On all your Shopify product pages, image sizes should have the same ratio. Don’t use 1:1, 4:3, and 3:2 but opt only for one of them.
Shopify Product Image File Size
The file size of Shopify product images can reach up to 20 MB. However, even websites with relatively modest catalogs, let alone large stores, will severely compromise website performance if all their product images are almost 20,480 KB in size.
For performance and SEO purposes, the best file size for Shopify product images is around 100-300 KB. This way, you optimize your store for both an efficient and visually pleasing online shopping experience. However, if your products require close inspection and you’re planning to implement full-size image product URLs, the file size can be up to 3 MB.
Regularly monitor the loading times of your Shopify store's product pages to guarantee that the inclusion of full-size images does not compromise website performance. Let’s have a look at how you do this in the next section.
Optimizing Shopify Product Photo Size for Better Performance
Load speeds are a crucial metric for Google and directly affect your store’s search rankings. Since your visuals are among the ‘heaviest’ data you have, you need to make sure they don’t compromise your website speed.
Here’s how you do it.
Utilize Image Compression
Use Shopify's built-in compression tools or consider third-party apps like TinyIMG to automate the compression process. Today’s responsive compression algorithms can cut the file size in half while fully meeting Shopify’s best product image size standards.
Opt for Efficient File Formats
Choose file formats wisely, balancing quality, size, and the types of products you sell.
- For non-digital products and their real-life imagery, formats like JPEG and WebP can offer good size compression without compromising image quality.
- PNG and SVG work best if your Shopify product images are graphics or logos. Mind that SVG is a vector image format and will decrease the image quality if you use it for photography.
Leverage Lazy Loading
Enable lazy loading for images (not only product ones but also those on your Shopify blog and other pages) to prioritize the loading of visible content first. This feature ensures a faster initial page load and boosts your store's Google standing. Besides, it provides a smoother user experience, particularly for customers who may not scroll through the entire page.
Utilize Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
Consider integrating a CDN to distribute image files across multiple servers globally. This helps to reduce latency and accelerates image loading times for users regardless of their geographical location.
Troubleshooting Shopify Product Picture Issues
As you manage your Shopify store, you may encounter image formatting issues that affect the visual appeal and functionality of your product listings. Let's explore solutions to common problems associated with Shopify product images.
1. Images Cropped on Mobile
Shopify themes employ a responsive design approach that automatically adjusts the image sizes of Shopify products to a user’s screen. As Shopify support confirms, this may result in images being cropped in an unwanted way, erasing an important part of product pictures.
How to Solve: If you can’t opt for square images or the ratios we listed above, the only solution is to rely on the focal point feature. However, it is available only in Dawn, Craft, Sense, and 6 more free themes.
2. Low Image Quality
Despite the noble goal of reaching the smallest Shopify product image size, extreme compression or improper editing can lead to pixelation or blurriness.
How to Solve: Strive to keep a consistent image size for all your product images, prioritize high resolution (72 ppi), and avoid excessive compression. Always check how images look on the store after uploading them.
3. Image Distortion
Some product images may appear distorted or improperly scaled, especially when viewed in a gallery window as product variants.
How to Solve: Ensure uniformity of Shopify image sizes for product gallery and keep to a single image ratio in your store.
4. Product Zoom-In/Out Issues
Problems with product zoom functionality can occur at times, preventing customers from changing the focus of the magnifying glass.
How to Solve: Review and update the theme's settings to ensure proper product zoom functionality. Test product zoom features on different devices to identify and resolve any issues.
5. Batch Uploading Errors
Errors in batch uploading can result in incomplete or inaccurate product listings, wasting your team’s time and efforts.
How to Solve: Explore third-party apps that facilitate automated and reliable batch processing, making it easier to update and optimize images across your entire inventory.