Optimize images for ecommerce

The loading speed of an online store is of vital importance, both for people visiting the page and for search engines. That is, the seconds it takes for the page to load and fully display its content are crucial. One of the factors that influences this is the weight of the images. Therefore, it is important to optimize them to the maximum. In this post, we will give you the keys on how to optimize images for ecommerce.

The importance of optimizing your ecommerce images

The main foundation of ecommerce sales is “a picture is worth a thousand words”. That is, to a large extent, the user decides to purchase the product based on the image, which must be of quality and must show all the main characteristics of the product. But, in many cases, having a sharp and defined image can mean a much greater weight and, with it, contribute to slow loading on the web. This is why image optimization for ecommerce is important.

• It helps improve the web’s loading speed.
• It contributes to the SEO positioning of the business in digital search engines.
• It takes up less space and fewer resources in the web hosting service.
• Images increase the conversion rate of the business.

As you can see, there are many benefits and it’s very common to wonder what we can do to improve the performance of our website without sacrificing image quality. Don’t worry! For small problems, big solutions.

How to optimize images for ecommerce?

There are many different ways to optimize images for ecommerce. Algunas de ellas son las siguientes:

1. You must have the image with the measurements of the ecommerce template. That is, adjusting the size to the template requirements will make the image occupy the appropriate space. Otherwise, placing it with a larger size will take up space unnecessarily.
2. The weight of the image must be taken into account. That is, it should not exceed 100 KB, and ideally it should be around 70 KB or less.
3. The image format is also relevant, meaning they should be in JPG format for general images and, for those with transparencies, it’s preferable to use PNG format.
4. There are a large number of editing software that can help us optimize our images for ecommerce, such as Photoshop, Pixlr, Canva or Squoosh. These software can help us modify the size and reduce their weight. Additionally, it’s preferable to use web export, so that its format is much more suitable for the web. It’s worth noting that the same ecommerce platforms, such as Prestashop or WordPress, have basic image editing panels to modify their size and reduce weight.
5. To optimize ecommerce images at the SEO and accessibility level, it’s important to add the <<alt>> tag to provide search engines with relevant information about the image content. This is especially important for climbing positions in search results.

As you have seen, optimizing images for ecommerce is not a secret. You simply need to know the different tools and options available to optimize them. Having quality images is of vital importance for an online business. Therefore, at AVisual STUDIOS, we offer our comprehensive equipment rental service to perform product photography for ecommerce professionally. Don’t hesitate to take a look at our previous post Automated solutions in product photography to learn more about the topic.