Easily Optimize Images On WordPress Websites
One of the biggest attractions of WordPress web development is
the massive opportunities for SEO that the platform provides. Users take all
necessary steps for textual content optimization but disregard a very important
aspect and generally forget to optimize images on WordPress websites. Visual
elements like images, videos and GIFs have become an integral part of the
content marketing strategy of an interface and optimizing them has lots of
advantages like faster page loading speed and improved search results rankings.
Here are some of the best methods to conduct effortless optimization of images
on a WordPress website.
1. Resize And Compress Images
A common mistake that most people commit is to upload
visual content without checking the file size and dimensions which may lead to
a slower loading page while eating up precious storage space. It, therefore,
becomes essential to resize and compress images before uploading them on the
interface. Resizing means changing the dimensions or the image size in pixels
while compression refers to reducing the total file size of the picture and the
pixel dimensions may remain the same. Most operating systems have preloaded
photo editing tools that can be used for resizing and the procedure can be
conducted through the WordPress admin dashboard also. Similarly, compression
can also be done by using tools or plugins but people must take care that they
compress an image only once as doing it multiple times will deteriorate its
quality.
2. Select The Most Appropriate Image Format
All popular file formats like JPEG, PNG, and GIF are
compatible with most widely used browsers and WordPress also supports all of
them but identifying the most appropriate formats according to the requirements
is necessary because it will affect page loading speed. JPEG is perfect for
photographs, screenshots and images with gradients as it removes detail and ensures
superior compression ratio. PNG has the best quality but its file size can be
large and therefore it must be used only for graphics which require in-depth
detail and high resolution. The limited colour palette of GIFs makes them
unsuitable for photographs and must be used for simple images such as line
drawings, logos, and graphs. GIFs support animation and people can be tempted
to use them in large numbers for increasing the visual appeal of the interface
but they must be used sparingly as too much movement can distract visitors from
the primary objective of the website.
3. Add Alt Tags And File Name To Images
People usually do not add alt tags while uploading an
image but doing so can immensely help optimize images on WordPress
websites. The Alt Text is the brief description displayed to visitors when the
image cannot be loaded and it is also used by search engines to understand what
the visual is all about and helps them to rank entries in image search results.
Alt tags must be brief and concise but descriptive and users must seamlessly
insert appropriate keywords in them for optimization. Another beneficial tactic
can be assigning descriptive file names to all images as search engines are
unable to read pixels in order to ascertain the image description and rely on
the text accompanying it.
4. Take Help From CDNs
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) reduce the time taken by
a website to load by using a server near the visitor’s location to deliver the
content faster. This is helpful in the speedy loading of images even if traffic
to the interface is high. Most CDNs come with facilities for automatic image
optimization which makes the process easier thus reducing the workload of the
website owner. Another effective method is to choose dedicated CDNs for visual
content as these services are made for automatically optimizing and delivering
only images and other similar material using nearby servers.
5. Use Plugins For The Purpose
Plugins are among one of the most advantageous features
of the open-source platform enabling people to extend the functionality of a
WordPress interface easily without needing to input much code. WordPress
developers keep creating plugins for almost every conceivable functionality and
there are numerous image optimization plugins available. Users have to simply
select the desired settings and the service will perform all necessary
functions such as resizing without requiring the person to conduct the process
manually each time an image is uploaded.
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