Each time someone visits a web page, the browser must load all of the images. Images that are too large in size (greater than 750kb) can slow down your website. You also have a limited amount of space in your hosting storage plan.
The solution to this problem is image resizing and compression. Your images should not be larger than 2,000 pixels wide. If it is being used as a background or banner image, it should be at least 1,200 pixels wide. Smaller images can be used on the web page, but beware of low quality.
You can resize an image using the standard image viewing program on your computer. There is a “Resize” option in the Photos app on PC, and under “Tools > Adjust Size” in the Preview app on Mac.
After resizing an image, you should also compress it. Compression makes the file size smaller with a very minimal change in quality. Compression is essential to keeping your website fast.
You can compress an image using many different compression tools. You can access free online tools directly in your browser by searching “Compress Images Online” in a search engine. One option is:
On Mac, you can download a free app called ImageOptim that allows you to drag images onto an icon and compress them quickly and easily. Caesium Image Compressor is available for PC. Note that these options may have changed since this guide was written.
There are also paid WordPress plugins that can perform image resizing and compression for you. Discuss with Smart Inbound if you would like to explore these options.