compressor that compresses each image you upload using one of several compression algorithms. It lets you compress images up to 5 MB for free and batch optimize them with only two clicks.
It duplicates the original image and compresses it with that copy, ensuring that the original is never lost. It also contains a sliding scale for optimizing the compression level for better control.
The Kraken.io API, an image optimization service that offers both lossless and lossy compression, is used by this plugin. Kraken offers a Page Cruncher and Dropbox compatibility in addition to photo optimization. Kraken’s infrastructure is used to optimize the output, which is then added to your WordPress library.
Aside from compression, the plugin resizes photos upon upload based on maximum dimensions set, and it provides a bulk action menu for handling several images at once.
The file size restriction, which is a reasonable 32 MB per file, is also worth noting. The free version, however, limits you to 100 MB of pictures per month. Increased file size restrictions are available on five premium plans, ranging from 500 MB per month for $5 to 60 GB per month for $79 per month.
Finally, WP Compress is an image optimization plugin that uses local image optimization and real-time image optimization to reduce file sizes. It also has device-specific adaptive pictures, retina device support, and image lazy loading.
The compression of files is fully automatic. WP compress also makes use of a CDN to provide photos in as little as seven milliseconds without the need to compress them, and it has a variety of capabilities for agencies with many client sites. WP Compress is a solid candidate for those managing several client sites because of these characteristics.
To conclude, don’t overlook the importance of image optimization. One of the primary causes of a slow website is images. Google, as well as your visitors and clients, dislike slow websites. Especially if you want to make money from your WordPress blog.
Unoptimized websites can hurt your SEO, drop you in the SERPs, raise bounce rates, and cost you money. You will see positive results sooner rather than later, whether you conduct the image optimization manually or use a plugin to automate it for you.
When it comes to WordPress image compression plugins, there are numerous options. Automatic picture optimization is available in most tools, however there are some limitations. There’s usually a limit to how many photos you can optimize or the maximum file size you can compress with free plugins.
With that in mind, we’ve included our top recommendations for WordPress image compression plugins above. All of these tools provide a wide range of optimization choices with only a few drawbacks. Either plugin will rapidly get you up and running with a long-term optimization solution.
Image optimization in WordPress is not simple, but if done right, it can have a significant impact on your site. Slow-loading web sites irritate both search engines and users. A single second of website loading time can make all the difference in today’s fierce digital competition, as buyers can easily switch to other businesses to find a substitute for your goods.
Khaled Khan is a WordPress developer who has been working in the industry for over six years now. He's currently employed as a Senior Engineer at Sizmic Labs, where he helps build a WordPress community of both developers and site owners. When Khaled isn't busy with work you can find him watching survival shows (the crazier ones are always better) cooking up something new in his kitchen -- or out exploring new places to eat in and around Hyderabad.
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