Importance of Optimizing Images
Optimizing images is an essential and important step in website optimization. Why? because images are nearly in every webpage and their play an important role in page loading speed. Heavy images increase the amount of data should be downloaded and this, especially in slow internet connections, delays the page loading. Using big image sizes in small blocks, for example using a 2000 x 1000px image for a 200 x 100px block, delays the page loading; because resizing images take effort from internet browser and this increases onscreen time.
Image Pixel Size
You shouldn’t be worry about image pixel size. Because Publisher uses thumbnails and automatically chooses the best image size for every block.
Image Fize Size
You should concern about image file size. Some images contain unnecessary meta data like camera model, GPS coordinates, time of image creation and etc. Also sometimes they use high saturation and high color density which are unusable most of the times especially in small images and not too high resolution screens and monitors.
Optimizing images eliminate meta data and depends on compression ratio, combine similar colors and reduces color density. Using high compression ratio will reduce image quality.
How Can I Optimize Images?
For optimizing images you can select one the following methods:
- Install a software on your computer (like Photoshop)
- Online image compressor services like: TinyPNG and CompressJPEG
- In WordPress, install image optimizing plugins like WP Smushit.
WP Smushit is a popular plugin designed for optimizing images. Just keep in mind this plugin will put some extra load on your host server at the moment of image compressing.
Heavy and big images reduce page performance score in online tools like GTmetrix. But most of the times, fully satisfying them is nearly impossible! Don’t care to much about them and just use light images in appropriate size.