Feb 18, 2025
Image optimization is essential for your website. It means faster website loading on all your devices (desktop, tablet, iPad, mobile device)...
Image optimization is essential for your website. It means faster website loading on all your devices (desktop, tablet, iPad, mobile device) and will give your users a seamless user experience. Image optimization means reduced page load times, and enhanced website performance, and it helps to create a better browsing experience for your users.
We want to share some practical ways that you can ensure your images are properly optimized without compromising the quality of your images or the user experience.
Choose the Right Image Formats for Image Optimization
1. Selecting the appropriate format ensures efficient loading:
JPEG: Suitable for detailed photos or colourful images.
PNG: Best for images requiring transparency.
SVG: Perfect for icons and logos, as they scale without losing quality.
2. Compress Images Without Losing Quality
Large image files will slow down your website speed.
How to compress images effectively:
Use tools such as TinyPNG, ShortPixel, or ImageOptim.
Keep image sizes small without losing their quality:
o Thumbnails: Around the size of a photo you'd text to a friend.
o Large images (e.g., banners): About the size of a typical photo from a smartphone.
o Many compression tools show a percentage (e.g., 70% compression) rather than a file size.
3. Resize Images for the Web By Resizing your images you ensure that they fit the web page without unnecessary bulk:
Set appropriate dimensions (e.g., 1200px wide for banners and 800px for blog posts).
o What’s a px? A 'px' stands for pixels! Pixels are the tiny dots that make up an
image on a screen. When you use an image editor (like Canva or Photoshop), dimensions are usually shown in pixels. More pixels mean a sharper image, but larger file sizes can slow down your site.
Use responsive image settings to adjust sizes based on screen types.
o What are responsive images? Responsive images automatically adjust their size based on the user's device, whether it's a phone, tablet, or desktop. This ensures your site looks good on all screens without loading unnecessarily large images.
o How to enable: Many website builders (like Wix) and image tools have a 'responsive' or 'auto-size' option that you can allow when uploading images.
4. Use Proper File Names When Saving Your Images
If you name your file using these naming conventions below, it makes your content management much easier:
Use lowercase letters and hyphens (e.g., "team-meeting-photo.jpg").
Avoid generic names like "image123.jpg."
5. Enable Lazy Loading
Lazy loading helps by delaying the loading of images until they are needed on your website:
What is lazy loading? Lazy loading means images only load when they are about to appear on the screen, which improves site speed and reduces data usage.
In Wix, enable lazy loading under Advanced Page Settings.
Lazy loading is effective for pages with multiple images, such as galleries and sliders.
If you’d like to schedule a free 30-minute consultation with us, we would be happy to talk to you about how we can help you with your business needs.