Web-Optimising Images

Why Image Optimisation Is Crucial for Your Website’s Performance

When we build websites, we make sure they’re fast, user-friendly, and built to perform well across all devices. One of the ways we do this is by ensuring the images we upload are web-optimised. A common issue we see is images being uploaded in their original size. It’s easy to upload high-quality photos straight from a phone or camera without thinking twice, but those large files will quietly drag down your site’s speed and overall performance.

While everything might load quickly on your own device over fast Wi-Fi, it’s a different story for users on slower internet connections or mobile data. In those cases, large images can cause pages to take much longer to load, sometimes even minutes, which is more than enough time for someone to give up and leave.

In fact, according to Google, the probability of a user bouncing increases by 32% when page load time goes from 1 to 3 seconds. The longer it takes, the higher that number climbs - so every second counts!

How to Optimise Your Images for the Web

Here are some tips to make sure your images are ready before you hit upload:

Choose the Right Image Format

Using the right file format is crucial for balancing quality and file size:

JPEG – Best for photographs or images with lots of colour
PNG – Ideal for graphics, logos and images that need transparency.
SVG – Good for logos, icons, and simple illustrations.
WebP – Great for compressing high-quality images for both photos and graphics.

Compress Your Images

Here are some tools you can use:

TinyPNG
ShortPixel
Imagify
Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator & Lightroom

Recommended Image Sizes:

Type of image/logo:	Recommended Pixels:	File Size:
Website Banners / Heroes	1200×600 to 1920×1080 px	Under 200–500 KB
Thumbnails	150×150 to 300×300 px	50–150 KB
Blog Images	800×600 px (or layout-dependent)	Under 200 KB
Icons	32×32 to 200x200 px	Under 50 KB

Name Your Files Properly

Instead of uploading images named IMG_1234.jpg, use clear, keyword-rich names that describe the content. For example, team-photo-banner.jpg is much more useful than image01.jpg.
This helps with both SEO and organisation.

Add Descriptive Alt Text

Once you upload your web-optimised image to your media library, remember to add Alt text. This helps screen readers describe images for users with visual impairments and also gives search engines more context. Keep it relevant, concise, and reflective of what’s in the image.

Don’t Let Unused Images Pile Up

Over time, WordPress sites can accumulate a large number of unused or duplicate images, which:

Take up unnecessary storage
Slow down backups and restores
Make your media library cluttered
Potentially increase hosting costs

Image optimisation isn’t just a “nice-to-have”, it directly impacts how fast your site loads, how it ranks in search results, and how users experience it. Taking a bit of time to prepare your images before uploading will pay off in performance, professionalism, and even your SEO.

If you’d like a hand with web-optimising your images, let us know. We’re happy to help!