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Imagify Review: Is It The Best Image Optimization Plugin?

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April 4, 2023

Images contribute to about 25% of the total page size of any web page. Other files like Javascript and CSS files are also contributing to the size, but images are the real pain for any website owner.

We live in an era where your online business growth depends on your website speed. If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, you can expect to lose more than 50% of your website traffic.

The irony is that a website without enough images does not make any sense to Google. So the ultimate solution is to use images on the website but on the other hand, optimize those images so that it does not affect your website speed.

But how do you do that?

You can optimize images using a manual method (Like using Photoshop) or use a plugin like Imagify. We are assuming that you are using the WordPress CMS.

This article will be all about the Imagify review where we will discuss different key features of the Imagify plugin and figure out if this is the right image optimization plugin for your WordPress website.

So, let’s dive in.

Imagify

On The Fly Image optimization
Bulk Optimization
WebP Delivery

$4.16 GET THE DEAL Download Free Version

What Is Image Optimization?

Images carry a lot of information like the camera models on which it was shoot, the place where it was shoot, shutter speed, exposure, ISO, and many other information. These are called EXIF data.

When you use an image on your website, you may not need your images to carry such junk information unless you are running a photography business website.

For any general website, images without EXIF data make a lot of sense. On top of that, you can always reduce or optimize the pixels of images without affecting the image quality.

The whole process of removing the EXIF data and optimizing the pixels of images are called Image Optimization.

Why Is Image Optimization Required?

If you are using a WordPress blog or website, image optimization is a must. By default, WordPress does not optimize images.

So, you need to optimize images if you want to use them on any WordPress website which will ensure that your pictures are not hampering your website speed.

As I said before that, you can always use Photoshop or other similar software to optimize images offline. But that is not a perfect solution as we want everything to be in Auto-Pilot mode.

That is why, an image optimization plugin is the best bet. Just install the plugin, set the settings, and relax. All your images will be optimized automatically before they are shown on your website.

When we talk about WordPress Image Optimization plugins, there are many players like EWWW, ShortPixel, WPCompress, etc. But one name that often gets ignored is Imagify. No worries, we will expose Imagify in this article.

What Is Imagify?

Imagify is an image optimization plugin for WordPress developed by the same team that developed WP Rocket which is one of the best cache plugins for WordPress.

Imagify can optimize images while you upload or you can also optimize images after uploading using the “Bulk Optimization” opinion.

Imagify can also convert images to newer image formats like WebP and deliver the same on the front end. All these happen at the back of your website on autopilot. This means, just set the plugin once and the plugin will do its jobs thereafter.

Currently, Imagify supports the optimization of image formats like JPG, PNG, PDF, and GIF.

How Does Imagify Work?

Many of you may think that, when a plugin does so much work, it must be putting a lot of stress on your server. But the fact is, Imagify does not put any stress on your server at all. Each and everything is done at the Imagify server.

When you upload an image, the Imagify server uploads the same to its own server (Using API) and optimizes it. After optimization, the Imagify server saves the optimized files to your server, and the same is shown to your visitor.

The Imagify server does not keep your uploaded images on its server for more than one hour. That ensures that your data is protected.

Imagify also keeps the original unoptimized version of the image in a separate folder on your server. If you want, anytime you can go back to the original version.

Whether to keep the original version or not is your choice. Imagify has an option not to save original images to save disk space.

Imagify can optimize images even if it is uploaded before you install the plugin. Just run a bulk optimization and Imagify will optimize all your old images too.

Types Of Compression In Imagify

There are two types of image compression algorithms that Imagify supports.

Smart Compression

Smart compression is the default compression type in Imagify. Whether it’s lossless or lossy is not known as Imagify decides based on the image type without hampering the picture quality.

Lossless Compression

If you have a website where you sell pictures or if you have a photography blog, then you may choose this option.

Lossless compression does not yield many benefits as the compression ratio will be very low. Images will be compressed but you won’t see any drastic size difference.

Key Features Of Imagify

Here are the key features of Imagify that makes it one of the best choice for image optimization in WordPress.

Supports Optimization Of Multiple Image Formats

Imagify supports the optimization of JPG, PNG, PDF, and GIF. So basically Imagify supports most of the popular image formats.

Just upload any image in any of the above formats and Imagify will optimize it instantly before it goes live.

WebP Delivery

WebP is the latest format that is light in weight and does not cause much pixel distortion. Most modern browsers support WebP format images.

With Imagify, you can convert images to WebP format and show them on your website. There is no need for manual conversion as Imagify will automatically do that at the backend.

Resize Images On The Fly

Your website will be viewed on multiple screen sizes like on a computer, a smartphone, a tablet, or a TV. Right? For every screen size, Imagify will resize images automatically that suit the resolution.

For example, you have a 2000X2000 pixels image that looks good on a desktop. But the same may not look good on a smartphone. In that case, Imagify resizes the image so that it can fit your smartphone screen.

No Stress On Your Server

Imagify works on a SaaS business model. That means, all the optimizations are done at the Imagify server without bothering your web server.

Since everything is done on the Imagify server, there is no additional stress on your web server and it will remain as fast as it used to be.

Intuitive Interface

Forget about those plugins that have cluttered interfaces and you don’t really know what options do what.

Imagify has a straightforward and intuitive interface. All options are easily available and the navigation is well laid out. Even a newbie can set Imagify to get the best out of it.

How To Use Imagify: Imagify Best Settings

Here are the steps that you can follow to install and configure Imagify and get the best out of it.

We all know how to install a plugin in WordPress. Right? If not, then go to WordPress Dashboard-> Plugins-> Add New-> Search for Imagify.

Install the Imagify plugin by clicking on “Activate“

The moment you install the plugin, you will get a prompt to create an account and get your API key. Getting the API key is essential as this is the only interface through which Imagfy can optimize your images.

Here is what the prompt will look like.

When you click on ” Sign Up“, it will ask for your email id. Enter your email and then click on Sign Up.

Once you sign up and log in to your Imagify account, you can go to the profile section and click on “API-Integration” to get the API Key as shown below.

Copy the Access Token and enter that into the API key section. You will be able to access the setting if the API key is valid.

Imagify has a fairly simple setting page. You can access the setting using WordPress Dashboard-> Settings -> Imagify.

General Setting

(1) Auto-Optimize Images On Upload: Please make sure that you are checking this option as this will optimize all your images when you upload. That will ensure that the plugin is working in auto-pilot mode.

(2) Backup Original Images: If you want, you can keep a copy of the original unoptimized version images on your server. However, that will consume more space. The choice is yours.

I would suggest keeping this option checked just in case you need the original image in the future. if you are low on server space, you can uncheck this option.

(3) Lossless Compression: By default, Imagify does smart compression. Whether it’s lossy or lossless is unknown, but Imagify offers the best compression result when you use the smart compression ( Default option).

If you want to choose Lossless compression, you can check this option. However, you may not notice any considerable change in the optimized image.

Optimization Setting

Create WebP Version Of Images: This option will create a WebP format image of your optimized image. The conversion happens at the Imagify server and is then pushed to your server.

Display Images In WebP Format On This Site: You can check this option if you want to show the WebP version of the image on your site. This is very much essential as it will improve your website speed.

Resize Images: If you want your images to be resized while uploading, you can check this option. You can also set the pixels to what images should be resized.

Select Folder For Optimization: This is called bulk optimization. You can select the folders where you have uploaded images before and Imagify will optimize the images available in these folders.

That’s it. Your Imagify plugin is all set and ready to optimize.

Performance And Test Results

We have tested Imagify with one sample image. We have shared the outcome below. You will notice that Imagify did a good job in smart compression but definitely, the WebP version is the best.

The Original Image

The Optimized Image ( Smart Optimization + WebP)

The optimized image reduced the image size by almost 50% and you won’t see any noticeable pixel distortion. So, Imagify did a commendable job here.

Imagify Pricing

Imagify

★★★★☆

$4.16

The pricing is only valid when you are billed annually that turns around $49.9 per year

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Imagify has a free plan that allows you to optimize images up to 20 MB per month. Beyond that limit, you need to purchase a plan. The plan details are shown below.

Please note that, in the case of the Infinite plan, there is a fair usage policy applied. So although on paper, you can optimize unlimited images, in actuality you may not be able to do that.

Imagify Positives And Negatives

Conclusion: Imagify Review

Imagify is a great plugin—no doubt about it. In fact, our test result shows a decent image optimization performance. However, the real problem is the pricing and lack of CDN on offer.

You can hook up Imagify to RocketCDN, but you will have to pay for a RocketCDN subscription. That’s an extra burden. The competition is offering image CDN for free.

If Imagify can work on these issues, then the value proposition will be very competitive for anyone to switch to Imagify.

So do I recommend Imagify?

Yes, of course! Every product has positives and negatives but Imagify is a perfect tool to optimize images and make your website much faster than before.

Frequently Asked Questions | Imagify Review

Imagify Review: Is It The Best Image Optimization Plugin?

$4.16

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