How to Optimize Your WordPress Images + Automate the Process 5 Ways

Images are one of the core components of just about any website. Using them well  can enhance your content and make visitors more receptive to what you have to say. However, the downside of using large numbers of high-quality graphics is that they tend to slow down your site. Thats why its important to optimize your WordPress images and speed up your site as a result.This simple process enables you to cut down on the space your images take up and reduce your loading times. In most cases, it wont noticeably impact the quality of your pictures. Better yet, you can automate the process using several methods, so you wont have to optimize your WordPress images manually.In this article, well talk some more about the importance of image optimization. Then well introduce you to five ways you can automate the process for your WordPress site. Lets jump right in! A large part of optimizing an image means  compressing the file  so that it takes up less space. Most image optimization tools are designed to  lower the quality of your images as much as possible  without  having a noticeable impact on the way they look. Thats called lossy optimization.  Theres also a lossless technique that doesnt shrink an images size as much but also doesnt compromise on image quality.Beyond compression, there are also other aspects to image optimization like changing your images dimensions and server-side optimizations so that your images load faster.This may all sound like a hassle to deal with, but most websites these days employ  a  lot  of images. When you add up all those high-quality graphics, they can use up  a ton of space and make your pages take longer to load. If theres something internet users dont like,  its a slow-loading site. In fact, page load times directly correlate with both your bounce rate and conversions, so you need to keep your site as fast as possible.In order to avoid those negative outcomes, its important to optimize your WordPress images. Heres how to do itFive simple ways to automate image optimization in WordPressEach of the following five methods enables you to automate image optimization within WordPress. The only question is: which one is the best pick for you?  Read on to find out.1. Employ an image optimization pluginOne of the easiest ways to add an image optimization feature to WordPress is by using a plugin. There are plenty of options that can compress your existing images so they take up less space  and  automate the process for new uploads. For a good start, check out Optimole, which enables you to pick from multiple optimization profiles and is easy to  set up  and use: Image optimization Lazy Load by Optimole Author(s): OptimoleCurrent Version: 2.1.2Last Updated: September 25, 2019optimole-wp.zip 96%Ratings 211,971Downloads WP 4.7+Requires The great thing about Optimole is that it not only optimizes your images, thus making the file sizes smaller, but it also gives you image accelera tion through CDN loading your image files from multiple locations around the world, not just from your main web server.2. Use a plugin to resize your imagesYoull often find yourself uploading images to your site that have larger dimensions than your theme can display. Thats not necessarily a bad thing, since high-resolution images look great when viewed at their full resolution, but it  can  affect how much space they take up in your storage. Whats more, larger images take longer to load, which affects your sites usability (as weve already discussed).Image optimization plugins like Optimole (featured above) often include features that help you automatically resize images. But if youre planning to handle compression in another way and want a solution that  only handles image resizing, you can use a plugin like  Imsanity: Imsanity Author(s): Exactly WWWCurrent Version: 2.4.3Last Updated: August 15, 2019imsanity.2.4.3.zip 98%Ratings 1,739,254Downloads WP 4.9+Requires T his particular tool automatically resizes the dimensions of images that you upload to your site based on maximum dimension sizes that you choose.3. Set up a Content Delivery Network (CDN) with an image optimization featureIf youre familiar with CDNs, then you know what amazing tools they can be to cut down your loading times. They dont necessarily make your website faster, but they  do  enable browsers to load your sites data from a nearby server in order to take the weight off your servers.Some options, such as Cloudflare, also provide you with built-in features that can handle image optimization.If youre using one of Cloudflares premium plans, you can opt into their Polish feature to automatically optimize your images. The best part is that it works regardless of which platform youre using, which is great news for WordPress users.4. Add a dedicated CDN  just for your imagesWeve already talked about how important it is to optimize your WordPress images for the web, so it shou ldnt surprise you to hear there are some CDNs dedicated entirely to graphics. These types of CDNs differ from tools like Cloudflare in that  theyre only focused on your images, whereas Cloudflare and other general CDNs serve up HTML files as well.Take Sirv, for example  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ this tool takes care of optimizing any images you upload to its servers. Plus, it can help you implement advanced features such as 360-degree spins, automatic responsiveness, and more.If you want, you can also integrate Sirv with WordPress by using its official plugin. This way, the service will automatically optimize your WordPress images and save you a ton of headaches. Image Optimizer, Resizer and CDN Sirv Author(s): sirv.comCurrent Version: 3.7.4Last Updated: October 17, 2019sirv.zip 100%Ratings 29,864Downloads 3.0.1Requires Alternatively, the Photon Module in the Jetpack plugin also acts as a dedicated CDN for just your images. Jetpack by WordPress.com Author(s): AutomatticCurrent Versio n: 7.8Last Updated: October 1, 2019jetpack.7.8.zip 78%Ratings 145,415,907Downloads WP 5.1+Requires 5. Tweak your  functions.php  fileWordPress  functions.php  file enables you to define functions, classes, and more for your website. Anyone with a WordPress website can modify its core files by accessing their site via FTP, using a client such as Filezilla  and a simple text editor. However, if youre not a developer, youll probably want to stick to adding code snippets you get from trusted sources.In this case, the  functions.php  file comes in handy for our needs because it enables us to modify the way WordPress treats images.Speaking of specific code snippets that you can use, we listed a number of them on our second blog. Just click here to see whats up.ConclusionLearning how to optimize your WordPress images is easy, and it shouldnt take you long to set up a workable system. After all, there are a lot of ways to add this feature. That means you can enjoy all the benefits of compressed images (such as a quicker site), without micromanaging the process. Employ an image optimization plugin.Use a plugin to resize your images.Set up a CDN with an image optimization feature.Add a dedicated image-only CDN.Tweak your  functions.php  file.Do you have any questions about how to automate WordPress image optimization? Ask away in the comments section below!Free guide5 Essential Tips to Speed Up Your WordPress SiteReduce your loading time by even 50-80% just by following simple tips.