Simplify Your Web Image Optimization Efforts

By: LiquidPixels | January 5, 2022 | 4 Min Read

Website imagery is a critical selling tool, but challenges still remain.

One of the most difficult is to optimize all of the images that are displayed. To some, this may be a foreign concept, but for those who work in the e-commerce industry, it is common knowledge.

However, to understand what image optimization truly is, we need to break down the different types of optimization. The main takeaway is this: there is no one-size-fits-all to web image optimization.

How to Optimize Images for Website Use

There are various ways to optimize imagery for your sites, including:

• High-speed transfer
• High detail
• High responsiveness
• Target optimization
• Tradeoffs

For most shoppers, especially those focused on fashion and accessories, want to see the details in the products they are perusing. It is not uncommon for customers of jewelry and clothing to squint at intricate patterns in the band of a ring, or the lace detail of expensive lingerie.

However, to properly convey such details, the image must be very hi-res, which means image size usually becomes an issue. Servers become too burdened and loading slows to a crawl. Not to mention, managing multiple variations of image sizes needed across a website quickly becomes impossible.

In the end, you are left with uncomfortable compromises: do you prioritize high-speed transfer capabilities where your image will more than likely appear low-resolution but load quickly? Do you choose an image that is too big but shows the details your customers want? Or do you try to make everything responsive by making every size and every format you can think of?

The Tradeoffs of Web Image Optimization

At this point, panicking would be considered normal. The amount of work and tradeoffs you have to make here are scary. However, they do not have to be.

There are two types of issues that most businesses face regarding image optimization for websites, based on presentation, device, environment, and even business logic.

• High-quality images vs. render speed
  According to industry statistics, website users value high-quality images in websites, so much so that they spend an average of 5.94 seconds just looking at the site’s main image. However, slow loading websites also lose a total of about $2.6 billion in revenue every year, because would-be customers get frustrated at slow load times and move on before purchasing.
• Large image size vs. transfer speed
  Image size is often directly proportional in relation to image quality and resolution. However, image size often affects transfer speed, and data suggests that 24 percent of users tend to abandon websites that take four or more seconds to load.

By understanding the challenges and tradeoffs, businesses can recognize the problem: static images. For most businesses, they usually start with a list determining the set of images, then create every variation they can think of to accommodate every device and application. This results in a finite set of images, because it is very difficult to predict and adapt accordingly. Simply stated, this method is not scalable.

Web image optimization is one of the most critical factors that convert online shoppers, especially those who shop on their phones. Google, in fact, has been prioritizing mobile-first optimized websites in search rankings ever since 2020.

Powerful Dynamic Imaging Solutions are the Answer

To set your business up for success, you need dynamic images—photos that adjust in real-time to whichever device they are viewed upon. Images adapt to the transfer speed that is available, and still display high-quality images without suffering slow loading speeds.

Dynamic images can only be delivered by powerful dynamic imaging solutions, such as LiquiFire® OS.

LiquiFire OS saves costs and resources with the most sophisticated technology stack in the industry, providing:

1. The best quality images delivered to and rendered on any device in the fewest amount of bytes
2. Intelligently compressed images
3. Imagery served in the correct pixel/resolution
4. Ideal image formats based on browser
5. No manual intervention

LiquiFire OS automatically renders self-adjusting images that take into account both transfer speed and image quality, with the help of the target device’s content delivery network (CDN) data capture. This wide spectrum of compression levels can be increased and decreased as needed to accommodate network speeds.

LiquiFire OS balances these opposing aspects carefully, ensuring an uncompromised image quality. Its process of image optimization for websites enables quick delivery of the experience and service at a level that your customers deserve. This is all done without sacrificing image quality, without the negative effects of tradeoffs, and without manual intervention.

The solution is also specifically tailored for different industries, such as retail, apparel, jewelry, promotional products, and home decor.

Check out our free website performance tool to see how well your website currently handles all of your imagery.