5 Best WordPress Image Compression Plugins Compared

Are you looking for the best WordPress image compression plugin for your website? Image compression plugins allow you to easily optimize images in WordPress for better speed and performance. In this article, we have compared the best image compression plugins for WordPress.

When Do You Need a WordPress Image Compression Plugin?

Images are larger in size than plain text which means they take longer to load and can slow down your website.

However you’ve probably heard the saying: “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Images make your content more engaging and interactive.

To improve your WordPress website speed, you need to optimize your images for the web. The best way to do this is by using Photoshop or another image editing software before you upload the image to WordPress. This gives you a lot more control on the quality of images on your website.

However, not all users are comfortable working with image editing program. For some optimizing every single image they upload sounds like a lot of work.

Luckily, there are several WordPress image compression plugins that can help you with that. These plugins optimize your images by automatically compressing them and using the smaller sized version on your website.

That being said, let’s take a look at the best WordPress image compression plugins, and how they stack up in terms of image optimization, performance, and quality.

1. reSmush.it

reSmush.it is the best WordPress image compression plugin. It allows you to automatically optimize images on upload as well as offer a bulk optimization option for older images.

It uses the reSmush API to optimize images and allows you to choose the optimization level for your uploads. The downside is that it doesn’t have different compression levels. It also limits optimization to uploads lower than 5MB in size. You can exclude individual images from compression in case you need to add an image in full size.

2. EWWW Image Optimizer

EWWW Image Optimizer is a great option for WordPress image compression plugin. It is easy to use and can automatically optimize images you upload on the fly. It can also compress and optimize your previously uploaded images in bulk.

It performs all compression on your own servers which means you don’t need to sign up for an account to get an API key. It can also optimize images generated by other WordPress plugins and stored outside your media library folders. It doesn’t require an account to use the plugin, but you can sign up for their API to get additional features.

3. Compress JPEG & PNG images

Compress JPEG & PNG is created by the team behind TinyPNG, and you will need to create an account to use the plugin. You can only optimize 100 images each month with the free account. It can automatically compress images upon upload, and you can also bulk optimize older images.

The plugin settings allow you to choose which image sizes you want to optimize. Additionally, you can also set a maximum size for your original uploads. Images larger than that size will be automatically resized by the plugin.

4. ShortPixel Image Optimizer

ShortPixel Image Optimizer is another useful WordPress image compression plugin. It requires you to get an API key by providing your email address. The basic free account allows you to compress up to 100 images per month, and you will need to upgrade to their paid plans to increase this limit.

It starts compressing images as soon you as activate plugin and stores your original images in a separate folder. It also allows you to compare the original file with the compressed version to see the quality difference. ShortPixel is packed with advanced features and gives you the ability to choose comparison formats.

5. WP Smush

WP Smush is another popular WordPress image compression plugin. It automatically compresses images on upload and can also be used to compress and optimize your older image files. You can also set maximum image resolution, and your images will scale down to more reasonable sizes while being compressed.

The free version of plugin doesn’t require you to create an account to use their API key. The bulk optimization feature allows you to optimize up to 50 images at a time, and you can rerun the bulk optimizer to compress more images.

The free version of the plugin doesn’t perform that well. See our review of WP Smush with pros and cons.

Comparison Test Scores for Image Compression Plugins

Now that you know about the different WordPress image compression options, let’s take a look at how they compare against each other in terms of performance.

To measure this, we ran test by uploading the same image using each of these plugins.

Testing JPEG Image Compression

We used the following JPEG image for our tests, it is 118 KB in file size.

We didn’t touch any of the plugin settings and tested the compression with out of the box settings. Here are our test results:

Plugin	Compressed Size	Saved (%)	Method
reSmush.it	76 KB	30.59%	Lossless
EWWW Image Optimizer	112 KB	5%	Lossless
Compress JPEG & PNG images	114.7 KB	2.8 %	Lossy
ShortPixel Image Optimizer	69.2 KB	41.94%	Lossy
WP Smush	112 KB	5%	Lossless

Testing PNG Image Compression

Next we wanted to test a PNG image to see how our contenders optimize it.

We used the following PNG image for the test, and it is 102 KB in file size.

Here are our test results:

Plugin	Compressed Size	Saved (%)	Method
reSmush.it	36 KB	63.8%	Lossless
EWWW Image Optimizer	97.5 KB	1.9%	Lossless
Compress JPEG & PNG images	34.3	64%	Lossy
ShortPixel Image Optimizer	37 KB	63.5%	Lossy
WP Smush	99 KB	2.9%	Lossless

Which is The Best Image Compression Plugin for WordPress?

If you are not looking for flexible options in your image compression plugin, then reSmush.it gives you the best results in terms of performance by making the real difference in image file size.

If you are willing to pay for image compression, then you can try ShortPixel which performed really well in our tests.

EWWW Image Optimizer is a great plugin with flexible settings, but you will need their paid API key to get access to compression levels which make the real difference.

We hope you found this comparison of best WordPress image compression plugins useful. You may also want to see our list of common image issues in WordPress and how to fix them.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 5 Best WordPress Image Compression Plugins Compared appeared first on WPBeginner.

Source: Wordpres

Anik

How to Use Shortcodes in your WordPress Sidebar Widgets

Do you want to learn how to use shortcodes in your WordPress sidebar widgets? Shortcodes allow you to do add additional features in your WordPress post content and other areas of your website. In this article, we will show you how to use shortcodes in your WordPress sidebar widgets.

What Are Shortcodes?

Shortcodes allow you to add dynamic items like contact form, tables, and others inside your WordPress content area.

You can also use shortcodes in your widgets to add these dynamic items in your sidebars and other widget-ready area.

Let’s take a look at how to easily add and use shortcodes in your WordPress sidebar widgets.

Method 1: Adding Shortcode in WordPress Sidebar Using Text Widget

First thing you need to do is drag & drop a Text widget to your WordPress sidebar on the Appearance » Widgets screen in your dashboard. After adding the widget, you can simply add your shortcode inside the text edit area of the widget.

Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save’ button to store your widget settings.

You can now visit your website and see the shortcode in action.

Method 2: Adding Shortcode in WordPress Using Custom HTML Widget

Sometimes you may want to add custom HTML code around your shortcode which may not work so well in the plain text widget. In that case, you will need to add your shortcode using the ‘Custom HTML’ widget.

By default, shortcodes are not allowed to be executed in a custom HTML widget. To change this, you will need to add the following code to your theme’s functions.php file or a site-specific plugin.

add_filter( 'widget_text', 'do_shortcode' );

After that, you can simply add a ‘Custom HTML’ widget to your sidebar and add your shortcode inside it.

Don’t forget to click on the save button to store your widget settings.

You can now visit your website to see your shortcode in action.

We hope this article helped you learn how to easily add shortcode to your WordPress sidebar widgets. You may also want to see these essential tips for using shortcodes in WordPress.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Use Shortcodes in your WordPress Sidebar Widgets appeared first on WPBeginner.

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Anik

How to Create an Interactive Poll in WordPress (Step by Step)

Do you want to run an online poll on your WordPress site? Polls are an interactive way to engage your audience, while getting useful information from them. In this article, we will show you how to easily create and add a poll in your WordPress website.

Which Tool to Choose for Adding a Poll in WordPress?

There are plenty of WordPress plugins and online tools that allow you to embed polls on your WordPress site. Many of them require you to create an account, some store data on their own servers, and others have terrible user experience.

If you are looking for a good user experience, with full control on poll data, then you’ll need WPForms. It is the best WordPress form builder plugin and their pro plan includes powerful surveys and polls addon.

With WPForms, you’ll be able to do the following:

• Create polls in WordPress using a drag and drop form builder
• Gather poll results on your own websites
• Show votes count when user submit their vote
• Display poll anywhere on your website
• Show poll results anywhere on your website

Having said that, let’s take a look at how to easily create online polls in WordPress using WPForms.

Disclosure: WPForms is created by the same team behind WPBeginner. It is one of our premium WordPress plugins.

Creating Online Polls in WordPress

First thing you need to do is install and activate the WPForms plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

WPForms survey and polls addon is part of their Pro plan which you’ll have to purchase. WPBeginner users get an additional 10% off by using the WPForms coupon code: WPB10.

Upon activation, you need to visit the WPForms » Settings page to enter your license key. You can find this information from your WPForms account.

Next, you need to visit WPForms » Addons page and scroll down to the Surveys and Polls addon. Go ahead and click on the Install addon button. Once installed, you need to click the ‘Activate’ button to start using the addon.

Now you are ready to create an online poll.

You can start by going to WPForms » Add New page to create a new form. This will launch the WPForms’ drag and drop form builder interface.

First you need to provide a title for your poll form and then click on the Poll Form template.

This will load a pre-made poll form template with example fields already added into the form.

You can just point and click to edit any field, rearrange them with drag and drop, or remove them. You can also add new form fields from the left column.

Poll results can be collected and displayed for any of the following field types:

• Dropdown
• Checkboxes
• Multiple Choice

Next, you need to click on the settings button from the left menu and then click on Surveys and Polls tab. Here you can enable or disable poll results.

By default, WPForms poll template will display poll results to users after they submit their vote. If you uncheck this option, then users will not see the poll results.

Instead, you can show users a custom message or redirect them to another page or URL. You can configure the confirmation setting by clicking on the ‘Confirmation’ tab.

Once you have created the poll form, go ahead and click on the save button to store your form settings. You can now click on the close button to exit the form builder.

Adding The Poll to Your WordPress Website

WPForms makes it quite easy to add your online poll anywhere on your website including posts, pages, custom post types, and sidebar widgets.

Simply edit the post, page, or post type where you want to add the poll. On the post edit screen, click on the ‘Add Form’ button.

This will bring up a popup where you can select the poll form you created earlier and click on the insert form button to continue.

You will now see the form shortcode added into the post editor.

You can save or publish your post/page and visit your website to see your poll in action.

You can also add your poll to a sidebar or widget ready area. To do that, you need to go to Appearance » Widgets page and drag the WPForms widget to a sidebar where you want to display the poll.

In the widget settings, you need to select the poll form you created earlier. You can also provide a title for the widget as well as show form name and description.

Don’t forget to click on the save button to store your widget settings. You can now visit your website to see your online poll displayed in a sidebar or another widget-ready area.

Viewing Live Poll Results

If you have enabled poll results, then your users will see the results after submitting their vote.

You can also view poll results at any time without submitting a vote. Simply visit WPForms » All Forms page and click on the ‘Survey Results’ link below your poll form.

This will take you to the poll results page where you will see poll responses in an interactive chart. You can change the charge type and export the results in JPEG, PDF, and print formats.

Embed Poll Results Anywhere in WordPress

WPForms also allows you to easily embed your online poll results anywhere on your website. This is particularly useful if you had disabled poll results and wanted to share them later.

Here is how to embed poll results in WordPress.

First you will need to find out your poll form’s ID. You can do this by going to WPForms » All Forms page and looking for the shortcode next to your poll form.

In the shortcode, you will find your poll’s ID number. For example, our test poll’s ID is 171 as shown in the screenshot above.

Next, you need to find out the field ID. This is the field in your form for which you want to show the results.

Simply edit your poll form and click on the poll field. You will find the field ID in the left column.

Now that you have both required IDs, you can go ahead and add the poll results shortcode like this:

[wpforms_poll form_id="171" field_id="1" label="true" counts="true"]

Don’t forget to replace the form ID and field ID values with your own. You can use this shortcode in WordPress posts, pages, and text widget.

We hope this article helped you create online poll in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to use contact form to grow your email list in WordPress.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Create an Interactive Poll in WordPress (Step by Step) appeared first on WPBeginner.

Source: Wordpres

Anik

31 Best WordPress Multi-purpose Themes

Are you looking for the best multi-purpose themes for your WordPress website? Multi-purpose themes are flexible WordPress templates that can be used to create almost any kind of website imaginable. In this article, we have hand-picked the best WordPress multi-purpose themes for your site.

Building a WordPress Website with a Multi-purpose Theme

First you need to make sure that you are using the right blogging platform. A self-hosted WordPress.org website gives you the flexibility to use all WordPress features out of the box. For more details, see our comparison of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.

To build a self-hosted WordPress.org website, you’ll need a domain name and website hosting.

We recommend using Bluehost. They are one of the largest hosting companies in the world and an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider.

After purchasing hosting, you can head over to our guide on how to make a website for step by step setup instructions.

That being said, let’s take a look at the best WordPress multi-purpose themes that you can use to build your website.

1. Ultra

Ultra is a super-flexible truly multi-purpose WordPress theme suitable for all kind of websites. It comes with multiple ready-made websites that can be installed with 1-click. It also includes a powerful drag and drop page builder to edit those designs.

Inside you will find unlimited layout choices, multiple sidebars, custom widgets, social media integration, unlimited colors, and more. Despite its flexibility, it is still fairly easy to use and can be easily set up with custom theme options page.

2. Spencer

Spencer is a modern and stylish WordPress multi-purpose theme suitable for all kind of business websites as well as blogs. It features a fully widgetized homepage layout that allows you to just drag and drop widgets to set it up.

It also includes multiple page templates, full width page template, custom widgets for social media and content discovery features. It can be easily set up using live customizer and supports all popular page builder plugins.

3. Create

Create is a powerful WordPress multipurpose theme featuring a modern and professional design. It includes a drag and drop homepage layout with support for free page builder plugin. It ships with a premium WordPress slider plugin as a bonus.

It includes parallax backgrounds, video backgrounds, mega menus, pricing tables, contact form, and more. It fully supports WooCommerce and can be easily used to start an online store.

4. Shoppe

Shoppe is a versatile WordPress WooCommerce theme with multi-purpose design and features. It comes with 4 website skins that can be installed with 1-click, and a powerful page builder to create your own page layouts if needed.

It also includes beautiful blog page templates, unlimited layout combinations, full social media integration, product share, ajax shopping cart, and more. You will find theme set up to be quite straightforward with custom theme options page.

See also: Shopify vs WooCommerce – Which one is better?

5. Indigo

Indigo is another powerful multi-purpose WordPress theme with a modular approach to design. It comes with several turnkey website designs that you can install with 1-click. You can also just drag and drop modules to create your own layout.

Other notable features include easy contact form page, Google Fonts, Google Maps, beautiful typography, built-in social sharing, and more. It is very easy to use and customize even for absolute beginners.

6. Hellomouse

Hellomouse is an elegant WordPress multi-purpose theme that can beautifully showcase photos, illustrations, portfolio, and blog posts in a grid layout. Using a minimalist design, it makes your content truly stand out.

Its homepage design is fully-widgetized and easy to setup. It also includes multiple widget ready areas, custom widgets, page builder support, and more. It can be easily set up using theme customizer with live preview of your website.

7. Parallax

Parallax is a modern and stylish WordPress multi-purpose theme using parallax backgrounds to create highly engaging homepage layout. It can also be used as a single page WordPress theme with vertical navigation.

This uniquely designed theme comes with a powerful page builder, portfolio section, several layout combinations, social media integration, contact form, and more. With unlimited colors, infinite layouts, page templates, and custom widgets you can make truly unique websites with in minutes.

8. Latest

Latest is a multipurpose WordPress theme for ecommerce websites, blogs, businesses, and magazine websites. This truly versatile WordPress theme includes all the options that you’ll actually use and none that you wouldn’t need.

It is designed to work out of the box with minimum tinkering which makes it very easy to use. It also includes a getting started guide to help you walk through the set up process.

9. Presence

As the name suggests, Presence is a WordPress theme for anyone who wants to build an online presence with strong brand recognition. This super-flexible WordPress theme comes with multiple website designs and color skins which allows you to create any kind of website you need.

It includes demos for real estate, music, church, portfolio, ecommerce, and other demos which help you set up your website with in minutes. All theme options are organized with theme dashboard page and live customizer.

10. Loft

If you are looking for gorgeous typography and a stunning layout for your ecommerce website, then checkout Loft. This beautiful multi-purpose WordPress theme features crisp typography, elegant design, and excellent user experience.

Notable features inbclude a sticky navigation menu, call to action buttons, custom widgets, services, portfolio, team members, and testimonials section.

11. Highend

Highend is another excellent choice for a multi-purpose WordPress theme. It comes with several ready-made demo templates with 1-click installer and a powerful drag and drop page builder.

It also includes several page templates with different styles, custom widgets, multiple sidebars, and navigation menu areas. You can easily add your portfolio, team members, photo galleries, and can even use it to build an ecommerce website.

12. Feltmag

Feltmag is a magazine style WordPress multipurpose theme for content rich websites. Its homepage features a fullscreen header, which is followed by your most important content in a grid layout.

It has two navigation menus on top, large featured images, multiple layout combinations, stylish headers, social icons, and more. It is designed to work out of the box and you will find plenty of customization options to make it uniquely yours.

13. Veni

Veni is a beautiful magazine style WordPress multipurpose theme suitable for blogs, magazines, and business websites. It comes with full WooCommerce support which allows you to easily add an online store to your website.

Other notable features includes portrait and landscape featured images, featured pages, flexible layouts, Google fonts, unlimited colors, contact form support, and more. It is super easy to customize and set up and includes a beginner friendly theme dashboard.

14. Creativo

Creativo is another powerful WordPress multi-purpose theme with 11 ready-made websites with 1-click install. Each one of these designs can be customized using a premium drag and drop builder plugin included with the theme.

It also has an easy to use custom theme options dashboard which helps you easily set up your website. Other features include multiple layout styles, different header styles, unlimited colors, sidebars, custom widgets, and more.

15. Bento

If you are looking for a free WordPress multi-purpose theme, then take a look at Bento. This stylish WordPress theme is designed to build any kind of website. It can be used with any page builder and even recommends one upon activation.

It has tons of neat features and flexible customization options, all easily organized under a live theme customizer.

16. Lenscap

Lenscap is a multi-purpose WordPress theme with a magazine style layout and full WooCommerce support. Its homepage features a large featured content slider and a category browser just below it.

It comes with a dynamic color scheme generator that automatically adjusts colors based on your selection. It also has multiple ready to use color schemes, lightbox popup for images and videos, product page templates, beautiful typography, and more. It is easy to use and utilizes live theme customizer for quicker setup.

17. Atmosphere Pro

Atmosphere Pro is a professional WordPress multi-purpose theme with minimalist design. It is built on top of Genesis theme framework which is known for speed and performance.

It has a widgetized homepage layout with 4 widget-ready areas. For setup, it has theme options panel and live customizer support. It is also eCommerce ready and can be easily used with WooCommerce.

18. OceanWP

OceanWP is a free WordPress multi-purpose theme with tons of powerful features. It comes with its own companion plugin and recommends installing a free page builder plugin upon activation.

It is super-easy to use, and you will find all theme options easy to understand. It includes multiple layout choices, full width pages, two navigation menus on top, custom logo support, and full WooCommerce support.

19. Nectar

Nectar is a spacious WordPress multi-purpose theme with a beautiful color scheme and stylish layout. Its homepage uses parallax slider on top, followed by call to action and your most important content.

It includes multiple layout combinations, portfolio and testimonials post types, custom widgets, multiple sidebars, and more. It comes with a theme options panel, which allows you to set up your website quickly without struggling with settings.

20. Plum

Plum is another free WordPress multi-purpose theme suitable for all kind of business websites and blogs. Its homepage features a beautiful slider on top, CSS animations, featured content area, and custom widgets.

This beginner friendly free WordPress theme also supports WooCommerce. All theme options can be easily set up using the live customizer.

21. Authority Pro

Authority Pro is a multi-purpose WordPress theme for bloggers, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and anyone who wants to build their personal brand. It is built on top of the rock solid Genesis theme framework and tested to work with all essential WordPress plugins.

It has a widgetized homepage layout with multiple widget ready areas, customizable header, theme options page, live customization support, and more. It is also WooCommerce ready, so you can use it to sell any kind of products.

22. Explorer

Need a flexible blog/magazine style WordPress theme? Check out Explorer. Its homepage features a sticky navigation menu on top, followed by your recent articles, and flexible sections.

It works with all top page builders which allows you to create your own page layouts if needed. It is translation ready, and can also be used to create multilingual WordPress websites.

23. Hestia

Hestia is a premium-like free WordPress multi-purpose theme for business, magazine, and blog websites. It comes with a free companion plugin, which adds client testimonials, services, and a homepage section to your website.

It includes multilingual support, translation ready, WooCommerce ready, and compatible with all top page builders. Theme set up is quite easy and all theme options are accessible through live customizer.

24. Inspiro

If you want to add video content to your website, then you will love Inspiro. This beautiful multi-purpose WordPress theme comes with fullscreen video backgrounds, a powerful portfolio section, and stunning images/video galleries.

It has custom widgets for portfolio items, multiple page templates, and a drag and drop page builder. It also has video lightbox allowing users to watch videos in distraction free mode.

25. Peak

If you intend to add lots of photos to your website, then take a look at Peak. This multi-purpose WordPress theme is designed for photography, artists, designers, bloggers, and anyone who wants to showcase their photos with style.

It includes multiple gallery styles, different page templates, animated widgets, page title banner and more. It is highly flexible yet simple and easy to use. All theme options are located under theme dashboard with simple set up instructions.

26. Struct

Struct is designed to be a flexible multi-purpose WordPress theme for business websites. Featuring a clean and professional design with large header image and strategically placed call to action buttons.

Its homepage layout is fully widgetized with custom widgets to easily add content discovery features anywhere. Other features included are services, projects, team members, and an FAQs section. It is very easy to use and suitable for beginners who need a professional business website.

27. Modules

Modules is a modular multipurpose WordPress theme with several turnkey designs that can be instantly setup. It allows you to easily change page layouts with simple drag and drop modules.

There are modules for all common website elements like pricing tables, recent posts, contact form, accordions, tabs, sliders, and more. It supports both TypeKit and Google Fonts for improved typography. It is easy to use and truly versatile in terms of design and features.

28. Mesmerize

Mesmerize is another great free WordPress theme with truly multi-purpose design. It packs tons of flexible options to easily create any kind of website without struggling with theme options or writing custom CSS.

It has a modern homepage design with 5 header styles and over 30 ready-to-use content sections that you can easily add. It also includes video backgrounds, slideshows, header content types, gradient overlays, and more.

29. Elegant

If you are looking for a clean and minimalist WordPress theme, then take a look at Elegant. This flexible WordPress theme features multiple homepage designs and comes in 6 color schemes. It also includes a 1-click demo installer for faster setup.

Inside you will find an integrated page builder, multi-column layouts, social media icons, portfolio, and complete WooCommerce support. It has a custom theme options page which makes customization easier for beginners.

30. True North

If you need a multi-purpose WordPress theme to showcase photos or portfolio, then True North will be an excellent choice. It has a built-in portfolio section which makes it easier to share your photographs or work samples.

Theme homepage uses a minimalist design with a grid layout of your portfolio or photography items. Other notable features include custom backgrounds, large headers, custom widgets, and live customization.

31. Float

For a modern and stylish look, check out Float. It is an all-purpose WordPress theme with beautiful parallax background effects on the homepage which create a very immersive user experience.

It packs multiple read-to-use demos with 1-click installer and you can choose from a number of layout choices for your pages and posts. Customizing theme to your own taste is easier with an integrated page builder and a powerful theme options panel.

We hope this article helped you find the best multi-purpose WordPress themes for your website. You may also want to see our ultimate step by step WordPress SEO guide for beginners.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 31 Best WordPress Multi-purpose Themes appeared first on WPBeginner.

Source: Wordpres

Anik