Managing images properly is a practice that is often overlooked by many WordPress website owners.
Unfortunately, not managing images properly on your website can lead to several issues including consuming disk space, poor load times, negatively affect user experience and even lead to increased costs.
In this article, we’re going to look at best practices for managing media in relation to WordPress websites.
Use JPG over PNG
Images can be saved in a variety of different formats. The most commonly used are JPG or PNG.
PNG images are files that use lossless compression format and typically used for images which require a transparent background, icons or line drawings.
JPG images are a lossy compressed format which makes it ideal for photographs or realistic images and are much smaller in file size.
Compression quality and size should also be considered when saving images as they can also contribute to the overall size of a web page.
Often times, web designers will upload images with larger dimensions than necessary, saving at the maximum quality which results in larger image file sizes.
As a result, these large images need to be rendered by the browser when loading a page and result in slower load times.
Optimizing Images
There are several methods to compress images.
Photo Editing Software’s such as Adobe Photoshop allow you to adjust the compression settings when saving images. Of course all web designers want to use the highest quality images on their website however it’ important to be aware of how they can impact a web page file size.
There are several online tools available such as compressjpeg.com which allow you to compress individual or batch images.
Many WordPress themes such as Avada have include an image optimization feature which sets a default compression quality for uploaded images.
Several WordPress plugins can be installed that either compress images on upload or can batch process all the images stored in the media library.
Image Optimization Plugins
SG Optimizer plugin
If you’re already hosting your website with SiteGround Hosting then you can take advantage of the image optimization tool available through the SG Optimizer plugin. This website optimization plugin allows you to compress all existing images in your media library with only a mouse-click.
WP Optimize Plugin
This is website cleanup plugin which includes an image compression tool. It also handles bulk compression and compresses images as they are uploaded to the website.
Image Cleanup
It’s likely your media library is filled with several images that may have been part of the theme demo content or just images that were later replaced.
Rogue images can add up pretty quickly and end up consuming disk space on your web hosting and eventually lead to spending money on a more expensive plan.
You can easily remove unused images manually through the WordPress media library individually or selecting multiple images at once for deletion.
This task can be quite cumbersome especially if you have hundreds or thousands of images in your media library.
Media Cleaner
This WordPress plugin uses analysis tool to identify any unused images on your website that are stored in your media library and deletes them. It places images into a trash so you can ensure that everything is working properly on your site before permanently deleting them.
Before running any cleanup tools it is recommended that you run a backup or your website or media library.
Final Words
By following best practices on how media management on WordPress websites can yield several benefits including:
- Reduce the overall web page size that can result in faster page loading or site speed;
- This can lead to improved user experience, lower bounce rates, higher conversions and even better search ranking
- Reduce web hosting disk space which can save you from spending money from having to upgrade your hosting plan
