{"id":37245,"date":"2019-08-01T18:24:27","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T18:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/authorityhacker.com\/?p=37245"},"modified":"2024-02-29T16:30:13","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T16:30:13","slug":"best-wordpress-image-optimizer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/best-wordpress-image-optimizer\/","title":{"rendered":"Best WordPress Image Optimizer in 2024 &#8211; Imagify vs Smush vs shortpixel vs ewww vs optimole"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What we\u2019re going to take a look at in this roundup are 5 of the top image optimization plugins for WordPress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each of them claims to be the best tool for this purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we tested them in real life to see how they actually performed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The results of our tests surprised the hell out of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep reading to find out exactly what we discovered, especially about the \u201cpopular\u201d plugins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-bother-optimizing-images\">Why Bother Optimizing Images?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Images make up about <a href=\"https:\/\/kinsta.com\/blog\/optimize-images-for-web\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">21% of the size of a given page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The more images you use in your content, the longer it will take a page to load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But you still need to use images on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Optimizing your images in Photoshop or similar was once the only way to reduce the size of an image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that takes a lot of work and a certain amount of knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thankfully there\u2019s a whole range of image optimization plugins for WordPress to do that work for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the plugins we tested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"best-wordpress-image-optimization-plugins\">Best WordPress image optimization Plugins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li>Imagify<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Smush<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ShortPixel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>EWWW Optimizer<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Optimole<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"imagify\">Imagify<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/imagify-homepage-1024x461.jpg\" alt=\"Imagify Homepage\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/imagify.io\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Imagify<\/a> is a free plugin for WordPress, but you will need to create an Imagify.io account to get the API required for the plugin to work properly.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/imagify-api-connection-1024x334.jpg\" alt=\"Imagify Api Connection\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Imagify is from the same people who brought you <a href=\"\/recommends\/wp-rocket\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WP Rocket<\/a> (read our <a href=\"\/wp-rocket-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WP Rocket review<\/a>), so we had pretty big expectations in terms of its features and capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"imagify-interface\">Imagify Interface<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You won\u2019t have to mess around with multiple tabs, side menus or anything like that \u2013 the Imagify interface takes up one single page:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/imagify-interface.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>This is a little daunting at first glance, but there are really only a handful of settings you need to concern yourself with, such as \u2018Optimization Level\u2019 and enabling WebP image support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One really neat feature is that you can optimize the images in your WordPress theme, or simply add an entire folder of images instead:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/imagify-theme-optimization-option-1024x223.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The \u2018Visual Comparison\u2019 tool is a nice touch \u2013 you can preview the different image compression levels available within the plugin:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/imagify-visual-comparison-1024x446.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"image-optimization\">Image Optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You can choose three different types of image compression:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Normal &#8211; minimal compression<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aggressive \u2013 medium compression (default setting)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ultra \u2013 maximum compression<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As with most of these plugins, you can do a \u201cbulk optimize\u201d for existing images, but we wanted to test how it handled optimization for new images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How to actually do this wasn\u2019t very clear \u2013 there was a bit of trial and error involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You have to first upload the image, and then go to your media library in WordPress to find the optimization settings:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/imagify-optimization-settings-in-wp-media-library-1024x342.png\" alt=\"Imagify Optimization Settings In Wp Media Library\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Your image is optimized based on the default setting in the Imagify plugin, and in this case that was the \u2018Aggressive\u2019 setting which trimmed the file size by a <strong>whopping 95.34%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What this means in real terms is the file shrunk from 555KB to 25KB in size.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/imagify-agressive-settings-optimization-result.png\" alt=\"Imagify Agressive Settings Optimization Result\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>You can choose to optimize upwards to \u2018Ultra\u2019 or downward to \u2018Normal\u2019 from this screen, as well as restoring the image file to its original state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can even compare the quality of the original file against the newly optimized version before you publish it:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/imagify-compare-original-vs-optimized-1024x237.jpg\" alt=\"Imagify Compare Original Vs Optimized\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"pros\">PROS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Very impressive image compression<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Their Free plan covers 25MB of image bandwidth per month<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The minimal interface is very easy to use<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"cons\">CONS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>A separate tab for \u2018Admin\u2019 settings would be nice, but we\u2019re nitpicking here<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"imagify-summary\">Imagify Summary:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ease of installation:<\/strong>&nbsp;Must register for access to the API key<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Last updated:<\/strong>&nbsp;2 weeks ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WebP image support:<\/strong>&nbsp;Yes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Test image compression:<\/strong>&nbsp;95.34%<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons alignwide is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-75\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/imagify.io\/\" style=\"border-radius:8px;color:#ffffff;background-color:#da394a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click Here To Get Imagify<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"smush\">Smush<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/smush-image-compression-and-optimization-1024x459.jpg\" alt=\"Smush Image Compression And Optimization\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wp-smushit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Smush<\/a> (formerly WP Smush) is one of the most popular image compression plugins out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, if you asked most website owners what they use for image compression they\u2019d probably say, \u201cSmush\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That also explains why the plugin has 1,000,000 active installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But let\u2019s see if it deserves its reputation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"smush-interface\">Smush Interface<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The dashboard is very clean and tells you how many images you have smushed, and how many images currently need smushing:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/smush-interface-1024x364.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The remainder of the Smush functions are accessible from a menu on the left-hand side of the screen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bulk Smush<\/strong> \u2013 compress all your images at once<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Directory Smush <\/strong>\u2013 compress all the images in a given directory<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Integrations<\/strong> \u2013 Gutenberg, Amazon S3 NextGen Gallery, and WP Bakery Page Builder<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lazy Load<\/strong> \u2013 defers loading of images below the fold<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>CDN<\/strong> \u2013 Activate the WPMU Dev CDN for Smush<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tools<\/strong> \u2013 Detect and show incorrectly sized images<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Settings<\/strong> \u2013 Accessibility, translations, usage tracking, app data, and API status<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To be honest, the only settings you\u2019ll probably ever need to look at are \u2018Bulk Smush\u2019 and \u2018Lazy Load\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"image-optimization\">Image Optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Smush automatically compresses new images by default, so we had to turn that setting off to actually see what Smush was doing.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/smush-automation-compression-1024x186.png\" alt=\"Smush Automation Compression\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s why you see it was the default setting&#8230;because there are no other image compression settings to play with:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/image-in-media-library-without-smush-compression-1024x222.png\" alt=\"Image In Media Library Without Smush Compression\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>To Smush, or not to Smush&#8230;that is the question!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And when you do Smush the results aren\u2019t exactly astounding:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/smush-image-optimization-results.png\" alt=\"Smush Image Optimization Results\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Smush gave us a <strong>3.7% size reduction<\/strong> for our test image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an effort to be truly fair we tested another, larger image to see if this was as good as things got:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/smush-image-optimization-results1-1024x175.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>This time around we got an 86.1% reduction in image size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smush did a much better job compressing a 1.5MB file than it did a 555KB file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And after comparing the images we realized why \u2013 the larger image had fewer colors and was less complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Which means the Smush compression algorithm is as basic as they come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-2 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"pros\">PROS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>The Smush dashboard gives a clear visual representation of your stats and tasks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It\u2019s a 100% free plugin<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"cons\">CONS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>A file size \u201cimprovement\u201d of 3% is pitiful<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You can\u2019t tweak compression levels<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"smush-summary\">Smush Summary:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ease of installation:<\/strong> Install and activate from within WordPress<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Plugin last updated:<\/strong> 1 month ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Test image compression:<\/strong> 3.7%<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WebP support?<\/strong> No\u200b<strong><br data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons alignwide is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-2 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-75\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wp-smushit\/\" style=\"border-radius:8px;color:#ffffff;background-color:#da394a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click Here To Get Smush<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"shortpixel\">ShortPixel<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/shortpixel-adaptive-images-plugin.png\" alt=\"Shortpixel Adaptive Images Plugin\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"\/recommends\/shortpixel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ShortPixel<\/a> is a name you might not be instantly familiar with, but they\u2019re developing a reputation as one of the best image CDNs on the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first thing we need to cover here is there are actually two different ShortPixel plugins:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>ShortPixel Image Optimizer (SIO)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ShortPixel Adaptive Images (SAI)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So what\u2019s the difference between them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ShortPixel Image Optimizer is a better choice for sites <a href=\"https:\/\/shortpixel.helpscoutdocs.com\/article\/179-shortpixel-adaptive-images-vs-shortpixel-image-optimizer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">serving data to a local audience<\/a>, and ShortPixel Adaptive Images is best suited to sites serving an international audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Which is why we only tested the \u2018Adaptive Images\u2019 plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Installing the plugin is straightforward, but you will need to request an API to get everything working properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"shortpixel-interface\">ShortPixel Interface<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>They went for a minimalist approach to their interface which is a breath of fresh air when compared to some of the other plugins:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/shortpixel-ai-settings-1024x440.jpg\" alt=\"Shortpixel Ai Settings\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Under the \u2018General\u2019 tab you can choose from three levels of compression:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Lossy<\/strong> \u2013 higher compression, lower image quality<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Glossy<\/strong> \u2013 almost identical to the original image<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lossless<\/strong> \u2013 lower compression, higher image quality<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>WebP support is enabled by default, as is lazy loading of images, so the only thing you need to choose is what type of compression you want to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u2018Advanced\u2019 tab contains the URL for the API and a handful of settings 99% of you will never need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So again, almost no configuration involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"image-compression\">Image Compression<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>ShortPixel takes care of your image compression needs \u201con the fly\u201d, so it\u2019s somewhat difficult to actually measure results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, the only way to find stats on image compression is via their website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And you have to download a separate report that only updates once per hour:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/shortpixel-optimization-report-download-1024x426.png\" alt=\"Shortpixel Optimization Report Download\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But the results were impressive&#8230;once we found them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/shortpixel-optimization-report-1024x244.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We got a<strong> 94.36% reduction in file size<\/strong>, achieved without any tweaking, poking or fiddling around with various settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This score does place ShortPixel in 3rd place, but only by the tiniest of margins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-3 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"pros\">PROS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Set-and-forget image optimization<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Excellent reduction in image file size<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No fiddling with complicated settings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Free account available (100 images per month)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"cons\">CONS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>They need a reporting dashboard within the plugin<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Several available plugins is confusing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"shortpixel-summary\">ShortPixel Summary:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Installation:<\/strong> Install and activate from within WordPress<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Plugin last updated: <\/strong>16 hours ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Test image compression:<\/strong> 94.36%<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WebP support?<\/strong> Yes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons alignwide is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-3 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-75\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"\/recommends\/shortpixel\/\" style=\"border-radius:8px;color:#ffffff;background-color:#da394a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click Here To Get ShortPixel<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"ewww-optimizer\">EWWW Optimizer<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ewww-image-optimization-plugin-1024x441.jpg\" alt=\"Ewww Image Optimization Plugin\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>With 700,000 active installations and a 4.5-star rating, <a href=\"\/recommends\/ewww-image-optimizer-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">EWWW<\/a> sounds like a good choice as your image compression plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After all, if several hundred thousand site owners are happy with it, then they must be doing something right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"interface\">Interface<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>EWWW Image Optimizer has a very visual dashboard, displaying what level of image compression you can expect, and also how much file space you\u2019ve saved so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might have noticed that its compression level is set at 20%, which still doesn\u2019t sound too bad.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ewww-image-optimizer-interface-1024x318.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Until you notice in the \u2018Basic\u2019 menu that you can\u2019t actually change the optimization levels for any image types:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ewww-image-optimization-basic-menu-1024x411.jpg\" alt=\"Ewww Image Optimization Basic Menu\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>You have to purchase an API key to access their \u2018Pixel Perfect Plus\u2019 or better compression tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We discuss this failing in a bit more detail in the next section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rest of the interface is accessed via a tabbed menu, but we think new users might feel a real sense of overwhelm when they see the dozens of different options that can be enabled or disabled.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ewww-image-optimizer-advanced-menu-1024x414.jpg\" alt=\"Ewww Image Optimizer Advanced Menu\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"image-compression\">Image Compression<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Like Smush, the EWWW Image Optimizer automatically compresses any new images uploaded to your WP media library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, the only way to do that is by manually editing your wp_config.php file, or what they refer to as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.ewww.io\/article\/40-override-options\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">override options<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This oversight makes the plugin instantly inaccessible to an awful lot of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We ran our test of the plugin using its default optimization setting, and got this result:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ewww-image-optimization-results-1024x224.png\" alt=\"Ewww Image Optimization Results\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>That 9% reduction in file size (58.8KB) brought our test image size down from 555KB to 496.2KB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a marginally better performance than Smush, but way behind all the other plugins in this roundup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The only way to improve on this result is to purchase an API which charges $0.0003 per image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or you can pay $9 per month for their ExactDN image CDN instead.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/compression-api-subscription-1024x423.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>This might seem like a smart marketing move, but it renders their free plugin effectively useless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s just a lead gen tool dressed up as an image optimization plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-4 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"pros\">PROS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>EWWW Image Optimizer is free<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"cons\">CONS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>The interface is a hot mess<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Image compression is very poor<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The free version of the plugin is massively limited in functionality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"ewww-image-optimizer-summary\">EWWW Image Optimizer Summary<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Installation:<\/strong> Install and activate from within WordPress<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Plugin last updated:<\/strong> 2 weeks ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Image compression:<\/strong> 9%<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WebP support?<\/strong> Yes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons alignwide is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-4 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-75\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"\/recommends\/ewww-image-optimizer-2\/\" style=\"border-radius:8px;color:#ffffff;background-color:#da394a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click Here To Get EWWW Image Optimizer<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"optimole\">Optimole<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/optimole-image-optimization-plugin-1024x459.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"\/recommends\/optimole\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Optimole<\/a>&nbsp;is a product with a lot of similarities to both Imagify and ShortPixel in that it offers cloud-based image optimization and compression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or, in their own words, \u201c&#8230;real-time image processing and an image CDN for WordPress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And just like most other cloud-based image optimization tools, you need to register for a free account to use this plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your Optimole account is not \u201cfree forever\u201d \u2013 there\u2019s a 1GB image limit placed on it.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/optimole-connect-account-1024x399.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"interface\">Interface<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We loved the Optimole interface \u2013 they\u2019ve managed to keep it deceptively simple, but while keeping all the settings you need within reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You have a choice between \u2018Dashboard\u2019 and \u2018Settings\u2019:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/optimole-interface-1024x489.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Under settings you have two main options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li>Enable image replacement<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scale images and Lazy load<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/optimole-general-settings-1024x335.jpg\" alt=\"Optimole General Settings\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>And under the \u2018Advanced\u2019 menu you can choose from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Compression level<\/strong> \u2013 low, medium or high<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Image resizing<\/strong> \u2013 resize large images to fit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lazy load<\/strong> (enable a generic placeholder)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Exclusions<\/strong> \u2013 files you don\u2019t want optimized<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Watermark<\/strong> \u2013 add a watermark to your images to deter leeching\/theft<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/optimple-compression-settings-1024x385.jpg\" alt=\"Optimple Compression Settings\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>This would have rated as the most intuitive interface of the bunch but for one glaring mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Accessing the plugin means going to Plugins -&gt; Installed Plugins and then scrolling down to click on \u2018Settings\u2019 for the plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We hope they fix this a future update with some type of admin bar or contextual menu system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"image-compression\">Image Compression<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So the interface looks great, but how well does it fare when it comes to reducing image file size?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, this is where things fell apart a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It doesn\u2019t integrate with the media library, so we couldn\u2019t see image file reduction there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a bit of messing around and refreshing we went back to the dashboard and found the result there:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/optimole-image-optimization-results-1024x231.jpg\" alt=\"Optimole Image Optimization Results\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Our test image is now 21.8x times smaller than it was before, which sounds awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But we still had<em> no idea<\/em> what that meant in kilobytes\/megabytes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we checked the web-based dashboard for our Optimole account as a last resort:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/last-images-optimized-using-optimole-1024x178.png\" alt=\"Last Images Optimized Using Optimole\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>26KB is an amazing result, but there are just too many hoops to jump through to get this information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Optimole does its job really well, but they need to work on their UX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You also need to factor in your costs once you\u2019ve used up your free 1GB of images per month (5GB of viewing bandwidth).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/optimole-pricing-plans-1024x369.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-5 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"pros\">PROS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Impressive image reduction capability<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The watermark feature is pretty cool<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Streamlined and intuitive interface<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>5GB of free image bandwidth per month<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"cons\">CONS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Actually accessing the plugin is a chore<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reporting is messy, to say the least<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"optimole-summary\">Optimole Summary<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ease of installation:<\/strong> Must register for access to the API key<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Plugin last updated:<\/strong> 1 day ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Image compression:<\/strong> 95%<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WebP support?<\/strong> Yes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons alignwide is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-5 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-75\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"\/recommends\/optimole\/\" style=\"border-radius:8px;color:#ffffff;background-color:#da394a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click Here To Get Optimole<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"image-compression-results\">Image Compression Results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>All of the below results are based on this test image:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/compression-test-image.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Original image size: 555KB<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Image format: JPEG<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Image dimensions:1000pixels x 685pixels<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Plugin<\/th><th>Compressed size<\/th><th>Percentage reduction<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/imagify.io\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Imagify<\/a><\/td><td>25.8KB<\/td><td>95%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wp-smushit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Smush<\/a><\/td><td>554.8KB<\/td><td>3%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"\/recommends\/shortpixel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ShortPixel<\/a><\/td><td>31.2KB<\/td><td>94%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"\/recommends\/ewww-image-optimizer-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">EWWW<\/a><\/td><td>496.2KB<\/td><td>9%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"\/recommends\/optimole\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Optimole<\/a><\/td><td>26KB<\/td><td>95%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The plugin with the best image optimization result is <a href=\"https:\/\/imagify.io\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Imagify.io<\/a>, with Optimole taking 2nd place and ShortPixel coming a very, very close 3rd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What was most interesting about our tests is how poorly both Smush and EWWW performed, but then numbers don\u2019t lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s very little point in using plugins that literally do not do what they say on the tin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"conclusion\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>And that brings us to the end of our WordPress image optimizer comparison, with Imagify emerging as a clear winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We were genuinely surprised at how well <a href=\"https:\/\/imagify.io\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Imagify<\/a> and <a href=\"\/recommends\/optimole\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Optimole<\/a> performed in our tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, that was based on our not knowing a whole lot about either plugin and not any negative perceptions on our part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"\/recommends\/shortpixel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ShortPixel<\/a> is our tool of choice simply because it\u2019s pretty much automated \u2013 we just let it do its thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you\u2019re probably aware, we like to systematize pretty much everything we do \u263a<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But with that being said, we might run more tests with Imagify on live sites to see how it copes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What we\u2019re going to take a look at in this roundup are 5 of the top image optimization plugins for WordPress. Each of them claims to be the best tool for this purpose. So we tested them in real life to see how they actually performed. The results of our tests surprised the hell out &#8230; <a title=\"Best WordPress Image Optimizer in 2024 &#8211; Imagify vs Smush vs shortpixel vs ewww vs optimole\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/best-wordpress-image-optimizer\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Best WordPress Image Optimizer in 2024 &#8211; Imagify vs Smush vs shortpixel vs ewww vs optimole\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":79867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"acf":{"coauthors":null},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer.png",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer-520x292.png",520,292,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer-300x169.png",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer-768x432.png",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"gs-tiny":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer.png",50,28,false],"xl":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer.png",1280,720,false],"xxl":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer.png",1280,720,false],"xxxl":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer.png",1280,720,false],"xxxxl":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer.png",1280,720,false],"xxxxxl":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer.png",1280,720,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer.png",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Best-WordPress-Image-Optimizer.png",1280,720,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Niall Roche","author_link":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/author\/niallroche\/"},"uagb_comment_info":14,"uagb_excerpt":"What we\u2019re going to take a look at in this roundup are 5 of the top image optimization plugins for WordPress. Each of them claims to be the best tool for this purpose. So we tested them in real life to see how they actually performed. The results of our tests surprised the hell out&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37245"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37245"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109052,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37245\/revisions\/109052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}