Start with the right format, remove invisible metadata, and lower quality in small measured steps. Resize only when the displayed dimensions are smaller than the source.

Begin with the use case

A 4000-pixel camera photo shown at 900 pixels is carrying detail the page cannot display. A small logo stored as JPEG is using the wrong compression model. The correct first move depends on the pixels, not a universal quality number.

Choose the format before chasing settings

JPEG suits opaque photographs. PNG suits sharp graphics and transparency. WebP covers both with broad browser support. AVIF can be smaller but costs more CPU to encode.

  • Keep transparency in PNG, WebP, or AVIF.
  • Do not convert a crisp text screenshot to low-quality JPEG.
  • Use a compatible fallback when your destination cannot read modern formats.

Measure the result

Compare at the size people will actually see. Look at faces, hair, small type, gradients, and hard color edges. A byte saving is not useful when it damages the important part of the image.

  • Use Smart mode as a strong starting point.
  • Use Quality mode when you want direct codec control.
  • Use Exact Size only when a hard upload cap is the real requirement.