You have chosen alluring imagery for your site. Unfortunately, the images are unnecessarily large. Using them on your page can increase the website’s loading time, resulting in visitors’ frustration.
But you can compress these images and make the most of them.
Here comes the role of image optimisation. Besides traditional search engine optimisation, image SEO is becoming immensely important. The core elements like alt text, title text, sitemap, and image compression help search engines understand the image context. Not just this, but it also increases visibility among image searches.
Optimising each image at a time is a tedious task. Thankfully, we have image optimisation plugins to make this process easier. Let us discover the best WordPress plugins for image SEO:
1. Smush
Smush is the crowd-favourite plugin for WordPress users. Whether you want to optimise a single image or all in one go, this plugin is the right choice. Once installed, it can optimise the previously loaded images and the new ones.
Apart from that, it also detects images with the wrong size and suggests how to scale them better. Newbies can get plenty of guidelines from Smush and experience processed images like a pro.
An advanced version known as Smush Pro is also available. You can find affordable images from various websites and invest in the plugin’s paid version to get professional-level images.
What Smush Offers?
Smush offers a wide array of features. Some of them are mentioned below:
- It offers lossless compression, which means optimising images without losing quality.
- It lets you compress all images no matter in which directory they are present.
- It sends an email report after completing image optimisation.
- It keeps on working even if the plugin is closed.
- It lets you decrease the loading speed by having a lazy load feature.
2. Optimus
Another helpful plugin for image optimisation is Optimus. It is specifically designed for WordPress users whose primary concern is bandwidth. The plugin sends images to the Optimus server, where you get a smaller version suitable for the specific site.
Once you upload images to your WordPress website, they get optimised automatically. It means there is no need to spend extra time and effort optimising every image.
Two advanced versions, the Optimus HQ and the Optimus HQ Pro are also available with additional features.
What Optimus Offers?
Some basic features of Optimus available in the free version are listed below:
- You can optimise images in bulk.
- All the images are optimised through lossless compression.
- The preview image optimisation option is also available.
- It converts images in the WebP format, a new image file format smaller than JPEGs and PNGs.
- It offers progressive uploading of JPEG files. Here users can view the full image at a glance while the quality loads progressively.
3. Shortpixel Image Optimizer
If you are searching for a plugin with both lossless and lossy compression methods, try Short Pixel. The plugin optimises images automatically with no size limits. It also saves the original copy of the images, which you can reuse anytime.
As per WordPress, Short Pixel has around 300,000 active installations. It is best suited for eCommerce websites using WooCommerce. People having multiple sites can also use this single plugin to automate the image optimisation process.
What Short Pixel Offers?
You can experience a wide array of features in this plugin. A few of them are:
- One-click bulk optimisation of images in the media library as well as the gallery images.
- Option to convert the basic file formats like JPEG, PNG, GIF into the latest formats, including WebP and AVIF.
- Image testing option is available.
- Progressive JPEG option is also present.
- Compatible with all major hosting providers and the WP Offload Media plugin.
- Integration with Cloudflare is available.
- The option to get the monthly image report is present.
4. Imsanity
Number fourth on our list is Imsanity. It works on predefined image sizes. All you need is to set the image dimensions, and the tool will automatically resize images.
Bulk resizing is also possible, which is one reason for its popularity. Furthermore, the tool doesn’t compress images beyond the WordPress limit. However, for more compression, you can use a compression plugin in combination with Insanity.
What Imsanity Offers?
Imsanity comes with a bundle of features like:
- It enables you to upload images in sizes different from the one selected for the bulk images.
- It is available in multiple languages.
- It doesn’t require any action from the users. Once installed, it works on its own.
Kraken.io Image Optimizer
Another useful plugin for image SEO is Kraken Image Optimizer. Like Imsanity, it also resizes images as per the dimensions set by you.
Besides this, depending on your choice, it can compress images, which can be both lossless and lossy.
The free version has a monthly limit of 100 MB. However, five paid versions with additional features are also available.
What Kraken Offers?
The basic features of Kraken are listed below:
- It optimises images uploaded through the media uploader as well as thumbnails.
- You can selectively resize the main image of the site.
- You can even add a zip archive; it decompresses the file, optimises each image, and uploads them.
- It offers cloud storage, so whatever you save can be reused anytime.
Imagify
Imagify has almost all the basic options present in the plugins mentioned above. It provides everything, from automatic to bulk optimisation.
However, you can enjoy some additional features like three levels of optimisation. These are the lossless, lossy, and strong lossy options.
Apart from that, it is compatible with well-known plugins like NextGen Gallery, WooCommerce, and many others.
What Imagify Offers?
You can experience multiple features in Imagify. Here are some of them:
- It converts the images into WebP format.
- It offers a free backup option for you to store images.
- It enables you to set the ideal image dimensions, including height and width.
EWWW Image Optimizer
Our last recommendation is EWWW Image Optimizer. It optimises your new as well as previously uploaded images. Besides this, the plugin supports lossless compression, maintaining your image’s quality.
Users also appreciate the option of unlimited image sizes, which is not possible in every plugin. It means the plugin can optimise images of every size, and larger images will not be a problem.
What EWWW Image Optimizer Offers?
The plugin comprises multiple features. Some of the key features are:
- It lets you store original images for a month.
- It optimises every image, not just the media library images.
- It is protected by SSL encryption.
- It has an excellent support team, and users of its free version can also take assistance.
Conclusion
While you focus on the core business competencies, the above plugins can automate the image optimisation process. Some of them are ideal in terms of cloud storage, while others are best in converting images to the best file format. Jot down your needs and compare each plugin’s feature to find out which works best for you. Or contact our web design experts to help you create an aesthetic and functional page.