WordPress Image Optimization Guide

Images takes up more storage that most of the poeple realize

Image taken from WordPress Admin

In this article, I will walk you through Image Optimization on WordPress.

First and foremost, what is Image Optimization?

It means optimizing your images to preserve storage while maintaining the image quality.

I have applied Image Optimization for my WordPress site, and here were the overall result of it:

Before Image Optimization: 500MB (total storage used by the images on my website).

After Image Optimization: 180MB (totaal storage for the images after optimization).

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As you can see from the above, I saved almost 65% of the storage by applying this optimization and I highly recommend you do so for your WordPress website.

Here’s the step by step guide on how to do image optimization

1. Go on to your WordPress Admin (www.//yourdomain//wp-admin/)
2. On WordPress Admin, look for LiteSpeed Cache (this is the default WordPress plugin, which will be already installed on to your WP).
3. Hover over the LiteSpeed Cache and look for Image Optimization
4. On the Image Optimization page you’ll see two tabs (Image Optimization Summary and Image Optimization Settings)
5. Click on Image Optimization Settings tab, enable the following settings:

• Auto Request Cron: Enabled (this means that when there are new images uploaded under your WordPress media folder, it will auto detect those images, and start the optimization).
• Optimize Original Images: Enabled (set this to enabled, this means that it keeps the copy of originally optimized image).
• Remove Original Backups: Off (recommended to keep this off, keep this On, if you want the original backup images removed, and only want to keep the optimized images)
• Optimize Losslessly: Off
• Optimize Image Sizes: Keep all that is selected by default
• Preserve EXIF/XMP data: Off
• Next-Gen Image Format: Off
• WebP/AVIF Attribute To Replace: Keep it default
• WebP/AVIF For Extra srcset: Off
• Press Save Changes

By now, you would have applied image optimization on your website, there are still few things you need to know.

Image Optimization Summary

Regarding the other tab that you saw under Image Optimization, the Image Optimization Summary this tab shows the following:

1. It will show you your current limit “To make sure our server can communicate with your server without any issues and everything works fine, for the few first requests the number of image groups allowed in a single request is limited. Current limit is: 1” this current limit will be set to 1 images per request in the beginning, because the QUIC Cloud Server to which your original images are sent to and then sends back the optimized version of that image, they will need to trust your domain first, before this limit increases (max. is up to 200 limit request).
2. There will also be a “Send Optimization Request” button this allows you to manually Send Optimization Request, in-case the CRON didn’t auto started the image optimization process.
3. You would also see Image Information on the right side tab, this shows the following:

• Image groups total: each of the original image(s) that are grouped by the following (Original, thumbnail version of that image, and WP version of that image, for i.e. image.png would have 3 different copies, so this Image will be grouped, that is what it’s showing you here).
• Current image post id position: this will be the total images that are uploaded on WordPress
• Maximum image post id: this will show how many of the total images that are already optimized.

4. On the right hand side, below the Image Information tab, you’ll see Optimization Summary, this will show you the following:

• Total reduction: how much MB/GB were saved by optimization.
• Images Pulled.
• Last Request: when was the last image optimization request manually done by the user.
• Last Pulled: when was CRON automatically started the image optimization.

On the Image Optimization Summary, don’t ever touch the following:

• Remove Original Image Backups (Note: This is irreversible. You will be unable to Revert Optimization once the backups are deleted!).
• Destroy All Optimization Data (this will remove all previous image optimization requests/results, revert completed optimizations, and delete all optimization files).
• Soft Reset Optimization Counter (This will reset the Current image post id position. If you changed WebP/AVIF settings and want to generate WebP/AVIF for the previously optimized images, use this action.)

Lastly how to check/verify if the images are really working and optimized

1. You can view the Image Information under the Image Optimization Summary Tab in LiteSpeed Cache showing you 100% (this means all of the images on your website is fully optimized).
2. Additionally, you can go to your media folder on WordPress, click on Library, and for each of the uploaded images, you’ll see Orig: original version of that image and WebP: the optimized version of that image.

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