WP Smush.it is a really useful add-on for WordPress. This plugin optimizes your image file size and loses some useless bytes from your uploaded images. The quality of your picture files won’t be degraded. Only their size will reduce. Your image will look exactly the same.
Reducing the size of images on web pages makes them load much faster. Fast loading means that it is better for users which ultimately is also good for search engine optimization. So, if you are looking to reduce your image size, then you should install WP Smush.it.
To install this plugin:
- Go to Plugins > Add New.
- In the search box type WP Smush.it.
- In the results, the top one will be “WP Smush.it”. Click the “Install Now” link.
- Activate it after installation.
After installation and activation, this great plugin will automatically optimize all the future images that you upload to WordPress. When you add images to your media library, Smush.it plugin for WordPress will automatically find the useless bytes, strip them out and reduce your image size. The amount of image size compression depends upon the original image.
You can learn how much bytes this plugin has shed off from your images by visiting Media > Library in WordPress admin. There will be a new column titled Smush.it. Under that you will find information such as “Reduced by 4.5% (1.2 KB)” for every image uploaded after this plugin was installed. You will also find a Re-Smush link which you can use to apply the image optimization technique once again.
Smush.it plugin for WordPress won’t work if your image is hosted in CDNs or are accessible only via https:// protocol. The image size should also be less than 1 megabyte.
Apply Smush.it Optimization Techniques to Previous Images
If you are trying to apply image optimization technique to reduce the size of your previous images, then you can easily do it. Just visit Media > Library and then click the “Smush.it now!” link. This will reduce the image size one by one.
To apply smush.it image compression to all your images at once:
- In WP admin click on Media > Bulk Smush.it
- Click on “Run all my images through WP Smush.it right now”.
- Wait a while for your images to be processed.
- The original images will then be replaced with processed images automatically.