Images are an important part of any website or system.
They help to make the content more engaging and visually appealing.
However, if images are not properly optimized, they can also slow down a site or app.
Why Optimize Images?
There are a few reasons why its important to optimize images.
One is to use the Image component.
This component automatically optimizes images for performance.
Another way to optimize images is to use built-in image processing capabilities.
Next.js can automatically resize, compress, and optimize images for performance.
Finally, you might use a third-party library like react-optimized-image.
This library provides a variety of image optimization capabilities.
Using the Image Component
The Image component is the easiest way to optimize images in Next.js.
To use it, simply import the component from thenext/imagepackage.
Once youve imported the component, you could use it like any other in React.
it’s possible for you to also use CSS ora framework like Tailwindto style your app and images.
Some of the required props for the Image component are width, height, src, and alt.
The src prop is the URL of the image that you want to use.
Use the width and height props to set the width and height of the image, in pixels.
The alt prop is the alternate text for the image.
Some optional props for the Image component are layout, loader, placeholder, and priority.
The layout prop specifies the layout of the image.
you could use the loader prop to specify a custom image loader.
The placeholder prop specifies a custom image placeholder.
The priority prop specifies the priority of the image.
This library provides a variety of image optimization capabilities.
Some of the features of react-optimized-image include:
To use react-optimized-image, simply plant the library with npm.
Once youve installed the library, you’ve got the option to import it into your project.
it’s possible for you to also use SVG files with react-optimized-image.
This example uses the className prop to specify a class name for the SVG.
react-optimized-image also provides a few other benefits over the built-in image optimization capabilities.
One benefit of using a package over built-in features is that it can automatically generate different sizes of images.
This means that you dont have to create different versions of the same image.
Another benefit is that it can automatically serve the appropriate size of image for the users machine.
Finally, react-optimized-image is a completelyopen-source project.
Which Method Should You Use?
So, which method should you use to optimize images in Next.js?
This is the easiest way to get started with image optimization.
If you need more control over image optimization, then you could use a third-party library like react-optimized-image.
This library provides more advanced image optimization capabilities.
This will give you the best of both worlds.
However, this approach is not recommended for beginners since it requires more setup.
Googles algorithm takes into account the loading speed of websites and apps.
If your website or app loads slowly, it will negatively impact your SEO.
After that, you’re able to also add open graph protocol for even better performance.