The first method in this series on making WordPress load faster by reducing image file sizes. I'll show you 4 methods to optimize images for WordPress. You might already know that loading speed is crucial for high rankings in search engines, that’s exactly why I’m starting this series with optimizing images for SEO.
As you can see in my Google PageSpeed report, I can speed up my website especially on mobile devices by reducing image file sizes.
Reducing the file sizes of your images is quite important, because big image files slow down websites drastically. All fast websites have in common that their images are highly optimized.
I’ve explored several ways to optimize images in WordPress blogs, 4 of which I’m about to share with you.
You’ll get a view behind the scenes of my blog. I’m going to show you how I’m optimizing the images on my own websites - so that you can adapt the methods for your own site.
In the video I show you two WordPress plugins and two free online services which optimize your images for SEO.
On my website I’m using the service Kraken.io, which is the best image optimization service I’ve ever came across. If you’re looking for the ultimate (yet affordable) solution, Kraken.io is your best choice.
The free alternative to Kraken.io is WP Smush.It. It’s a well known plugin and runs on almost one million blogs.
You can install both plugins directly from the WordPress plugin repository, yet the Kraken.io plugin will require an API key to work.
Both plugins reduce image file sizes on-the-fly, directly when you upload a new image. They can also optimize all existing images in the media library at once - which might take some time depending on the number of images.
When you want to optimize one image at a time, you can use the free optimization tool of Kraken.io, or Picresize.com. I’ll show you how to use both tools in the video.
BONUS TIP:
Pay close attention to the resolution of the images you upload. You don’t need to upload an image that’s 1,500 pixel wide if it’s just displayed in the sidebar. Make sure that the images are only as big as they need to be.
You can use professional tools like Photoshop or free tools like Gimp, Paint (not my preferred choice) or Picresize.com.
Now it’s your turn! You know what you need to do to reduce image sizes on your blog. If you haven’t already, feel free to go ahead and optimize your own images! I’d love to hear the results of your site speed in the comments 🙂
