If you do not pay enough attention to image optimization in Drupal 8 and 9, the business may lose some profits. In 2022, when among the most popular social networks are Instagram and Pinterest, denying the impact of images is simply ridiculous. A picture is a powerful way to draw attention to your site and make your brand recognizable. That is why today we talk about Drupal image optimization.
Our Drupal developers will try to answer the most common questions about image optimization in Drupal 9 and 8, namely:

1. Why does your website need images?
2. What is Image Optimization?
3. What is the Image API?
4. Best image optimization tools in Drupal

and much more, which will be useful for all Drupal site owners. Grab a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy reading this mini-guide.

Why does your website need images?

Logo, images on your homepage, blog post, or anywhere else on your site, always say more than text. They either attract users' attention and interest them in your services or repel them. It has also been proven that people remember visual content better. After all, would you buy a product based on the description alone? Of course not, because it's crazy.

Three most important reasons to use images on the website

1. Increase website SEO position
The image on your site is not only about the visual appeal but also about boosting your site's organic search rankings. Every picture on the site can work for you. You just need to work a little on it. Write unique metadata using keywords for your images so that search engines can find them and show them to users. This will allow you to get additional traffic and drive more conversions.

2. Images grab and hold users' attention
Image is a great lure. They contribute to a better user experience on your site, which means an increase in potential customers. In addition, an image is a tool for influencing visitors' emotions. For example, if you have an e-commerce site, the right product photos will trigger them to buy.

3. The company logo promotes user peace of mind
Let's quickly explain what this means. The presence of the logo on every page of the site is a hint to visitors that they are still on your site and can safely do whatever they want without fear of information leakage. It is recommended to place the logo in a prominent place and the same spot.  The logo on the website it's like an identity card.

What is image optimization?

We hope you will no longer doubt why you need an image on the site. The next issue we want to consider is Drupal image optimization. 
Image optimization is the process of reducing the image's size as much as possible without losing the quality of the picture. After these steps, all images available on your site will open correctly on all devices and weigh very little. That is, even if you have thousands of pictures on your site, this will not affect the loading speed of your site, which means it will not affect the SEO position badly.

There are 3 main image optimization methods:

• caching (is when your images are stored in the browser cache)
• compression (is deleting some unnecessary information to reduce image size)
• resizing (is reducing the size of the image to the smallest size)
   

Top 3 image optimization Tools in Drupal

Next, our Drupal web designers will guide you on how to optimize images on Drupal. Choose what you like more and use it.

1. ImageAPI Optimize module
2. TinyPNG 
3. JPEG Compressor

Drupal image optimization with the Image API

The ImageAPI is the first tool that we talk about. It automatically compresses your images. Plus, the ImageAPI Optimize module suits Drupal 9 image optimization.

Here's how it works:
"The module has built in support for core Image styles and a service allowing use in third party modules."

Main features of the ImageAPI module:

• compresses the image when you save them
• supports lossless optimization
• cooperates with other tools and toolkit easily
• it speeds up your image loading

TinyPNG tool for Drupal image compression

The TinyPNG is a super handy service that quickly compresses countless images in seconds. It allows you to reduce the weight of the pictures as much as possible but keep the image quality without visible changes.
Here's how it works:
"PNG is useful because it’s the only widely supported format that can store partially transparent images."
 

Main features of the TinyPNG:

• compresses images using a smart approach
• works with different formats, such as WEBP, JPEG, and PNG
• reduces the size by decreasing the number of colors

Image optimization with JPEG Compressor

The JPEG Compressor is another option for Drupal image resize. It makes images load faster on your website.
Here's how it works:
"Wait for the compression to finish. If you need more control over the JPEG, PNG, GIF compression quality please use thumbnails to activate the manual mode."

Main features of the JPEG Compressor:

• supports 16 languages
• has a convenient drag and drop area
• compresses images to JPEG, PNG, GIF, PDF

Useful Drupal 8 modules for image optimization in Drupal 8 

Image Optimize
Image Optimize TinyPNG
reSmush.it image style optimizer
WebP

 

Optimize images on your website to increase site performance with the Golems

​​Your site looks like an unfurnished apartment without images. Responsive images are the key to success in Drupal. If this processing is carried out correctly, the image file can be reduced up to 98% without losing image quality. Our team advises using such tools:

• ImageAPI Optimize module
• TinyPNG
• JPEG Compressor

Your main task is to understand how they work and set up everything correctly. This takes some effort, but it will bring you benefits. If you need professional help optimizing your images or website, feel free to contact the Golems web development team. Image optimization will help you save space on disk, speed up page loading, reduce server load and, of course, increase conversions. We hope this blog has been helpful to you. Our mission is completed. See you soon!