How to Optimize Images in Shopify

Larger images use more memory and every time someone lands on your website, they have to load that image onto their browser. Therefore larger images will lead to longer loading times. For some sites, like those that don’t have many images, the difference is rather limited. However, for eCommerce sites with lots of product images, it can make a significant difference.

Therefore, you should look at reducing the file size of your website images every time you upload them.

There are several ways that you can optimize images on Shopify. The first is to use programs like Paint.net or paint to reduce the size of the images that you’re uploading in the first place. Images of products or taken on cameras can have dimensions that are thousands of pixels wide and high. Every pixel is a set amount of memory, so an image with too many pixels is going to take up too much memory.

Then you might need to adjust the file type of the image. There are numerous different file types that images can be. The two most common file types are png and jpeg. While png offers higher quality, jpg take up less memory. Therefore, for most images on your website, you should look at changing the file type of your images. You can save a lot of memory and load time because of this.

Another option is to compress your images on Shopify. Compressing has to be done by a third-party app. There are some free to use apps like RIOT that allow you to compress the image just by dragging the image into a panel and the software does the rest. Riot can also reduce the size of the image and also change the file type.

Alternatively, you can optimize the images on your Shopify store by using Shopify apps. One app that does this is SEO Booster. You can optimize images in bulk. The advantage of this, is that you can save a lot of time and don’t need to reload the image once it’s been optimized. Some other apps specialize in optimizing your images.

After you’ve optimized your images on Shopify you should see loading times on your website improve considerably. This can also help you to improve your ranking on search engines. It can also improve your conversions on your website. According to statistics, for every second that it takes for your website to load, you can lose 7% of your revenue.