Why Optimized Images Continue to be Vital for Website Performance

When evaluating the assets of a website that are in need of optimizing, imagery has always been a primary focus. This continues into the current era - a recent survey of digital marketing professionals where 60% stated image optimization as a key website speed strategy shows that it’s still widely used and valued.

This is for various reasons. A main one is page load speed - as images comprise nearly 75% of a page’s weight, they’re a central factor for fast loading. As one in four users don’t wait more than four seconds for a page to load, ensuring images are compressed in size and in the optimal format is vital to not impeding load speed.

Another area that images greatly impact, especially for ecommerce stores, is conversions. 67% of online shoppers describe high quality images as a “very important part” of their decision making and 51% of online shoppers in the US expect at least three product images. Once optimized, having multiple high-quality images on product pages won’t be an issue for a user’s on-site experience. Otherwise, users could be left staring at a blank box, increasing the chance of them purchasing elsewhere.

Within the last few years, SEO image optimization has become another necessary factor for better rankings. By giving Google more context to an on-page image – with correct labelling and alt text included – it’ll help a page rank better.

For more information and insights on optimizing images for the best website performance, check out Website Builder Expert’s new infographic below: