WordPress Image Optimisation: Key to Site Speed

Optimising images in WordPress is a key part of improving site speed and performance, resulting in a better user experience.

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Why Image Optimisation in WordPress is Important

Optimising images is one of the most important steps in improving site speed on WordPress. Unoptimised images can significantly slow down page loading, and this has a direct impact on user experience and search engine ranking. When images are too heavy, browsers take longer to load them, which can frustrate visitors and increase rejection rates.

Which Image Optimisation Techniques to Use?

To improve the loading speed of a page, it is worth applying some image optimisation techniques:

• Image compression: Using compression tools such as TinyPNG or JPEGmini allows you to reduce the size of files without losing quality.
• Application of new generation formats: Formats such as WebP offer better compression and smaller file sizes compared to traditional JPEG or PNG formats.
• Scaling images to the correct size: It is important that images are scaled to the actual size displayed on the page to prevent unnecessary server overload.

Image Optimisation Tools for WordPress

There are numerous plugins and tools on the market that can help you automatically optimise images in WordPress. A few popular ones are:

• Smush: Automatically compresses and optimises images uploaded to WordPress, offering various compression modes.
• EWWW Image Optimizer: Allows optimisation of images already in the media library and those added on an ongoing basis.
• ShortPixel: A plug-in that not only compresses images, but also converts them to WebP format.

How to Implement Image Optimisation Correctly?

To successfully implement image optimisation on your WordPress site, it is worth following the steps below:

• Use of the optimisation plug-in: By installing one of the plug-ins listed above, images can be automatically compressed and optimised in real time.
• Manual compression: Before adding images to WordPress, it is a good idea to use online tools to reduce their size.
• Conversion to WebP: Convert existing images to WebP format using plug-ins such as ShortPixel.

Practical Tips for Everyday Use

In order to optimise images effectively, it is worth bearing in mind a few practical tips:

• Systematicity: Regular review and optimisation of images added to the site.
• Speed monitoring: Using tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights to track the impact of optimisation on page speed.
• Variety of formats: Using different image formats as required, for example SVG for icons, WebP for photos.

If you encounter problems with your WordPress site, visit my article The Most Common Problems of WordPress Websites and How to Solve Themto learn more and find practical solutions.