Need a workflow for exporting images for Wordpress

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2021-12-22 19:32:00

I'm starting with PNG and JPG images of maps. Each is sized about 1140px wide, variable px high. Export sizes (non-retina sizes) are 400x300 px, 1024x768 px, and 600x300 px.

My workflow confusion: if I want a 400x300 image, do I rescale the full-sized version to 400x300 and then do Export for Web with a 1x setting? Or do I plan for retina resolutions and scale to 800x600 and export a 1x (for retina screens) and a 0.5x (non-retina)?

Also, do I export four images (WebP 1x, WebP 0.5x, JPG 1x, JPG 0.5x)?

I'm assuming Wordpress will automatically use the WebP or JPG version, and the higher or lower sized version, as per the user's display. Is that a valid assumption?

Hoping to get a workflow that handles Wordpress's image needs. Articles on the web handle parts of the workflow--nothing from start to finish.

Thanks!
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2022-01-03 11:05:11

Hi Carta. From what I've found after doing a quick search online, I don't think there is a way for WordPress to automatically choose and display a particular scaling or image format for a particular display type. You'd either have to set it up manually or use dedicated WordPress plugins to help speed things up. That's something WordPress support should be able to tell you more about.

When preparing raster images in Pixelmator Pro specifically for displaying on Retina and non-Retina screens, you'd always want to work your way down from the largest image version you've got. This is important because when you're scaling regular images up, pixels get stretched, so a scaled-up image, though larger in pixel size, will usually appear worse on a large display.

Since the original images you're working with are not very large, to begin with, you'll probably want to try something a bit more unconventional to make the best of the quality you've got. For instance:

1. Use Image > Image Size to scale the 1140 px image down to 1024x768. Export it at 1x for Retina and 0.5x for non-Retina dispays.
2. Scale the 1140 px image down to 800x600. Export it at 1x for Retina (800x600) and 0.5x for non-Retina (400x300) displays.
3. The 600x300 px image is where you run into a bit of an issue. The Retina version of this image would have to be 1200x600 px which is slightly larger than your original 1140 px image. Here, I'd suggest taking advantage of the ML Super Resolution algorithm. It will let you scale up the image while preserving details and sharpness. Then, again, export it at 1x for Retina (1200x600) and 0.5x for non-Retina (600x300) displays.

As for choosing the image formats — though a lot of web browsers and servers already support WebP, it still isn't a particularly widely used format or a web standard for that matter. So JPEG is always the safest option.

Hope that helps!
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2022-01-03 21:08:28

Wow! That's a lot of great information, Aurelija!

All of my images are at a large size so having to scale up and then back down won't be a scenario I'll need. But it is interesting that your ML resolution function can scale sizes up. I've wondered about scaling some up for print on canvas (which, with a rough surface texture would hide some of the pixel-stretching). That's my theory, at least.

Thanks again. I really enjoy Pixelmator Pro and hope to get it when I eventually buy an iPad Pro.