How to Optimize Images in WordPress to Improve Your Site Speed

image-optimizer.xyz ·

Have you ever entered your own website and felt that it takes an eternity to load? Most of the time, the culprits are those huge image files that we upload without thinking. If you don’t optimize your photos, you’re forcing your visitors to download unnecessary megabytes and, at the same time, upsetting Google.

Here I explain how to fix it without going crazy.

Why should you care about images?

Basically, because they are what weighs most on almost any modern website.

  • They take up more than half of the bandwidth.
  • If your web is slow, Google will hide you in the search results.
  • No one waits more than 3 seconds for a page to load. If it takes longer, they leave.

The fact: Optimizing images is the fastest way to improve your Core Web Vitals and increase points on PageSpeed Insights.

What is exactly an optimized image?

It’s not just that it “weighs less”. A well-optimized image:

  • Has the right size. No pixels too many, none too few.
  • It’s intelligently compressed (maintaining visual quality between 75-90%).
  • Uses efficient formats like WebP or AVIF instead of the classic JPG or PNG.
  • It’s clean of useless data like GPS location or camera model.

3 ways to do it in WordPress

1. Optimize before uploading (The best option)

It’s the way to have total control. If you upload the image already clean and light, WordPress doesn’t have to extra work. Tools like image-optimizer.xyz make it easy for you:

  1. Drag the photos.
  2. Choose WebP or AVIF.
  3. Adjust if you want (although the automatic usually goes great).
  4. Upload the light version to your web.

The advantage: You don’t overload your server by installing more plugins and you make sure that the quality is exactly what you want.

2. Use an optimization plugin

There are very well-known options like ShortPixel, Imagify or Smush. They work well because they do it “alone” once installed, but they have their downsides:

  • They usually charge if you go over a certain number of images.
  • They consume your own server resources to process the photos.
  • Sometimes conversion to modern formats is a paid feature.

3. Careful with WordPress sizes

WordPress attempts to help by creating several copies of your image in different sizes (thumbnail, medium, large…). But that doesn’t solve the base problem. If you upload an original photo 4000px wide, you’re occupying disc space unnecessarily.

Try to upload images that already have a logical size for the web (maximum 1920px or 2000px is usually enough).

Quick summary

  • Switch to WebP or AVIF whenever you can.
  • Run the photos through image-optimizer.xyz before uploading.
  • Don’t upload gigantic photos “just in case”.
  • If you use plugins, watch that they don’t slow down your admin panel.
  • Measure before and after with PageSpeed.

Speed up your WordPress today

You don’t need to be a technical expert. Just by changing how you save your images before uploading them, you’ll notice the difference.

Try it now at image-optimizer.xyz. Your server (and your users) will thank you.

Published by image-optimizer.xyz the simple tool to have light images.