Why Image Compression Matters
Images often account for more than 60% of the bytes on an average web page. Optimizing them is the single most effective way to speed up your site.
Faster sites rank better on Google (Core Web Vitals), reduce bounce rates, and save bandwidth costs.
Lossy vs. Lossless
Lossy Compression
Reduces file size by permanently eliminating certain information. This is used for JPEGs and WebP. It offers the best compression rates (e.g., 80% reduction) with a slight quality trade-off.
Lossless Compression
Reduces file size without losing any quality. Data is just rewritten more efficiently. Used for PNGs. Compression rates are lower (e.g., 10-20% reduction).