If you want your website to work without problems and look the best it pays to optimize each image you upload. Here are some recommendations.
When it comes to image size, bigger isn't always better as uploading larger images can affect site performance. By 'optimizing' images for the web we mean:
- Making images look good
- Making images load quickly
- Making images easy for search engines to index
Avoid gigantic images
With web images you want to find the right balance between size and resolution. The higher your resolution, the larger the file size will be. If your file size is really big (over 1 MB), it’s an indicator that either your image dimensions are too large or the resolution is too high.
Here are a few things you can do:
Resize the image
If your image is 5000 pixels wide you can easily resize a hero image to 2000 pixels wide, and images inserted into a page to 1200 pixels wide (or even smaller depending on how you plan to use it on your website). This will significantly reduce the file size. When you resize, make sure to keep the proportions the same so the image is not distorted.
Reduce the resolution
You can compress your image resolution to a “web-friendly” size in Photoshop with the ‘Save for Web’ option. You can also “Save As” in many photo programs and then adjust the quality level from there. If you don’t have access to a photo program, there are a number of compression services to find online.
Rename the files
It’s easy to just keep the default file name but when it comes to SEO, it’s important to include focus keywords to help your page rank. Search engines not only crawl the text on your site, but also the keywords within your image file names. So creating a descriptive, keyword-rich file name can give your SEO a boost.
Preferable image formats
Photographs should be saved and uploaded as JPGs. This file type can handle all of the colors in a photograph in a relatively small, efficient file size.
Graphics should be saved as PNGs. This includes most designs, infographics and logos.
Most simple image programs let you choose JPG or PNG by going to “Save As,” “Export,” or “Save for web” and choosing the type you prefer.
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