Are you a blogger looking to optimize your images in WordPress? Understanding image sizes is key to ensuring your photos look great while keeping your site running fast.
In this beginner‘s guide, we‘ll break down everything you need to know about WordPress image sizes in 2023. You‘ll learn what size your images should be, which file formats to use, and tips for editing your images like a pro. Let‘s dive in!
What Does "Image Size" Mean?
When we talk about an image‘s "size", we‘re referring to its dimensions in pixels. A pixel is a tiny square of color that makes up a digital image. More pixels = a higher resolution image.
For example, an image that is 1200 pixels wide and 800 pixels tall has a size of 1200×800. The more pixels an image contains, the larger the file size will be.
It‘s important to find the right balance between image quality and file size. Images that are too small may look blurry or pixelated. But images that are too large can slow down your site‘s loading time, which is bad for user experience and SEO.
Choosing the Right Image File Format
Beyond the dimensions, the file format you use for images also impacts the size. The two most common formats used on the web are:
JPEG (.jpg): Best for photographs and images with lots of colors. JPEGs use lossy compression to reduce file size.
PNG (.png): Best for logos, graphics, and images that require transparency. PNGs use lossless compression, so they are often larger files than JPEGs.
If you‘re uploading photos, JPEGs are usually the way to go. For everything else, PNGs are a good choice. Newer formats like WebP can produce even smaller file sizes, but they are not yet universally supported by browsers.
Default WordPress Image Sizes (And How Themes Affect Them)
By default, WordPress automatically creates multiple sizes of an image upon upload. You can view these in the Media Settings:
- Thumbnail size: 150×150 pixels
- Medium size: 300×300 pixels
- Large size: 1024×1024 pixels
- Full size: The original dimensions of the uploaded image
However, WordPress themes often register their own custom image sizes. For example, a theme may specify dimensions for a "featured image" or "hero header". These won‘t be visible in the Media Settings.
To see all the image sizes your theme uses, you can install a plugin like Show Image Sizes. This adds dimension information under each image in the Media Library.
What Image Sizes Should I Use in Blog Posts?
For your blog post images, we recommend using:
- Landscape (horizontal) images: 1200×675 pixels
- Portrait (vertical) images: 1000×1500 pixels
- Square images: 1000×1000 pixels
These sizes are large enough to look great across all devices, while not being so massive that they‘ll slow down your site.
Of course, the exact dimensions will depend on your theme‘s content width. In general, 1200 pixels wide is a good standard for landscape images. Just make sure your images are at least as wide as your content column.
Whenever you‘re embedding an image, consider how it fits into the overall flow and layout of your post. Vary your image alignments and experiment with different aspect ratios like 4:3, 16:9, and 1:1 to keep things visually interesting.
Featured Image Sizes for WordPress
Featured images, also known as "post thumbnails", are handled differently depending on your theme. Some themes display featured images prominently at the top of posts/pages. Others use them in grids or archive views.
We suggest using images with a minimum size of 1200×675 pixels for featured images. This ensures they will look great when displayed full-width. If your theme uses square featured images, go with 1200×1200.
It‘s better to upload a larger featured image and let WordPress scale it down than to upload a small image and have it look blurry when scaled up. When in doubt, bigger is better.
Logo Size Recommendations
Your logo is one of the most important images on your site. It appears in the header and is often used as the favicon and default social sharing image.
Aim for a logo that is at least 500 pixels wide and no more than 1000. The exact dimensions will depend on your theme‘s header layout. If you have a square logo, 500×500 is usually a safe bet.
Make sure to use a PNG file for your logo so that it has a transparent background. This allows you to place it over any color or pattern without an unsightly white box.
What About Social Media Image Sizes?
Have you ever shared a link on Facebook or Twitter, only to have the wrong thumbnail image show up? To control which images appear when your content is shared, you need to specify the Open Graph (Facebook) and Twitter Card image tags.
We recommend creating custom social images for your most important posts and pages. Here are the sizes to use:
- Facebook: 1200×630 pixels
- Twitter: 1024×512 pixels
- LinkedIn: 1104×736 pixels
- Pinterest: 1000×1500 pixels
Notice that all of these have horizontal (landscape) aspect ratios. You can certainly share square or vertical images, but they may be cropped in previews.
An easy way to add these social tags is by using the free Yoast SEO plugin. With Yoast, you can upload a custom social image right in the post editor screen.
Tools for Editing and Resizing WordPress Images
Luckily, you don‘t need to be a Photoshop expert to edit your images for WordPress. There are plenty of free and user-friendly tools available:
1. Canva
Canva is a graphic design platform loaded with templates for social media images, blog graphics, logos, and more. Their drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to create professional looking designs.
2. Pixlr
Pixlr is a web-based photo editor that works right in your browser. You can use it to quickly resize images, adjust colors and contrast, remove backgrounds, and more.
3. GIMP
GIMP is a free and open source alternative to Photoshop. It packs in tons of advanced features, but can have a bit of a learning curve. Use this if you want full control over your image editing.
For simple crops and resizes, you can even use WordPress‘ built-in image editor. Just open an image in the Media Library and click "Edit Image".
Don‘t Forget to Compress Your Images
One final tip: always compress your images before uploading to WordPress. Compression reduces the file size without sacrificing quality.
For JPEGs, aim for a compression level of 60-80%. For PNGs, use a tool that applies lossless compression. You can compress images using a desktop app like ImageOptim (Mac) or an online tool like TinyPNG.
If you don‘t want to worry about manually compressing every image, you can automate the process with a WordPress plugin. We recommend Smush or ShortPixel, which will optimize your images as soon as you upload them to the Media Library.
Wrapping Up
We know that was a lot of information to take in, but you should now have a solid understanding of WordPress image sizes and best practices. To recap:
- Use landscape images that are at least as wide as your content column (typically 1200 pixels)
- Upload larger featured images that can be scaled down to fit
- Choose the appropriate file format for each image (JPEG for photos, PNG for graphics)
- Create custom social media images with the recommended dimensions
- Compress your images to keep file sizes down and your site running fast
By following these guidelines, you‘ll be well on your way to creating beautiful, high-performing WordPress sites. Happy blogging!
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