Preparing images for a blog post is the kind of job that quietly eats an afternoon. Open one photograph, resize it, compress it, export it, and repeat — twenty times, with the same settings, while trying not to lose track of which files are done. It is boring, it invites mistakes, and it is exactly the kind of repetitive work that a batch workflow removes. Done in one pass, twenty images take minutes, and every one of them comes out with the same dimensions and quality.

Image Optimizer handles up to 20 images at once, in the browser, with a ZIP download of the results. That batch size maps neatly onto a typical blog post: a hero image, a handful of step photos, and a few detail shots. This post sets out a repeatable routine for that batch, from gathering the files to checking the finished set before upload.

Step one: gather and name before you start

Batch work rewards a little preparation. Before opening the tool, put the post's images in one folder and give them clear names in the order they will appear: 01-hero-soup.jpg, 02-chopping.jpg, 03-simmering.jpg, and so on. Numbered names survive the batch process in order, which makes uploading far easier than sorting through a pile of camera filenames like IMG_4821 and IMG_4822 afterwards.

While you are there, throw out the images you will not use. A batch of twenty should be twenty keepers, not twenty candidates. Deleting the near-duplicates now saves you from optimising a photograph you later discard, and it keeps the finished ZIP tidy. If a picture needs a crop — a distracting edge, a tilted horizon — do that thinking now, so the batch settings can stay the same for everything that remains.

This is also the moment to decide your target width. Look at your blog layout: how wide is the widest image display? For many blogs it is between 800 and 1200 pixels. Write the number down and use it for the whole batch. Consistent widths mean consistent-looking posts, and they stop the common problem where one image is crisp and the next is soft because they were exported at different sizes.

Step two: one set of settings for the whole batch

With the files ready, load them into the tool in one go and apply the same settings to all of them: resize to your target width, compress photographs at a sensible quality, and convert to your chosen format where it helps. The point of a batch is consistency. If you fiddle with each image individually, you lose the time saving and reintroduce the variation you were trying to avoid.

There are two sensible exceptions. First, graphics with text or transparency — a logo, a diagram, a chart — should not be compressed like photographs; keep those as PNG or lossless WebP, and consider running them as a separate small batch. Second, an image with large smooth areas, like a sky or a plain wall, may need a slightly higher quality setting than a busy scene. Run the main batch first, then re-run just those one or two images at higher quality if the check below shows problems.

The tool reports before-and-after sizes for each file, which is your quality control at a glance. A photograph that barely shrinks may already have been small; one that shrinks by 95 percent deserves a visual check, because extreme savings sometimes mean the quality setting was too aggressive for that picture. Numbers flag the suspects; your eyes make the call.

Worked example: a fictional recipe post in one pass

Sara, a fictional food writer at example.org, is preparing a post with 20 images: one hero shot, twelve step photographs, four detail close-ups, and three images of the finished dish from different angles. Her blog displays images at 1000 pixels wide. She names the files 01 through 20 in post order, drops the three near-duplicates she does not need, and loads the remaining 17 into the tool.

She sets one rule for the batch: resize to 1100 pixels wide, compress at quality 80, and export as WebP, since her platform supports it. The before-and-after sizes tell the story: the set falls from roughly 55 MB of camera originals to about 2.5 MB in total. She downloads the single ZIP, unzips it into her post folder, and spot-checks five images at display size — the hero, one busy step photo, one smooth-gradient shot, and two finished-dish angles. The gradient shot shows faint banding in the background, so she re-runs just that one file at higher quality and swaps it in.

Total time: under fifteen minutes for seventeen images, including the check. The old way — opening each file in an editor, resizing, exporting, and saving one by one — would have taken well over an hour and produced less consistent results. The batch also leaves her with a clean folder of finished files in post order, ready to upload in sequence without hunting.

For format choices within a batch like this, the guide to image formats explains when WebP, JPEG and PNG each earn their place.

Step three: check, then upload in order

Never upload a batch unchecked. Open the finished files, or at least a representative sample, at display size. Check the hero image first, since it is the most seen, then any image with smooth gradients or fine text, since those reveal compression problems earliest. Look for blocky patches, banding in skies, and blurred lettering. If one image fails the check, re-run just that image at higher quality rather than redoing the whole batch.

Upload in the numbered order, and keep the originals in a separate folder. The originals are your insurance: if the blog redesigns to a wider layout next year, or a print version needs larger files, you can run a fresh batch from the originals instead of stretching the small exports. The finished batch folder is for publishing; the originals folder is for the future. Keeping both, clearly labelled, is a small habit that prevents a large regret.

Finally, resist the urge to re-optimise an already optimised image. Running a compressed JPEG through another round of compression throws away more detail for a small extra saving, and repeated cycles visibly degrade photographs. Always batch from the originals, never from last month's exports.

Honest limitations

Batch settings are a compromise by design: one quality level across many pictures will be slightly too high for some and slightly too low for others. That is the trade-off for speed, and the spot-check step exists to catch the cases that matter. Batch tools also work within browser limits, so extremely large originals or very many files at once can be slow, and a batch is no substitute for editing: it will not fix poor lighting, bad composition, or a blurry photograph. Crop and selection decisions still need a human before the batch starts.

FAQs

How many images can I process at once?

The tool handles up to 20 images in one batch, which covers most blog posts. If a post needs more, split it into two batches with the same settings so the results stay consistent.

Should graphics and photographs share one batch?

Better to separate them. Photographs suit lossy compression, while logos, diagrams and text graphics need lossless handling to keep their edges sharp. Two short batches beat one batch with the wrong settings for half its files.

What if one image in the batch looks bad?

Re-run just that image at a higher quality setting and swap it into the finished set. There is no need to redo the whole batch, and the rest of the images are unaffected.

Do I need to keep the originals after batching?

Yes. The batch output is sized for today's layout. If the layout widens, or you need a print version, fresh exports from the originals will look far better than enlarging the small files.

If a post needs a printable version of its images, JPG to PDF combines them into one PDF, and Scan to PDF handles photographed pages that need cleaning up first.

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