Optimizing image file size and format is crucial for ensuring fast loading times and optimal user experience on websites.
By following these recommendations, you can enhance your website’s performance and improve search engine optimization (SEO) for your images.
1. Use lower case and avoid spaces: When naming your image files, it is best to use all lower-case letters and eliminate spaces. Instead of spaces, use hyphens (-) to separate words. For example, “ron-the-web-guy.jpg” is preferred over “Ron The Web Guy.jpg”.
2. Be descriptive: Choose image file names that accurately describe the content of the image. This not only helps with organization but also helps with SEO and searching for images within platforms like WordPress (WP), HubSpot (HS), and Google Drive. If the image is related to a specific event, product, or person, incorporate their name into the file name. For instance, “product-name-thumbnail.jpg” or “john-doe-profile-pic.jpg”.
3. Avoid stock photo wording: Refrain from including generic terms like “iStock” or “stock photo” in your image file names. These terms do not provide any meaningful information about the image and can be redundant.
4. Optimize image size: Image size refers to the pixel dimensions (width x height) or the file size (in kilobytes or megabytes). Before uploading images to your website, it is essential to optimize them for the web. Do not rely on image compression plugins after uploading images. Large image files can significantly slow down page loading times. Use image editing software or online tools to resize and compress images while maintaining acceptable quality. Aim for a balance between file size and image quality. Think about image file size (in kilobytes or megabytes) like water in a 5-gallon bucket—if you try to put 20 gallons into that 5-gallon bucket it won’t work properly and obviously you have too much content for the space/container. Think about image size (width and height) like trying to park a full-size truck in a small parking space… sure you can make it fit, but it won’t look proper and will clearly go outside the spacer/container.
5. Choose appropriate image formats: Different image formats serve different purposes. For photographs or complex images with many colors, use JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format. It offers a good balance between image quality and file size. For images with transparency or simple graphics, such as logos or icons, use PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format. PNG supports transparency but may result in larger file sizes. Avoid using uncompressed formats like BMP (Bitmap) or TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) for web images, as they can be excessively large.
By adhering to these recommendations, you can optimize your image file size and format, leading to faster website loading times, improved (SEO) search engine optimization, and a better overall (UX) user experience.