Updated: March 2nd, 2020

2020 Update: Still our go-to app for automatic site-wide image compression and automatically optimizing image alt attributes for SEO and Google Image search traffic 👍. But use extreme caution if you use the image renaming feature (I don’t recommend using that feature).

For more best apps in other categories, check our current list of Best Shopify Apps.

What is the best way to optimize images for your Shopify store?

CRUSH PICS automated image compression app.

This is our favorite image optimization app for Shopify, and a quick way to improve your performance on your whole site.

Image optimization is a key factor in page load speed.

By default images are usually not optimized to load fast on the web… or at least to their full potential.

This is where image compression apps come in.

Our 2 go-to apps are Crush Pics to automatically compress images on Shopify sites, and Tiny PNG when you need to manually compress.

Crush Pics has a free version if you want to check it out first, but the $5 plan is enough for most stores to handle image optimization on autopilot. Easily pays for itself with the speed improvement.

How do image optimization apps work?

Without boring you with the technical details, they:

  • Strip unnecessary meta data
  • Reduce the number of colors in an image
  • Use algorithms to combine data and similar patterns

Here’s a quick setup guide to install Crush Pics and make your site faster by automatically compressing your images:

How to Setup Automatic Image Optimization with Crush Pics

Time to set up: 5 minutes.

1. Click here to get the Crush Pics app

2. Accept the permissions and install

3. Choose your settings

I prefer LOSSLESS because you get a solid compression while still retaining high quality images. For max compression you can choose LOSSY, but you will also lose some image quality.

4. Select automatic compression

This will automatically compress your current images plus any you upload in the future.

5. Choose Your Plan

The Micro Plan is usually good for small/medium stores. The Basic Plan is good for stores with a larger amount of products. If you have a super store you might need a larger plan, but you can always upgrade later if you’re unsure.

Let the compression begin!

Now you’ll come to the Crush Pics dashboard where you can see your compression stats in action.

The Stats

The site in this example is a small store so we only needed the Micro Plan ($5/mo). Here are the results of compression:

  • 455 total images
  • Used 22.7MB of 500MB allotted space on the Micro plan
  • Saved 2.36 MB

The images are gathered from products, collections, and your assets folder (images related to your theme).

At only $5/mo for this store, it’s 100% worth it to automatically compress new images now and as the store grows.

Lighter images means faster loading pages, more customers, better SEO rankings, increased page views and engagement, and ultimately more traffic and sales.

I always look at apps as an ROI proposition. In this case, will this app help generate $5 more profit per month? Easy! It’s hard to tell exactly but I bet it will because of proven research that faster sites increase conversion rates.

If a faster loading experience helps just 1 customer, you’ve likely paid for the app for months already.

Bonus Feature: Automated Image SEO

Have you ever done a Google image search? The way those results show up are largely based on your image “alt” attribute and filename.

Over 20% of all US web searches happen on Google Images

For details about that + image SEO for Shopify + Google Image best practices, see Image SEO for Shopify – How to Optimize for Search Engines.

Setting your “alt” attributes on images also helps your overall page SEO because it gives markers to Google about the content of the page.

With Crush Pics, you can automate this process by selecting variables to let the app rename your files and setting your alt attributes.

If you have any direct links to your image files, you’ll want check in with them first to make sure you don’t run into a broken file link (just click the Help button on that page).

Summary

  • Images are a key factor in page load speed
  • Faster sites get better engagement, more conversions, better rankings, and more sales.
  • Crush Pics is our top choice for image optimization on Shopify websites.

Next step: If you’re looking for more performance optimization, check out our optimization services to see how we can help optimize your site.

Check out all our favorite Shopify apps here: Shopify Best Apps.