Camberley & District

Website Guidelines

Image file-size

A website will have multiple files uploaded.  These include image files (.JPG, .PNG, .WEBP files).  Reducing the file size before uploading to the website will have several advantages:

  • Faster loading of webpages
  • Less storage on the website

Images from cameras can be huge, with files of 6MB (and bigger) being commonplace. An image for a webpage should not need to be more than 400KB and smaller image files can be <100KB

Care should be taken to avoid creating multiple copies of the same file. The Media Library will provide the information needed.

I have done a lot of work to reduce the number of files stored in the website. Even after a lot of work, there is still more to be done. On the website in mid-2025, some 1GB is used by some 500 image and pdf files – about 67% of these image files are no longer used.

We need to take care to categorise image files so they can be removed when they are no longer needed. The plugin FileBird is used to enable us to categorise the image and pdf files. FileBird enables us to put files into a named ‘folder’ – the name indicating where/when the files are used – this may help us to identify the old files, which can be removed later.

Tips to reduce image file size

  • Load the large image file onto the screen using your favourite image viewer.
    Adjust the image size and shape on the screen to be about the same dimensions it will be when displayed on the website.
  • Use the Windows screenshot option (WIN, SHFT, S) to capture the image, cropping out the bits you don’t want. This is an opportunity to adjust both the image dimensions and aspect ratio.
  • The resulting image file (it may be saved in /Pictures/Screenshots as a PNG file) can be used for the website. The PNG file is not always smaller than the original JPG file; despite cropping out the unwanted parts.
  • Use the website tinyjpg.com to reduce the size of the image files further. Savings of 75% can be achieved.
  • The website can process both JPG and PNG files.

PDF file-size

PDF files can also be quite large. The size of PDF files can be reduced without significant impact on quality.

Tips to reduce the size of PDF files

  • Use smallpdf.com to compress the size of PDF files
  • Adobe also offers a way to compress PDF files
  • Other PDF compression tools are available – pdfcompressor.com