Tistory Blog Image Optimization Complete Guide (A Must-Read for Beginners!)
When running a WordPress or Tistory blog, you often use many images. Did you know that carelessly adding images can lower your Google ranking? WordPress automatically optimizes images, but many Tistory users are unsure about the best way to insert images, so I’ve put together this guide to help!
Tistory Blog Image Optimization
There are various ways to insert images into a Tistory blog. You can upload files directly in the editor, or simply capture an image and paste it using Ctrl+C, V for instant insertion.
However, carelessly uploading images can lead to several negative effects.
- Images can be larger than you think and slow down your Story blog.
- This will hurt your PSI score, which is used by Google to rate your blog, and in the long run, it will hurt your blog’s search result ranking.
To prevent these issues, let’s explore the proper way to insert images. It’s more useful and convenient than you might think, so follow along carefully!
Reducing Image Size for Tistory Blog
From now on, commit to carefully managing the images you upload to your blog! One important thing to remember is that image file size varies depending on the format. Many people are familiar with .png and .jpg, but today, the format you need to know is .webp.
What Are WEBP Files?
A WebP file is an image format that compresses web images into smaller file sizes, improving web page loading speed while supporting transparent images similar to PNG. It is a highly effective optimization tool for web developers, enhancing user experience by enabling faster image loading.
In short, it is a dedicated format for uploading images to the web. Therefore, when adding images to a Tistory blog, always convert them to WebP format before uploading. If you upload images without conversion, it can cause performance degradation and lower your Google PSI performance score (see the image below).
Making image compression easy
I will introduce two methods for converting images into compressed files. General users should use the first method, while ChatGPT PLUS (paid version) users should use the second method.
- General user: Use the ShortPixel image conversion site (compressed PNG)
- ChatGPT paid users: Use Brima (WEBP file converter)
ShortPixel Image Conversion Site
ShortPixel is an image optimization plugin company that I frequently use when setting up WordPress sites. In WordPress, there are plugins that automatically adjust image file sizes when pasted, similar to Tistory. Additionally, there are plugins that convert optimized images into WebP format. This makes posting on WordPress much easier compared to Tistory.
How to use the image converter
Go to the ShortPixel image conversion site, prepare your image files, select Pictures, set the desired compression level, and click Convert—that’s it! You can convert up to 50 files at once (e.g., 480kb → 88kb).
What about files that are already on the Tistory blog? Click Website, then enter the address of the website you want to optimize, and it will automatically convert the image files contained in the address into a compressed file.
After waiting a bit, download links for the converted files will appear, as shown in the image below. Download and replace the files accordingly!
Brima Image Conversion ChatGPT
Brima is a ChatGPT bot that I created. I have customized and trained it with the content I frequently use when working on WordPress projects. It is publicly available, so others can use it as well. I believe it will perform better than ShortPixel or other compression programs.
Even ChatGPT allows screen capture and direct pasting, making it incredibly convenient. Since it has already been trained on how to function, you can simply capture an image, paste it, and upload it without any extra steps—it appears instantly. Use it frequently!
Inserting images properly
Once you’ve converted your images, you can insert them into your T-story, but there are two things to keep in mind.
- Be sure to include an alt text (Alt).
- Make sure to specify a horizontal size. Set in 50 increments (e.g. 770px -> 750px)
In the image above, you can enter the replacement text by pressing the top right cog and resize it by pressing the second button on the top left.
Thumbnail image files (note)
The previous discussion emphasized converting images used in the body of a post to WebP format for faster loading speeds. However, there are cases where WebP should not be used, specifically for feature images or thumbnail files.
- Thumbnail files always use JPEGs.
Thumbnail files should be in JPEG format instead of WebP (PNG is also not recommended) because JPEG is the common file format supported by social media platforms when sharing posts.
For example, if a thumbnail is set in WebP format, the image may not appear when shared on Facebook. Therefore, always convert thumbnail files to JPEG format before uploading!
Therefore, for thumbnails, be sure to convert the file to JPEG format before inserting it!
Closing thoughts
Today, we learned how to properly upload images on Tistory. While there are many factors that can degrade the performance of a Tistory blog, optimizing images is still better than doing nothing! Try image optimization to make your blog faster and improve your Google search ranking.
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