How to Make Picture File Size Smaller – Free & Easy Method 2021

There are many reasons you may want to reduce the file size of a photo. Here is the easiest method to obtain the perfect file size and quality ratio.

Time needed: 2 minutes.

How to Make Picture File Size Smaller – 5 Easy Steps

  1. (Optional) Make a backup copy.

    When reducing the file size of a photo, you may also reduce image quality. Make sure you have a backup copy just in case you aren’t happy with the result.

  2. Go to ShortPixel’s free online image compressor and choose the “Glossy” setting.

    You can experiment with the Lossy and Lossless settings, but I find Glossy to be a perfect ratio for most Jpeg images. Make sure to choose your compression level before uploading the photo.

  3. Drag your photo into the box, or select it from your computer to upload it.

    You can upload up to 50 photos at once, and up to 10mb in file size per photo without even signing up for a free account. The free account increases these limits.

  4. Download your compressed picture.

    In most cases, Jpeg files will be reduced 40-80% with the “glossy” setting. In this example, the photo was compressed from 2.1mb to 0.6mb, a savings of 73%!

  5. (Optional) Replace original and rename.

    If you want to keep things organized, you can move your downloaded picture into your original folder and rename so you know which one is compressed.

That’s it! You’ve reduced the file size of your picture even without changing the pixel dimensions.

Other tools for reducing photo file size

If ShortPixel isn’t for you, check out these other popular tools for making pictures smaller.

  1. JPEGmini – a great desktop app for reducing file size without reducing quality.
  2. TinyPNG – another web based tool similar to ShortPixel
  3. ImageMagick – If you want a command-line option, this one is for you!
  4. Photoshop or Lightroom – Both of these tools by Adobe will let you manipulate and compress pictures.
  5. Reduce Images – this website lets you compress AND change pixel dimensions at the same time.

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7 Comments

  1. Presumably it is also better to export the images at the dimensions they will actually be needed for display on the site rather than, for example, uploading a larger image and making WordPress do the resizing for you?

  2. I’ve used Shortpixel to compress the images I’m using on my homepage. But when I upload them in WordPress they say “scaled” in the file name. Is that ok?

    1. That’s totally fine. The alternative is to rename the file before upload, but it’s not a major issue either way.

      1. Oh I think I realised my mistake – I didn’t do the LR step first of exporting at a reduced size. So WordPress automatically scaled it.

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