Images from a camera have very large file sizes to optimize for printing. Publishing on the web, however, does not require the same detail (number of pixels) for clarity.
So, it's important to always resize your images before uploading them to your blog, so as not to make your site drag. Small images are much more streamlined and efficient.
Web Resizer is a quick and handy tool do so. It also has some basic, yet functional editing options that add to the fun. Here's how it works:
Click to view How to Resize & Edit Images Online Quickly.
I am loving these tips!! I have been wondering how to do that. I really appreciate all of your hard work. I am so glad that you let us know about privacy as well. I was really surprised to see all my personal info available to anyone. Thanks so much for these posts. They are so helpful!! Rene
Rene, I'm so glad! Thanks for stopping by.
I really need this! I'm off to check it out. Thanks for sharing! I guess I've been under a rock, I didn't know you had this blog. It's great!
~Liz
Glad it's helpful, Liz!
This is a great tip! I have been using Picnik but this looks cool as well.
Picnik is definitely good…this is just quicker and easier when its only the basics you need.
Oh I am so glad I found your site. I was just struggling yesterday with getting my picture to fit my blog header. I will enjoy exploring your site!
Awesome! Thanks for stopping by!
I just had to come back and say THANK YOU!!! This site is great, I've been using Picnik, and I still like it for editing exposure etc, a bit better than Web Resizer, but for re-sizing, this is awesome!
I have been struggling for a very long time with my photos. I discovered a couple days ago after comparing my posts on my dinosaur desktop and my new (to-me) laptop, that the desktop monitor is going bad. Not too good to edit photos on a bad monitor.
Thanks again for telling us about this site and your video on it was great too.
~Liz
This is what I use but do they have a bulk resizer? I haven't been able to find a good one that shrinks my pics enough. I was using photobucket and a few other things but they still didn't get them small enough. After trying many things, this site it the best I have found as well, but I do it one pic at a time which takes FOREVER!
Hey Jen, are you on a Mac or PC? There are bulk resizing products you can purchase, however, knowing you and your frugal rockstar status
here are some free options you might try first.
On a Mac, check out this tutorial using Preview.
If you're on a PC, try this download from Microsoft. (Find the "Image Resizer" download link in the right column.)
By the way, I should probably mention I haven't used either myself (that would be because I'm the world's lamest photo taker), but I hope they'll work for you!
When you resize an image this way, is the original resized or does the computer retain the full size original?
Thanks for a great tutorial!
Kate
No, the original on your computer stays the same.
Can you suggest some good websites to obtain free images for blogs?
thanks!
Thanks, Amy! I just got a new camera that takes even larger photos and I was wondering how small I should resize them down to. I'll start around 400 and "play" from there, I think.
I've been using Picasa where I can crop, collage, add a watermark, change the file name and then export as a new size to use them, but I'll have to remember Web Resizer too.
So helpful!! Thanks!
Question though – I've spent hours and hours taking photos and trying to reduce them to an appropriate size [for a post I was going to publish days ago]. I've been having trouble getting the images significantly reduced AND still maintain high quality AND a prefered pixel size for the image.
I finally decided I was going to have to retake all the photos. My camera setting was 2M, I retook all the photos (30-ish to narrow down to 6 good ones to publish) with a much smaller file size setting, but now I'm not happy with the quality of these photos. The 2M camera setting images are (without editing) 633-ish kb. I can get them down to around 40-50 kb using the Web Resizer site. However, ALL the examples Web Resizer uses to show-case the before/after, START OUT smaller than 40-50kb.
What parameter of image size would you recommend for photos before they are uploaded to a site?
So sorry Web Resizer isn't working very well. Some other alternatives would be to upload to Flickr and then host from there. Or, you can try the Smush.it plugin (search via your Dashboard).
Amy, this was great. I was breaking my head trying to do this so that the pictures would be completely visible on fb. Thanks so much
You had posted once the correct size of the photos so they could be seen completely. How much is that?
The size depends on the dimensions of your theme, but for most themes, I'd say up to 500 pixels wide should work. You'll have to make sure it does in yours though.
Oh wait, do you mean the correct size on FB? For a landing page? If so, for a Facebook landing page, it can be no wider than 520px wide.
I thought it was something like 300 x 600 pixels?
There's no set size (depends on your theme) but somewhere around 500px by 500px or less is definitely better than the size an image is when it comes straight from your camera (like 2000+px). Large images like that slow your site down significantly.
I'm curious to know if anyone has tips for storing the resized photos on your computer. WebResizer has been a big help; I now use it for resizing all my blog pics. But I have to download each pic and now my "downloads" folder is getting quite crowded. Since I already have my original pics super-organized, I really don't want to bother with organizing the resized pics, but I'm also afraid to delete them. Contemplating moving all the resized, downloaded blog pics into one big folder, but over time that could get quite unmanageable, too.
Hmmm. Any input?
How about DropBox? Or a flash drive?
Hey!
I have been using the Web Resizer and love it. Thanks for the tip. I still have this crazy problem that I CANNOT seem to figure out dealing with uploading images, though.
I am uploading images exactly how WordPress explains (http://en.support.wordpress.com/images/). I always want the image to be at the top of my post, with the text following after it.
Here's the problem: When I insert the image, it always appears twice on the homepage and then once if you click on the post. It appears large (like I want it) and then small. The large image only appears on the homepage, then the smaller image only appears on the post (if you click the post).
My temporary solution: I upload the image to my post. Then I delete it. Somehow it still appears with the post on the homepage, but then if you click on the individual post I have no image.
Ughghghghg. Does that makes sense?
My website is http://thesproutingseed.com/
You can see pictures on the homepage. Then click on an individual post and nothing. No image.
Thoughts?
Hmmm…I haven't seen that before. I would definitely contact StudioPress. Ask in the forum what the problem might be. Strange!
Thanks Amy! I contacted them and it turns out to be an easy fix! I am using Genesis per your suggestion and couldn't be happier! I just had to disable "featured image" in Genesis theme settings! Thanks for all your tips. You have made blogging 10 times easier!
Oh, yay! Thanks for letting me know the outcome. Glad it was an easy fix.
Thanks for these tips! I used WebResizer for months, thanks to your tips. A few weeks back (or months? can't remember) I began to experience consistent problems with WR. It was taking a really long time to load pics and then it wouldn't save my changes. I'd also been using ipiccy.com when I wanted to make a collage or include text, and I realized that ipiccy also allows you to resize images. So now I'm doing everything in ipiccy: editing, special effects like collages & text and resizing. Plus, I like the way it lets me save the photos.
I think I discovered ipiccy through one of your posts, or one of your readers, so THANKS! It's been such a great tool for me.
Oh I like getting multiple things done in one spot!