Shopify Image Optimization: Tips + Image Optimizer Apps

Your role as a Shopify store owner is undone until your store runs live. You need to continuously keep analyzing and optimizing your process for your shoppers to have a smooth experience while browsing through your store. And one of the optimization processes we want to highlight today is Shopify Image Optimization.

Image optimization is a must for Shopify store owners like you, as images are the salesperson on the site that communicates with the shoppers and encourage them to make the final decision. Not only that, it also comes with some additional benefits on the search results.

If you want to learn the best way to optimize images on Shopify, this guide is for you. We have ensured we cover everything so you don’t miss out on anything in this optimization process.

So let’s get into it!

Table Of Contents 

• Why Image Optimization Matters For Shopify Stores?
• How To Optimize Images For Shopify Stores?
• Advanced Image Optimization Techniques For Shopify
• Best Image Optimizer Apps For Shopify
• Frequently Asked Questions

Why Image Optimization Matters for Shopify Stores?

Image optimization is a process of creating and delivering high-quality images with the smallest possible file size. As a Shopify store owner, image optimization is like doing image SEO that directly benefits you on search results. Let’s look at some benefits of doing image optimization for your Shopify store.

• Image optimization improves your website’s performance and increases the page load speed.
• Google confirms that page speed is a ranking factor, so optimizing images well will lead to a higher ranking.
• Optimizing images for different devices also enhances your shopper’s experience. Even a one-second increase in mobile speed increases the conversation rate to 27%.
• According to Google, 13% of the bounce rate happens if the site takes more than 3 seconds to load. That means the load time directly affects the conversion. Better optimization will lead to better conversions.

Now that we know that image optimization is essential. Let’s move ahead and know the actionable steps you should take to optimize the images in your store.

How To Optimize Images For Shopify?

1. Choose the right image file type
2. Opt for the right image dimensions and resolution
3. Compressing images without compromising quality
4. Using descriptive and relevant file names
5. Add the appropriate alt attribute and image title
6. Optimize your thumbnail
7. Use image sitemaps

1. Choose the right image file type

There are three formats widely used on the web: JPEG, PNG, and GIF. Each format has its uniqueness, and it can drastically impact how they look on your website. Take a look below.

As you can see, JPEG is the clear winner in this case. It shows the image very clearly, making it visually impactful. Does that mean you should only opt for JPEG for your Shopify store?

Well, here are a few things to keep in mind while picking the image format.

• If the image is a photograph, JPEG is the best option. And if you are using graphics, then PNG is the ideal pick. You can use
  GIFs to show a little animation on your site.
• Optimizing and compressing the image in whichever format you pick should be easy without downgrading the quality. Also Read Shopify Image Sizes: The Complete Guide

2. Opt for the right image dimensions and resolution

As a store owner, you would like to showcase multiple images of your products, and even the shoppers would like to see more product images before purchasing.

Here you need to upload images in the correct dimension and the resolutions to look good on the device your shopper is accessing your site. Remember, the dimension varies from section to section. The requirement for a banner slider will differ from the site’s hero section.

So, how what are the ideal dimensions for each? Refer to this detailed guide by Shopify: Website Image Size Guidelines Cheat Sheet (2023)

3. Compressing images without compromising quality

If your image file size is too big, it can create a negative user experience, directly impacting the site load time.

As 70% of shoppers say, site load time impacts their buying decision. The ideal site load time is 2-3 seconds. So, if your image size is too big and your site takes more time to load. We recommend you to compress the images before uploading them. Likewise you can also resize specific product image using command in Magento 2 that will help you optimize website performance by ensuring that product images are of the right size, reducing load times.

👉 Compress the images using Photoshop or tools like tiny.png or compressor.io (these are free tools).
👉 Keep the ideal size of your images between 70 Kb to 100 Kb.
👉 After compressing, check for any change in the original file quality. It would be best if you don’t opt for images that are blurry.

4. Using descriptive and relevant file names

The first and most basic thing during the uploading process is correctly describing your image. It is SEO 101, as search engines not only crawl the text on your website but also crawl the image name file.

Let’s understand this using an example. Suppose you sell tennis rackets online. And after a photoshoot, your photographer sends you this image.

Image by Freepik

The default image name is IMG2023-1.png; you can rename it best-tennis-racket.png. Which description do you think will help the search engine to understand the image better?

Clearly, best-tennis-racket.png, right? We recommend you rename your image with a proper description, and there is no harm in using your primary keyword here (don’t overdo it).

5. Add the appropriate alt attribute and image title

Alt attributes appear when the browser doesn’t render properly. This attribute is helpful from an SEO perspective to improve the accessibility for search engines if you have filled in the details correctly.

Let’s look at the source code of an alt attribute: <img src=”best-tennis-racket.JPG” alt=”Best tennis racket for beginners”/>

Your alt attribute helps the search engine understand the relationship between the image and your content. A good idea here for writing your alt attribute or image title is to highlight the key product + one benefit/critical feature of the product.

As we included, Alt attribute = Best tennis racket (product) + for beginners (feature).

This is not an ideal formula. We are just breaking it down to make it easy. You can write the attributes that best suit your content tone and style (but do avoid keyword stuffing).

6. Optimize your thumbnail

Thumbnails are the deal maker for any e-commerce store owner. A thumbnail filled with all the necessary information and loads faster after a shopper clicks on it won’t fail to impress them.

So, ensure you optimize your thumbnail on every product in your store to make sure everything is clear. Keep these two points in mind while optimizing:

a. Don’t use too big thumbnail images, as they can affect the load time.
b. Add proper alt attribute text to every thumbnail to avoid confusion if your store has similar products.

7. Use image sitemaps

Image sitemaps communicate details about your images to Google, which can help them understand your image better and contribute towards good image SEO.

Keeping the best SEO practices in mind, using a different site map for your images is good. This helps the search engine to crawl everything that is on your website.

Here is a guide that will help you understand sitemaps better: Image sitemaps

Advanced Image Optimization Techniques For Shopify

Now, let’s move to the advanced optimization techniques for Shopify. They might be technical, but they are a must for your site to run smoothly.

1. Use Lazy Loading To Improve Your Page Speed
2. Implementing Responsive Images For Optimal Display On Different Devices
3. Pay Close Attention To Your Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
4. Enabling WebP For Improved Image Quality And Smaller File Sizes
5. Minimizing Image Requests For Faster Website Performance

1. Use Lazy Loading To Improve Your Page Speed

Lazy loading is a technique used to optimize the load time of your page. If your website is heavy with content like text, images, video, or more, your site will load much longer than usual.

The lazy loading method helps to load the required content first and loads the remaining page until the shoppers need it. This helps to load the page faster with the necessary content first, and as the shopper keeps scrolling, the information will appear accordingly.

Many E-commerce brands and even Google Images use this technique to keep the load time intact. We definitely think you shouldn’t miss out on this.  

2. Implementing Responsive Images For Optimal Display On Different Devices

You don’t have control over the devices your shoppers enter your store from. If the store loads perfectly for desktop shoppers, it will create an ideal shopping experience for them. But, if it takes time to load on mobile or tablet, your shoppers there can quickly feel frustrated.

This makes it extremely important for you to implement responsive images. It will help you to send small and low-resolution images to shoppers accessing your store using a small screen. And accordingly, send high-resolution images to shoppers using a large screen. Based on the device of your shopper, the images will appear to them.

3. Pay Close Attention To Your Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

A content delivery network hosts all files in a single server in one place. They improve the load time when someone visits your site closer to the server and helps even to fix any bandwidth issue.

CDNs come with one drawback when it comes to backlinks. When you upload an image on CDN, the image is in the domain of the CDN, not your actual domain. Anyone who links your image is actually linking to the CDN domain, not yours. You need to be a little careful over here.

4.  Enabling WebP For Improved Image Quality And Smaller File Sizes

WebP is an image file type like png. or JPEG that helps compress the image size without compromising image quality. One of the main benefits of WebP is that it provides small file sizes; by now, you know the impact of smaller file sizes on SEO and page speed.

One of the other benefits of WebP is that it requires less storage and space. As the nature of these file sizes is not too big, you can have plenty of space. You can easily convert your JPEG and PNG to WebP using free online tools. Here are some of our best picks:

• Freeconvert
• Convertio

5. Minimizing Image Requests For Faster Website Performance

It is imperative to minimize your image request for your website to load faster. And one of the ways you can do that is by using Sprite.  You can combine all your images into a sprite, which will help you to turn multiple image requests into one and save your bandwidth.

The CSS property will show the part needed immediately without hindering any other activity on your site.

Best Image Optimizer Apps for Shopify

Image optimizer apps for Shopify can help you compress your images and carry out SEO-friendly practices while optimizing them. We have divided our list of best tools into two categories.

• Shopify’s Image Optimizer App
• Third-party Image Optimizer Tools

Shopify’s Image Optimizer App

1. AVADA
2. Crush.pics
3. Booster Apps
4. Image Optimizer
5. Plug in Speed

1. AVADA

AVADA is an SEO-friendly free image optimizer app for Shopify that can help you instantly skyrocket your load time and allow you to carry out other functionalities to rank better on search engines.

Key features: 

• You can compress the images without downgrading their quality. 
• You can also remove unnecessary data from the images to keep their size and quality intact. 
• Detects broken links on your website 

Pricing:

• Free plan (50 image optimization per month)
• Pro plan – $34.95/per month

2. Crush.pics

Crush.pics is an image optimizer that reduces the image size to load them faster on your site. It can automatically rename the images and add ALT tags that best describe your products.

Key features:

• You can choose the level at which you want to compress the images.
• You can run a test and pick between different compression algorithms.
• There each plan offers a backup of 30- days

Pricing:

• Free plan (25MB one-time)
• Micro – $4.99/month
• Pro – $9.99/month
• Advance – $19.99/month

3. Booster Apps

Booster Apps is exclusively built for Shopify that helps you skyrocket your Shopify sales by bringing positive changes in your on-page SEO and image SEO.

Key features: 

• You can improve page load speed and SEO scores using its bulk image compression engine.
• You get weekly SEO health reports to know what’s happening in the store.
• It makes sure your meta tags are relevant and within the character limit.

Pricing:

• Free plan
• Pro – $39/month
• Premium – $ 69/month

4. Image Optimizer

Image optimizer easily optimizes your images to improve website load speed, SEO, and user experience. The tool smoothly works with both the PNG and JPEG format of images. You can choose from different levels of compression to get the quality of the image. 

Key features: 

• You can not only optimize but also convert images using PNGs and JPEGs. 
• You can restore original images individually or in bulk.  
• You can optimize your ALT text to improve the SEO

Pricing: 

• Free plan
• Basic – $4.99/ month
• Advanced – $9.99/month
• Premium – $19.99/month

5. Plug in Speed

Plug in Speed is a tool that can be helpful in optimizing website images and codes. You can automatically optimize and minify store theme code with CSS/JavaScript. You don’t need any special coding skills to carry out these tasks.

Key features

• You can easily optimize themes (CSS and Javascript)
• You can pick between Lossy and lossless image compression
• Easily restore any images from the 30-day backup available.

Pricing: 

• Basic – $39/ month
• Plus – $59/month
• Premium – $79/month

Third-party OptimizationTools

1. TinyPNG
2. Compressor.io
3. ImageKit

1. TinyPNG

TinyPNG is an online tool that compresses JPEG and PNG images. You can easily upload the images on the site and instantly get images with reduced sizes. The tool will compress the images using the lossy technique.

Key features

• Automatically optimize your images without you having to do much.
• Offers advanced background optimization that helps to speed up the workflow.

Pricing: 

• Free version available (500 images per month)
• After 500 image compressions – $0.009 per image
• After 10 000 image compressions- $0.002 per image

2. Compressor.io

Compressor.io optimizes images in formats like PNG, JPEG, SVG, GIF, and WebP. You can pick lossy or lossless image optimization or even opt for the customized approach.

Key features

• The tool drastically reduces the image file without affecting the quality of the image.
• Offers advanced compression settings to improve your visibility on search engines.

Pricing: 

• Free version available (50 images per day)
• Pro plan – $50/year/user

3. ImageKit

ImageKit is a dynamic image optimizing tool with advanced features. You can optimize images and videos automatically to reduce page weight while keeping the quality locked.

Key features

• The tool analyzes different formats and devices to offer you the smallest image size that best works for you.
• You can change the image compression level in real-time using the quality parameter.

Pricing: 

• Free version available
• Premium – $49
• Enterprise – $500+

If you have a busy schedule, managing this adds a lot to your plate. 😩 Don’t you worry! You can simply hire our Shopify SEO professional, who will not only manage your image optimization but do complete SEO for your Shopify store. Learn more about our service here: Shopify SEO expert

Conclusion

& that’s a wrap on Shopify Image Optimization. We hope our guide helped you understand the concept better and gave you actionable steps that you can incorporate instantly. Also you can customize homepage in Shopify to make it easy for visitors to understand your product and service and navigate to the section that sparks interest.

If you found this helpful, share it with your friends and other Shopify community. And if you have any questions, ask us in the comment section. You have all our ears.

Happy optimizing! 😃

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does Shopify optimize images?
Ans: Yes, Shopify optimizes your images. They automatically compress your images to let them load faster and determine the best format for your store.

2. What is the best resolution for Shopify images?
Ans: The best resolution for Shopify images is 2048 by 2048 pixels for square product pictures.

3. Should I use JPEG or PNG for Shopify?
Ans: Well, the simple answer to this is both. Shopify works swiftly with both formats. If it is graphic, opt for PNG.; if it is a photograph, opt for JPEG.