Automatic WordPress Image  Optimization

If you manage a WordPress blog with multiple authors, you’ve probably experienced issues with slow loading images. Many writer’s don’t understand the importance of image compression and optimization on the web, and it’s completely understandable.

So what can you do to make sure that the images your author’s upload aren’t ginormous in size? Automatic WordPress image optimization is the answer. Use these plugins to automatically optimize your WordPress images when they are uploaded, or to bulk optimize images that are already in your Media Library.

EWWW Image Optimizer Plugin

Luckily, there’s a simple and easy to use plugin that will do this for you. It’s called EWWW Image Optimizer Plugin, and it will:

Reduce file sizes and improve performance for images within WordPress including NextGEN Gallery. Uses jpegtran, optipng and/or pngout, and gifsicle. image file sizes and improve performance for images within WordPress including NextGEN Gallery. Uses jpegtran, optipng and/or pngout, and gifsicle.

If you don’t have these tools installed in your apache config, the plugin author provides a simple way for you to install them without the need for command line skills. It couldn’t be any easier.

WP Smush.it

The WP Smush.it plugin is another option, but it requires a third party API connection to the Yahoo! Smush.it tool.

Smush.it uses optimization techniques specific to image format to remove unnecessary bytes from image files. It is a “lossless” tool, which means it optimizes the images without changing their look or visual quality.

Smush.it is another great option for automatic WordPress image optimization.

Other Resources

Meet the Author

Kevin Leary, WordPress Consultant

I'm a freelance web developer and WordPress consultant in Boston, MA with 17 years of experience building websites and applications. View a portfolio of my work or request an estimate for your next project.