Why You Should Compress Images
Images account for over 50% of a typical webpage's total size. Uncompressed images mean slower page loads, higher bounce rates, and lower Google rankings. Here's what image compression can do for you:
- Faster page speeds: Google recommends pages load in under 3 seconds. Large images are the #1 culprit for slow sites.
- Better SEO: Google's Core Web Vitals measure page experience — image size directly affects your LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) score.
- Lower bandwidth costs: Smaller images cost less to serve, especially important for high-traffic websites.
- Better user experience: Users abandon pages that take more than 3 seconds to load on mobile.
- Faster uploads: Compressed images upload faster to social media, email, and cloud storage.
Image Formats Explained
Choosing the right format is as important as compression itself:
- JPG/JPEG: Best for photographs and complex images with many colors. Lossy compression — great balance of quality and size.
- PNG: Best for logos, icons, and images with transparency. Larger files but lossless quality.
- WebP: Modern format supported by all modern browsers. 25–35% smaller than JPG at the same quality.
- GIF: Best for simple animations. Limited to 256 colors.
How to Compress Images Step-by-Step
Pro Tips for Best Results
- Target under 200KB for web images. Hero images can be up to 500KB if they're full-width.
- Use 70–85% quality for JPGs. The human eye can't detect the difference above 80% in most photos.
- Resize before compressing. If your image is 3000×2000px but displays at 800px wide, resize it first.
- Use WebP for modern websites. It offers better compression than JPG and PNG while maintaining quality.
- Compress in bulk using batch upload to save time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does compressing images reduce quality?
Lossy compression (like JPG) does reduce some data, but at 75–85% quality settings, the loss is virtually invisible to the human eye. Lossless compression (like PNG) preserves all data while reducing file size.
Is it safe to compress images online?
Our tool processes everything locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your images are never uploaded to any server, making it completely private and secure.
What's the ideal image size for a website?
For most websites: hero images under 500KB, product images under 200KB, thumbnails under 50KB. Always serve images at their display size — don't use CSS to shrink a 3000px image to 300px.
How much can I compress an image?
Typical compression ratios are 50–80% size reduction for JPG photos. A 2MB photo can often be brought down to 300–400KB with no visible quality loss.