WordPress Image Sizes: How to Modify and Optimize Images

With increased competition for content and declining user attention spans, visual elements such as images have become more important than ever. Therefore, choosing the right WordPress image size is also important.

thanks to WordPress The flexibility to change the default image sizes and even add custom image sizes. In addition, a variety of image optimization plugins make the job easier.

In this post, we take a look at how newbies can change WordPress image sizes, how to regenerate thumbnails (i.e., applying changed settings to previously uploaded images), image optimization tips, and the pros and cons of different image formats.

WordPress Image Size Overview

Each time an image is uploaded to the WordPress Media Library, WordPress generates a number of different sizes for that image, such as 700px x 400px. This means that the picture'sWidth of 700 pixels, height of 400 pixelsThe

With this functionality, a website can display the appropriate size of an image based on the scenario in which it will be used, thusImproved loading speedand visualization.

These numbers are often referred to as the picture's "sizes". In other words.The larger the image size, the more pixels there are and the larger the file storage size isThe

Image size also refers to the amount of storage space the image occupies on the device, usually expressed in bytes, for example 100KB (kilobytes).

If the image file is too large, it will take longer for the user to download the image, thus reducing the speed of the website. Therefore, the file size should be kept low while the image size needs to be appropriate. More on image optimization will be discussed later.

How does WordPress handle and manage images?

When an administrator uploads an image to the WordPress Media Library, WordPress automatically creates versions of the image in multiple sizes. The original image that is uploaded is called the "Full-size images", while WordPress automatically generates additional versions based on predefined dimensions, such asThumbnail, Mediumrespond in singinglarge sizeThe

These dimensions are defined in the WordPress settings and are automatically used depending on where the image is displayed on the site (e.g. posts, galleries or sidebars).

Why is WordPress doing this?Understandably WordPress ensures that your images are displayed optimally in a variety of scenarios, whether it's in aa side-bar (in software), in the footer, in the article, or on the page.

For example, a small 100-pixel image might be suitable for use as a preview of an article, while the same image scaled up to banner size would also maintain a good visual effect.

WordPress generates these images in different sizes in order to meet the regular needs of the various areas of the site, while avoiding images that are overstretched or shrunk to cause distortion.

WordPress Default Image Size

The image copies generated by WordPress are the default WordPress image sizes. It is possible to adjust these sizes for specific design needs. We'll learn how to do this in this blog post:

• Thumbnail (150 x 150 pixels):Usually used for small image previews.
• Medium (300 x 300 pixels): A medium-sized image, usually displayed in a blog post or page.
• Large size (1024 x 1024 pixels):Mainly used for featured images, full-width images, or any situation where a larger image is required
• Full size:This is the original size of the uploaded image.

To view these options, upload a photo to the website page and click on it. The image size options will be displayed on the right panel.

Recommended WordPress Image Sizes

Different parts of the site have different needs and each area requires different image sizes. The following are specific recommendations:

WordPress Image Optimization

There's no need to use more than the required image size.

Excessively large image files can lead to slower loading pages, which can cause many visitors to leave the site if they are impatient. Also, this may have a negative impact on search engine rankings. (Loading speed is also one of the inclusion factors)

Ideally, WordPress image sizes should be kept below 150KB, but larger file sizes can be tolerated appropriately for larger images.

Here are some things to keep in mind when optimizing WordPress image sizes:

Compress WordPress images

Compression is the process of reducing the size of a file without compromising the quality of the image.

Compressing images on a WordPress website is one of the effective ways to increase the speed of your website.

There are several online tools that can be used for compression:

• TinyPNG
• Squoosh
• Imagify
• Optimizilla
• Compressor.io

By compressing all JPEG (photo) and PNG (graphic) images, the speed and efficiency of your website can be significantly improved.

There are two main types of compression: lossy and lossless.

• compression loss (in digital technology): Significantly reduces file size by removing some image data that may not be visible. Applies to web images, but can result in a slight loss of image quality if compressed too much.
• compression lossless: Maintains the quality of the image while reducing the file size to a limited extent. Lossless compression is useful if you wish to retain as much image detail as possible.

The plugin can greatly help with image compression, more on that later.

Resizing pictures

Resizing an image means changing the actual size (not the pixel size) of the image, including the width and height.

Larger images take more disk space and take longer to load, so they need to be optimized.

Many themes already offer a variety of image sizes to choose from. However, it's always best to resize images manually before uploading them to your website.

SEO make superior

SEO optimization of images in WordPress is crucial for search engine rankings and website performance. Compressing images is an important step in improving load speed and optimizing SEO.

Effective Tips for Optimizing Images

✅ Make sure to rename the image before uploading itDo not use "IMG1425". Do not use "IMG1425". Give the image a descriptive name such as "WordPress Image Size: How to Modify and Optimize Images.jpg".

✅ Use alt text. This is helpful for both visitors (to enhance accessibility) and crawlers (to help understand the content of the image and potentially improve rankings).

✅ Using Responsive Images, because they help maintain or improve performance on mobile, which can be a factor in search engine rankings.

✅ Adding schema tags to specific types of imagesIn addition, create image sitemaps to help search engines better index website images.

Select the appropriate image format (JPEG, PNG, GIF, etc.)

In addition to resizing, choosing the right image format is also very important. Each image format has its advantages and disadvantages.

Here are a few common formats and their advantages and disadvantages:

You can refer to the articleSuper-detailed Nanny Tutorial: Teach You to Convert WebP Images in WordPress and Speed Up Your Website.

WordPress Image Size Optimization Plugin

Plugins are very helpful when it comes to optimizing WordPress image sizes. There are many easy to use plugins available for different needs.

For compression and resizing, you can use the following plugins:

EWWW Image Optimizer

EWWW Image Optimizer is a popular image optimization plugin that automatically compresses images. Main features include:

• Unlimited file size support
• Support for WebP conversion
• Paid service achieves 80% compression rate
• Supports PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP and PDF files.
• score (of student's work):: 5/5 (1,725 ratings)

prices: Free or Starting Price $8/month

Smush

Smush is a great plugin for compressing and resizing images, and with over 1 million installs it has become a very popular WordPress image plugin. Key features include:

• Delayed loading of images
• Support for WebP conversion
• Offers free lossless compression
• Integration with Gutenberg blocks
• score (of student's work):: 5/5 (6,000 ratings)

prices: Starting at $6/month

Imagify

Imagify is another image optimization plugin that offers resizing and compression without degrading image quality. Key features include:

• Supports conversion to AVIF and WebP formats
• Mobile Device Image Optimization
• batch optimization
• score (of student's work)4.5/5 (1,406 evaluations)

prices: Free or Starting Price $4.99/month

Change WordPress Default Image Size

As mentioned earlier, WordPress already provides three default image sizes. If the default settings don't meet your needs, you can change them.

For example, the default thumbnail size (150×150) is considered too large and needs to be resized to a smaller size (e.g. 100×100).

Here are the steps to make the change:

• Go to the WordPress admin backend.
• In the left panel, click Settings > MediaThe

• exist Media Settings section, you can adjust the pixels for each size. In this example, I changed the thumbnail size.
• strike (on the keyboard) Save Changes button to save the settings.

Attention:The changed settings now only apply to newly uploaded

How to regenerate thumbnails

Don't worry, it's easy to apply new settings to existing images. Simply use the Regenerate Thumbnails The plug-in will do.

Here are the steps to do so:

• Go to the WordPress admin backend of your website.
• In the left panel, click Plugins > Install PluginsThe

• look for sth. Regenerate Thumbnails Plug-ins.
• strike (on the keyboard) mountingThe
• strike (on the keyboard) start usingThe

• Once enabled, return to the dashboard and click on the left panel of the Tools > Regenerate ThumbnailsThe

• Here, click on the Re-generate all thumbnail attachmentsto update all images to the new settings.

How to Add Custom Image Sizes in WordPress

WordPress provides three default image sizes, but if more image size options are needed, you can edit the functions.php file to add customized image sizes.

Here's how it works:

1. Go to the WordPress administrative backend of your website.

2. In the left panel, click Appearance > Theme File EditorThe

3. On the right-hand side, find functions.php Documentation.

4. In functions.php file, add a function to define the new image size using the add_image_size()The

Example:

phpCopy code
add_image_size('custom-size-name', 800, 600, true); // 800px width, 600px height, cropped
add_image_size('custom-size-name', 800, 600, true); // 800px width, 600px height, cropped
add_image_size('custom-size-name', 800, 600, true); // 800px width, 600px height, cropped

Among them:

• 'custom-size-name' - A unique name for the custom image size.
• 800, 600 - The width and height of the image (in pixels).
• true maybe false - Cropping mode.true Enable hard cropping (exact size), thefalse Keep the original aspect ratio (soft cropping).

5. strike (on the keyboard) Updated documents button to save the file.
6. To display custom image sizes in the theme, paste the following code:

phpCopy code
<?php the_post_thumbnail( 'your-specified-image-size' ); ?>
<?php the_post_thumbnail( 'your-specified-image-size' ); ?>
<?php the_post_thumbnail( 'your-specified-image-size' ); ?>

💡 Please back up your website data before making any changes!

7. Replace "your-specified-image-size" with the name you set in the previous step. For example, you can change it to custom-size-nameThe

Frequently Asked Questions

Q) What size images are used in WordPress?
Common sizes include:

• 1200×628 px for featured images
• 300×300 px for thumbnails
• 1024×768 px for content images

Choose sizes based on theme requirements and optimize for faster loading.

Q) How do I resize images in WordPress?
go into Settings > Media to set the default size, or in the media library Select and resize pictures individually in the

Q) How do I increase the image upload size in WordPress?
By editing php.ini Documentation, modifications .htaccess file, or adjust the settings in the hosting panel to increase the upload size.

Q) How do I make all images in WordPress the same size?
Using an image editing plugin (e.g. Regenerate Thumbnails) or adjust custom CSS to ensure consistent image sizes across your site.