Manually enhancing your images would require extensive resizing, a decent amount of programming, and a significant amount of time. Fortunately, Smush takes care of all the difficult tasks for you and offers additional benefits, all of which are detailed in this guide to assist you in maximizing the plugin’s potential.
For instance, Smush is widely recognized for reducing image sizes without sacrificing quality, but it can also assist in postponing the loading of offscreen images through its lazy-load function, transform your images into newer formats like WebP, and deliver your images via our high-speed CDN that comes with Smush Pro.
Fortunately, with Smush installed, you won’t have to spend a lot of time or energy on your images. The majority of the features can be turned on with just a single click.
If you’re a first-time user or looking to discover some awesome features you may have overlooked, this guide will assist you in maximizing your experience with this plugin.
We look at how to:
- Smush All Your Images in Bulk
- Enable automatic compression for newly uploaded files.
- Super Or Ultra-Smush For Double the Compression
- Display Your Full Size Images
- Convert Your PNGs to JPEGs
- Smush From the Media Library
- Optimize Directory Images
- Lazy Load Your Images For a Boost of Speed
- Utilize Smush’s CDN
- Serve the Correct Image Sizes
- Convert Your Images to Next-Gen Formats
- Save Time With Automatic Smush Configs
- Integrate With Popular WordPress Tools
Without further delay, here’s how to maximize the benefits of Smush:
1. Smush All Your Images in Bulk
When you first install Smush, chances are you’ll have a backlog of images that need your attention.
The Bulk Smush function searches your website for images that could be improved by compression.
All you have to do is click the button – Smush does all the hard work for you and lets you know when the job is complete.
If you need to optimize numerous images, you have the option to exit the plugin and return later. Smush will keep working on compressing your images in the background and will let you know when the task is finished.
But rest assured, no matter how many images you have to optimize, thanks to built-in features like parallel image processing, which gives you 8x the normal processing speed, your images are in the best and fastest hands.
If necessary, you have the option to omit specific image dimensions from Bulk Smush. Nonetheless, since Smush optimizes images without compromising their quality, it could be advantageous to compress all sizes.
One other feature worth noting is that when you click the Re-Check Images button, Smush performs an automatic scan of your Media Library to check if new images have been added since the last bulk smush.
2. Automatically Compress New Uploads
Once you have used the Bulk Smush feature to catch up on your backlog of image compressing, you will seldom need to use it again.
This is because of the handy Automatic Compression feature. If you enable this, Smush will compress images as soon as you upload them to your site.
Smush also has a generous maximum file size limit of 256MB per image, so if you have any gigantic images to be uploaded, they’ll automatically be compressed and optimized for you too.
3. Super Or Ultra-Smush For More Compression
If your main focus is on your site’s speed, you may want to take image compression a step further.
Super-Smush provides double the compression compared to regular smushing by removing all unnecessary data, while maintaining the quality of your images.
Or, if you want to really amp up your compression powers, try the Ultra-Smush option for an impressive 5x compression on top of the already amazing Super-Smush. Ultra is only available with Smush Pro, but completely worth the upgrade if having the fastest possible sites is a priority for you.
The latest Ultra Smush offers image compression that is five times more efficient than what Super Smush provides.
If you don’t want to take it as far as Super or Ultra-Smush, you can instead strip the unnecessary metadata from your images, leaving only what is needed for SEO purposes. Photos often store camera settings in the file such as focal length, date, time and location – removing this will reduce your file size.
If you’re a photographer, you might want to keep this information, but it serves little purpose on most sites so is generally safe to remove.
4. Display Your Full Size Images
If you upload an image that is larger than 2560px in either width or height, WordPress will automatically scale it down to generate a ‘web-optimized’ maximum image size.
If you are purposefully adding larger images and want to override this, you can use the image resizing option.
Bear in mind that your theme may also have its own maximum image size – you will need to check this before enabling this feature.
Want to disable automatic resizing of images altogether? You can enable Disable scaled images. This means scaled versions of images will not be generated, and only your original uploaded images will be kept.
If you are uploading full-sized images, you can also choose whether or not these will be included in Bulk Smush.
Make sure you enable the Backup original images selection if you want to store a copy of all your full-size images, in case you ever wanted to return them to their pre-smushed forms.
Discover more about WordPress’s image management process by reading this blog article.
5. Convert Your PNGs to JPEGs
There are some circumstances where one of these two file types is more suitable than the other. However, if your main concerns for your site are memory usage and speed, then using JPEGs instead of PNGs should be beneficial.
If you upload your images as PNGs, Smush can check to see whether converting them to JPEGs will reduce the file size.
You can, of course, make the same conversion outside of WordPress. However, using Smush removes the hassle and converts all your files in one swoop.
6. Smush From the Media Library
If you would prefer to select individual images for compression, look no further than your own media library.
Here, you will find a new column labelled ‘Smush’.
If you have auto-compression turned off, any photos which you upload should be ready to smush from within your media library.
You can smush your images individually, or alternatively single out images to be ignored from bulk smushing.
7. Optimize Directory Images
While your uploads folder is typically the main folder where images are found, they may also reside elsewhere in your directory.
For example, plugins that create their own image copies may store those images in the plugins folder.
In cases like this, the Directory Smush feature helps you easily identify and compress images stored outside the uploads folder.
Simply choose which directories and subdirectories you want to scan, and Smush will optimize and compress all of the images in bulk, it’s that easy.
8. Lazy Load Your Images For a Boost of Speed
If you have pages with a lot of images, displaying them all at once can put a lot of pressure on the server.
Deferring your off-screen images is a good way to allow the server to concentrate on loading the elements of your site above the fold so that your visitor can get stuck straight in.
If there are certain types of images or certain output locations you wish to exclude from lazy loading, you can easily add them here.
You can also exclude certain various post types, specific URLs, and CSS classes and IDs.
Basically, if you want to enable lazy loading, you can fine-tune exactly how and where it is enabled.
Once you have chosen which images will lazy load, you can then decide how you want the pre-loading images to appear.
9. Utilize Smush’s CDN
The closer you are to the server that is providing your content, the faster it will load. A CDN (Content Delivery Network) is a series of servers which are spread around the globe, and when a browser makes the HTTP request, the content is served from the closest server to its location.
Smush Pro boasts a 121-point CDN, with a few extra tricks up its sleeve. It can automatically resize your images as well as convert them to Google’s own next-gen format, WebP.
Check out the video below to learn more about our CDN.
If all you want is for your images to be served from the CDN, you do not need to delve any further into these.
However, there are a few useful tools that can be of benefit to your site, so they are worth checking out.
You can activate and configure the Smush Pro Image CDN right from your dashboard.
This will store and serve copies of all your JPG, PNG, and Gif images from the Smush edge servers – drastically improving speed.
Don’t Leave Your Background Images Out
As standard, only images used on your posts and pages will be served through the CDN.
If you want your background image to be served from the same speedy CDN as the rest of your images, Smush has you covered.
You will need to ensure that your background images are properly declared with CSS in your theme’s files.
10. Serve the Correct Image Sizes
Ideally, you should never serve an image larger than what will be displayed on the user’s screen. Using original or full-size images when a smaller image will do makes your pages take longer to load while your browser waits for the images to render.
Smush’s CDN houses a handy feature to resize your image to fit the container, without needing to touch a line of code.
11. Convert Your Images to Next-Gen Formats
JPEG 2000, JPEG XR, and WebP are modern image formats with superior compression capabilities. This means they produce much smaller image files so you can greatly improve your page speed.
Images served in the WebP format can benefit from more than 25% compression, and when you think about the number of images on your site, that’s a tonne of space that can be saved.
Smush Pro gives you two options for converting your images to next-gen formats.
1.Convert images with Smush Local WebP
The Local WebP feature in Smush Pro enables you to serve images from your Media Library in next-gen WebP format, without needing the Smush CDN.
The conversion to WebP is lossy when converting from JPEG images, and lossless when converting from PNG images.
Note that once you have configured this feature, you will need to run a Bulk Smush again for your existing images to get a WebP version created for each one.
Local WebP also only works for images in your Media Library and cannot create WebP versions of images found in other directories.
2.Convert images with Smush CDN
Smush’s CDN offers the option to convert your images to WebP in just one click.
Not all browsers support next-gen formats, which is something you would usually have to bear in mind when deciding to make the switch.
However, if you enable the WebP Conversion feature, Smush will automatically check whether or not a browser supports this format, and if not, will serve it in the original one. This ensures that none of your visitors are compromised.
12. Save Time With Automatic Smush Configs
If you manage multiple sites, this feature will save you hours of time by allowing you to apply your preferred Smush settings to any site with a click.
All you have to do is follow the already mentioned steps in this article and set Smush up exactly how you want it.
Then navigate to Settings > Configs and simply hit ‘Save Config’ to save your current settings as a new config, which you can apply to other sites instantly.
You can also choose from a number of default configs and you can integrate with The Hub site management tool to easily apply your configs to multiple sites at once.
13. Integrate With Popular WordPress Tools
Smush is fully compatible with your favorite WordPress tools and has direct in-plugin integrations with Gutenberg, Amazon S3, Gravity Forms, WPBakery builder, and NextGen Gallery.
Like most Smush features, all of these integrations can be activated with a click and allow for more specialized and targeted image optimization for the tool you’re integrating with.
Support at Your Fingertips
Now you know the ins and outs of this little plugin, it’s time to get stuck in and see how your site can benefit.
Smush is a very user-friendly plugin, so you should have no trouble managing your images.
If, however, you find yourself in need of some friendly advice, members should look no further than our awesome support team who are available 24/7.
And when you’re ready to take your image optimization to the next level, give Smush Pro a try and automatically unlock advanced features like our 121-point CDN, 5x Ultra Smush – plus – free access to the entire WPMU DEV suite of plugins and site management tools.
You can also check out the plugin documentation and view new updates and features coming soon in our roadmap.
Image optimization is a crucial aspect of website performance and user experience. Large, unoptimized images can slow down your website, leading to higher bounce rates and lower search engine rankings. Fortunately, there are tools available to help you optimize your images for the web. One such tool is Smush, a popular image optimization plugin for WordPress.
Smush is a powerful tool that can help you compress and optimize your images without sacrificing quality. It offers both free and premium versions, with the premium version offering additional features such as bulk smushing and the ability to optimize images up to 32MB in size.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to maximize image optimization with Smush:
Step 1: Install and Activate Smush
To get started with Smush, you’ll need to install and activate the plugin on your WordPress website. You can do this by going to the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard, clicking on “Add New,” and searching for “Smush.” Once you’ve found the plugin, click “Install Now” and then “Activate.”
Step 2: Configure Smush Settings
After activating Smush, you’ll be taken to the plugin’s settings page. Here, you can configure various settings such as automatic compression, image resizing, and lazy loading. You can also choose to enable or disable the plugin’s features based on your needs.
Step 3: Bulk Smush Your Images
If you have a lot of images on your website, you can use Smush’s bulk smushing feature to optimize them all at once. Simply go to the Bulk Smush tab and click on the “Bulk Smush Now” button. The plugin will then compress and optimize all of your images in the background.
Step 4: Optimize New Images
Smush can also automatically optimize new images as you upload them to your website. To enable this feature, go to the Smush settings page and check the box next to “Automatically smush my images on upload.” This will ensure that all new images are optimized before they are added to your website.
Step 5: Use the Smush CDN
If you have the premium version of Smush, you can take advantage of the plugin’s content delivery network (CDN) feature. This feature allows you to serve your images from a global network of servers, which can help improve your website’s performance and speed.
Step 6: Monitor Your Results
Finally, you can monitor your image optimization results by going to the Smush dashboard. Here, you’ll see statistics on how much space you’ve saved by optimizing your images, as well as how many images have been optimized.
In conclusion, Smush is a powerful tool that can help you maximize image optimization on your WordPress website. By following these steps, you can ensure that your images are optimized for the web, leading to faster load times and a better user experience.
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