Images can account for a significant portion of your page weight. As a result, optimizing them can make a significant difference in your site’s speed.
Given the importance of page speed for both search rankings and user experience, this is an area that should be addressed.
Image optimization plugins for WordPress sites can make quick and consistent work of optimizing image size for page speed.
This column contains a list of ten WordPress image optimization plugins that you might want to try. First, let me explain why.
Google Wants You to Optimize Your Images and Speed
If this weren’t so important, Google wouldn’t be constantly telling website owners and SEO professionals to prioritize site speed and performance.
Google would not have made page speed a ranking factor if it wasn’t such a big deal.
So there you have it.
Google has even developed quantifiable metrics known as Core Web Vitals to help with measuring site speed and page experience.
Recently, Google PageSpeed Insights was refreshed to provide us with more insight into how our sites perform in terms of speed and what actions we can take to improve it.
If you’ve been using Google PageSpeed Insights, you may have noticed that the most useful insights the tool provide frequently relate to image optimization.
Image optimizations are likely to be the most effective if you implement just one of the many insights provided by the PSI tool.
Using one of these tools, you can speed up the process.
Read 5 the best WordPress Table Plugins in 2021.
1. Visualize
The Imagify WordPress plugin is a powerful tool that transforms any WordPress website into an image-optimized one, potentially reducing load time and improving overall site performance.
Imagify has the following features:
- WebP, PDF, GIF, JPG, and PNG formats are all supported.
- Automatic resizing and optimization are carried out during the upload process.
- Various levels of compression (Normal, Aggressive, and Ultra).
- Original image backup
- Optimization of the entire media library in bulk.
- There are two versions available: free (limited) and paid.
Imagify and WP Rocket (the same company’s speed and cache plugin) work together to create a highly effective performance and speed combo for any WordPress site.
2. Image Optimizer for ShortPixels
With over 300,000 users, ShortPixel is another popular WordPress image optimization plugin.
Some of its key features are as follows:
- There are three levels of compression (lossless, lossy, and glossy).
- New images are automatically optimized.
- WebP, PNG, JPG, GIF, AVID, and PDF are all supported.
- Works quietly in the background.
- The original image files are saved.
- There are two versions: free (for up to 100 images) and paid.
3. EWWW Image Optimizer
With nearly a million active users, EWWW Image Optimizer is a lightweight plugin.
The following are some of EWWW Image Optimizer’s standout features:
- Support for the most common image formats, including JPG, PNG, and PDF.
- Lazy loading and conversion to next-generation formats such as WebP.
- Adding dimensions to images that are missing (one of the things the PSI tool assesses).
- Image optimization in bulk.
- Original images are preserved.
- There is no restriction on the size of image files that can be compressed.
- There are free and premium versions available.
4. reSmush.it
If you’re looking for a free WordPress image optimization plugin, reSmush.it might be a good choice.
Some of the features you should be aware of are as follows:
- Support for popular image formats such as JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF, and TIF.
- Image optimization in bulk.
- Image optimization during the upload process.
- Only works with images under 5 MB in size.
- Makes a duplicate of the original image.
- There is a slider that allows you to fine-tune the compression level.
5. Image Compression and Optimization Smush
Smush is a popular image compression plugin for WordPress, with over one million active installations.
It has a nice-looking interface, and its most important features are as follows:
- Image loading is sluggish.
- Excellent presentation of image compression results (i.e. how much space you have saved thanks to the plugin).
- Various levels of optimization (lossy and lossless).
- Loading is done slowly.
- There are two versions: free (limited to images under 1 MB) and pro.
6. Optimole
Optimole is an image optimization plugin that helps you get rid of all those bulky images so your website or blog loads faster.
It compresses JPEG and PNG files while maintaining their quality, resulting in faster load times and a better viewing experience for your visitors.
Its main characteristics are as follows:
- Simple and easy-to-use interface.
- There are four compression levels (auto, high, medium, low).
- Retina and WebP support are provided.
- Loading is done slowly.
- Makes use of a free CDN.
- There are both free and paid versions available.
7. TinyPNG can compress JPEG and PNG images
The TinyPNG plugin, as the name implies, is designed to optimize the two most popular image formats, JPEG and PNG.
The following are the main features:
- All images in the library are optimized in bulk.
- When you upload an image, it is automatically optimized.
- The ability to specify the width and height of uploaded images.
- There are no file size limitations for images.
- With a single API key, it works for multiple sites.
8. WP Compress
WP Compress, in addition to providing the most popular image optimization features, also includes a slew of agency features such as client reporting, remote configuration, monthly client quotas, and more.
Among the standard WP Compress features are:
- Bulk optimization with a single click.
- Loading is done slowly.
- Conversion to next-generation formats such as WebP.
- Hyper-fast hybrid CDN.
- There are both free and paid versions available.
9. Optimus
Optimus is a WordPress image optimization plugin that offers intelligent image optimization and claims to reduce image files by up to 70%.
Optimus’ distinguishing features include:
- All existing images are optimized in bulk.
- When you upload an image, it is automatically optimized.
- Retina images are supported.
- It is compatible with WooCommerce.
- There are free and premium versions available.
10. Idiocy
Imsanity is a lightweight WordPress image optimization plugin with a simple interface and basic optimization features like:
- Automatic image optimization during upload.
- The ability to select the JPG image quality.
- The ability to remove or keep original images.
- Image optimization in bulk.
Final Thoughts and Image Optimization Tips for WordPress
Gone are the days when we had to manually compress every image we uploaded to our site (lucky for us). Because of the platform’s popularity and widespread use, WordPress users have access to a plethora of image compression and optimization plugins that can do the heavy lifting for them.
One thing to keep in mind is that you should not use more than one image optimization plugin. Using multiple image plugins at the same time can result in unintended consequences and problems.
In most cases, the best setup for a fast WordPress website is to use a WordPress caching plugin in conjunction with an image optimization plugin, such as WP Rocket and Imagify.
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Learn more from WordPress and read WordPress Template Plugin Vulnerability Affects Over One Million Websites.
