When we think of blogging, we think of writing, but it usually involves some visual content creation too! Having a blog with large paragraphs and blocks of words can feel daunting to your readers. Adding images to your blog posts will break up that text and enhance the user experience. Your blog will be easier to read and more aesthetically pleasing for your audience. All of this is great for search engine optimization (SEO) and it’s great for showing off your graphic design and photography skills!
When uploading images in WordPress for your blog posts, there are some technical details to keep in mind. Bloggers should be careful about the image file size, particularly. Large image files could affect your web design, look distorted, and even slow load times for your website all of this is a HUGE SEO no-no!
To help you boost your site performance and SEO while also making sure your blog is attractive and appealing to readers, we’re diving into tools for resizing images on WordPress. From cropping dimensions to compressing the actual file size, these tools will be SUPER HELPFUL for managing your blog and sticking to SEO guidelines!
How to Resize WordPress Images: 5 Helpful Tools
We’ve gathered a handful of methods and tools to help you resize WordPress images to ensure optimal site performance so your readers can easily scroll through your blog posts and view perfectly sized images.
Mac Preview
Every Mac comes with Mac Preview already installed. It’s a free and simple photo editing tool many bloggers use to crop and resize their images.
Step 1: Open the image.
Open your image in Mac Preview. This can be as simple as double-clicking on the image in your Finder folder. You can also right-click the file, go to Open With and click Preview.
Step 2: Click on Tools.
In the main menu bar, click on Tools. In the dropdown menu, click Adjust Size.
Step 3: Adjust the size.
A window will pop up with the image’s dimensions. Here, you can adjust the image size and the resolution.
To adjust the image size, change the measurement to Pixels. Then, adjust the width and height as you wish. You can also choose from pre-selected sizes in the Fit Into section at the top of the window.
Step 4: Click OK to save.
Once you have the image size you want, click OK, and the image will save automatically.
Canva
Canva is one of the most popular free websites for bloggers who want to dabble in graphic design and image editing. Below are steps to crop an image in Canva for your blog.
Step 1: Upload your image.
In the top right corner, click on Create a Design.
At the bottom of this dropdown menu, you’ll see a section called Start Creating From Your Media. In this section, click Import File.
Choose the image you wish to resize. Then click Use in a New Design. In the dropdown menu you’ll choose the first option, Custom Size. It will automatically input the current size of the image, but we’ll change this in the next steps.
Click on Create New Design to start editing the image.
Step 2: Double click the image.
After uploading your image to Canva, double-click on the image. You will notice the image is highlighted with white corners. You can drag these corners to resize the image.
Step 3: Select an aspect ratio or Freeform crop.
To crop an image in Canva, choose a set aspect ratio, such as 16:9 or 1:1, or use the Freeform crop to create a custom aspect ratio.
If choosing Freeform crop, drag the corners and edges to your desired image size.
Step 4: Select Done.
Once you’ve resized your image, click Done at the bottom to save your changes.
Pixelmator
Pixelmator is a paid online photo editing tool that every blogger can use to edit images and create graphics. But, it’s also helpful for resizing images for WordPress!
Step 1: Choose your image.
The first step is to choose the image you wish to resize.
Step 2: Click on Image Size.
Once you’ve opened your image, click on Image, then Image Size. Or you can use shortcuts on your keyword by pressing OPTION + COMMAND + I on Mac or Ctrl + Shift + I on Windows. .
This will open a pop-up window showing the image’s current size.
Step 3: Choose Pixels in the dropdown menu.
In this new window, make sure your measurement is in Pixels.
Step 4: Adjust the width and height.
Next, you can adjust the width and height of the image by typing the desired image size. If you select Scale Proportionally the image will automatically resize to keep its original proportions. This means no distorted images!
Step 5: Click OK to save.
When you’re done, simply click OK to save the new image size.
PNG to JPG
PNG to JPG is a WordPress plugin that automatically converts images to JPG files. While this tool helps decrease the image file size, it does not change the image’s dimensions. Why is this important? The file size can affect the page loading times, which is super important for SEO.
So, it’s important to crop your image to your desired size before uploading it to your WordPress media library if you decide to use this tool.
Step 1: Install the plugin to WordPress.
To install PNG to JPG, click on Download. This will download a .zip folder to your local hard drive.
Upload this folder to your WordPress plugin directory under /wp-content/plugins/.
Step 2: Activate the plugin.
In the Plugins menu on your WordPress dashboard, activate the PNG to JPG plugin.
Step 3: Upload your images.
Now, the plugin will automatically convert your uploaded images in your media library from PNG to JPG to reduce the file size and maintain your optimized page speed!
EWWW Image Optimizer
EWWW Image Optimizer is another image file resizing plugin that you can install directly into WordPress. It will automatically resize and optimize images in your media library to improve site speed, bounce rate, and user experience.
Step 1: Install the plugin to WordPress.
To install EWWW Image Optimizer, click on Download in the top right corner. This will download a .zip folder to your local hard drive.
Upload this folder to your WordPress plugin directory under /wp-content/plugins/.
Step 2: Activate the plugin.
Under the Plugins menu, activate the EWWW Image Optimizer.
Step 3: Ensure your wp-content folder is writable.
After activating the plugin, it will install jpegtran, optipng, and gifsicle. This requires your wp-content folder to be writable. You will have to allow access via your web server.
If this isn’t possible, you can use the plugin’s cloud-based optimization platform to resize your images.
What is the Best Image Size for WordPress Blogs?
When inserting images into your blog posts, the best size to use is 1200 pixels by 630 pixels. Of course, this will depend on your WordPress theme. Find an image size that works for your theme, first. Then shoot for that pixel size. Whatever you end up with, ensure you keep all of your images consistent with this size.
We also recommend using JPEG files for photographs and images with a lot of color and PNG files for screenshots or illustrations. These files keep the images light and help boost your page speed time.
Optimize your WordPress blog images to boost SEO and traffic!
When writing and managing a blog, keeping an eye on optimizing your text, images, and overall website is super important when it comes to SEO. It’s a lot of balls to juggle, which is why InfluencerSEO is here to take some off your hands with our blog tech support and SEO services.
As you learn ways to optimize your website and blog posts, we’ll put it into action to boost your page speed, enhance your web design, resize your images, and increase traffic.
Jordan Becerra, founder and Lead SEO Strategist at InfluencerSEO, has spent almost 15 years in the creator internet space, the last nine building InfluencerSEO into the go-to SEO partner for content creators, with 500+ creators served from pre-launch to massive publication. She learned creator monetization and community building strategy from the inside working for Lauryn Bosstick of The Skinny Confidential prior to founding InfluencerSEO, so she understands both halves of the game: how search actually works AND how creators actually build a strong community online and make money. Her job now is to stay ahead of where search engine optimization is going, especially as AI rewrites the rules, and to make sure the creators she works with get there first.
Leave a Reply