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Image & File Optimization Best Practices
Large image and file uploads are one of the leading causes of slow website performance, increased storage usage, and longer page load times. Even with optimization tools installed on the site, uploading excessively large assets can still negatively impact the user experience and overall website performance. To help keep your website running smoothly, we recommend following the best practices below whenever uploading images or documents to your site.
Image Optimization Guidelines
Before uploading photos to your website, compress them using a free optimization tool such as:
As a general rule:
- Aim for under 100 KB per image whenever possible
- Avoid uploading images directly exported from design tools or cameras without compression
- Resize images to the actual dimensions needed on the website before uploading
Recommended Image Sizes
|
Image Type |
Recommended Width |
Recommended File Size |
|
Hero/Banner Images |
1600–2000 px |
Under 400 KB |
|
Standard Content Images |
1200 px max |
Under 100 KB |
|
Logos/Icons |
As needed |
Under 20 KB |
Recommended File Formats
- JPG/JPEG → best for photographs
- PNG → only when transparency is needed
- AVIF→ preferred whenever possible for improved performance
PDF & Document Optimization
PDFs can also significantly slow down websites if they are uploaded without optimization.
Whenever possible:
- Export PDFs using “Compressed” or “Optimized for Web” settings
- Avoid high-resolution “Print Quality” exports unless absolutely necessary
- Compress PDFs before uploading them to the website
Helpful tools include:
Recommended PDF Sizes
- Standard PDFs: ideally under 1–2 MB
- Larger reports/documents: try to remain under 5 MB
- Avoid uploading PDFs larger than 10 MB whenever possible
Optimization on Our End
Our team already uses Smush Pro to automatically optimize and compress images uploaded to your website. This provides an additional layer of performance optimization and helps reduce file sizes automatically.
However, optimization plugins should be considered a support tool — not a replacement for properly prepared assets.
Uploading extremely large images or files can still:
- Slow down page load times
- Increase server resource usage
- Affect website performance scores
- Create a poorer experience for visitors, especially on mobile devices