How to Optimize Your Images for WordPress Using Free Tools

Introduction to Image File Format:

You need to consider 2 things when saving images: compression and image file format . By choosing the right combination, you can decrease your image size by 5x.

The only two image formats that matter the most are JPEG and PNG. To keep things simple, use JPEGs for photos or images with lots of color, and use PNGs for simpler images or when you need transparent images. For those who don’t know the difference, PNG image format is uncompressed which means it is a higher quality image but the file size is much larger. Meanwhile, JPEG is a compressed file format which reduces image quality slightly in order to provide a significantly smaller file size.

Compression can makes a huge difference when it comes to image optimization. Compression can be done by using tools which are designed to reduce original file size to a smaller file size.

In this article, we recommend top 3 free tools you can use to optimize images for your WordPress blog.


TinyPNG

TinyPNG is a free web app that utilizes smart lossy compression technique to reduce the size of your PNG files. All you have to do is go to their website, and upload your images. They will compress the image, and give you the download link.

For developers, they also have an API to convert images automatically.


JPEG Mini

JPEGmini uses a recompression technology which significantly reduces the size of images without affecting their perceptual quality. You can use their web version for free, or purchase the program for your computer. They also have a paid API to automate the process for your server.



ImageOptim

ImageOptim is a Mac utility that allows you to compress images without losing any quality by finding the best compression parameters and removing unnecessary color profiles.

Windows alternative to this is Trimage.

Conclusion:

By using 3 of the recommended tools above, you will notice a huge difference on your site speed in a positive way. Sure the image quality might decrease slightly, but most of your site visitors will not notice it.

Updated on: 08/01/2019