Heavy images slow page loads, fail email size limits, and make support tickets painful to open on mobile. Compressing a photo is not the same as making it look soft: the goal is fewer bytes while faces, product edges, and text in screenshots stay usable.
This guide walks through a reliable order of operations — resize first, pick the right format, then compress — using free PdfPeaks tools in the browser. No desktop installer and no account are required for standard jobs.
Why images get huge in the first place
Phone cameras often shoot 3000–4000px wide. If your blog displays that photo at 800px, you are shipping four times the pixels readers never see. Screenshots saved as PNG can also balloon when they contain gradients or photos. Compression alone cannot fix a file that is simply too large in dimensions — start with the display size you need.
Resize before you compress
Open Resize Image and set the width (or height) your theme or CMS expects. Keep aspect ratio locked so portraits do not stretch. For a deeper pixel checklist, read how to resize images for your website. Only after the dimensions match should you worry about quality sliders.
Pick the right format
- Photos: JPG or WebP for the smallest size at acceptable quality.
- Graphics with transparency: PNG (or WebP with alpha when your stack supports it).
- Wrong source type: use Convert Format before compressing so you are not fighting the wrong codec.
Compress with a quality preset
Open Compress Image and try a High or Balanced preset first. Compare the preview against the original — gradients, faces, and thin UI text show artifacts first. Drop quality only until you hit the portal or email limit. Aggressive compression on passport-style faces is usually a mistake; gentle compression after a correct resize works better.
WebP for modern sites
If your site or CDN serves WebP, convert masters with Image to WebP after resizing. Keep a JPG fallback for email clients and older systems. WebP often beats JPG on photographic content at the same visual quality.
Build PDFs from optimized images
Emailing scans or homework photos? Compress (and resize) each image, then use Image to PDF or JPG to PDF. If the PDF is still large, finish with Compress PDF — see compress a PDF without losing quality.
FAQ — image compression
Will compression make my photo blurry?
Strong settings can. Always preview. Resize to the display size first so you are not crushing a huge file into a tiny byte budget.
Is Compress Image free on PdfPeaks?
Yes for standard use — no signup required, files processed over HTTPS and removed afterward.
PNG or JPG after compression?
Photos usually leave as JPG or WebP. Keep PNG when you need a transparent background (for example after Remove Background).
Start with Compress Image on PdfPeaks — free and private.
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