Most image compression guides tell you to "just lower the quality." That's incomplete advice. Here are five techniques that actually make a significant difference.
1. Choose the Right Format First
Before compressing, make sure you're using the right format. A PNG photo compressed at 80% quality will still be larger than the same photo as a WebP at 80% quality. Format choice alone can reduce size by 30%.
2. Resize Before Compressing
If you're uploading a 4000×3000px photo to use as a 800×600px thumbnail, you're storing 25× more pixels than needed. Resize to the display size first, then compress. This is almost always the biggest win.
3. Quality 75–85% is the Sweet Spot
For JPEGs, 85% quality typically retains 99% of visual quality while reducing file size by 50–60% vs the original. Going below 70% starts to introduce noticeable artefacts on smooth gradients and faces.
4. Remove Metadata
Photos from smartphones contain embedded EXIF metadata — GPS coordinates, camera model, date, lens info. This can add 20–50KB to every image. Stripping it during compression is free size reduction.
5. Use Batch Processing
If you have 50 product photos to optimise, don't do them one by one. FileZone's Compress Image tool accepts multiple files at once and processes them in parallel.