Batch Image Processing: Resize, Compress, Convert

You have 50 product photos. They need to be resized for your website, compressed for fast loading, and cropped into squares for Instagram. Doing this one image at a time would take hours.

Batch processing is how you get it done in minutes.

Why Batch Processing Matters

Every platform has its own image requirements. A single product photo might need to exist in six different sizes. Multiply that by your entire catalog, and manual processing becomes impossible.

Batch processing means applying the same operation -- resize, compress, convert, or crop -- to multiple images at once. Same settings, consistent results, a fraction of the time.

Platform Size Reference

Here's what the major platforms expect in 2026:

| Platform | Image Type | Recommended Size | |----------|-----------|-----------------| | Instagram | Feed post (square) | 1080 x 1080 px | | Instagram | Story / Reel | 1080 x 1920 px | | Instagram | Profile picture | 320 x 320 px | | Twitter/X | In-feed image | 1200 x 675 px | | Twitter/X | Header | 1500 x 500 px | | LinkedIn | Shared post | 1200 x 627 px | | LinkedIn | Cover photo | 1584 x 396 px | | Facebook | Shared image | 1200 x 630 px | | Facebook | Cover photo | 820 x 312 px | | YouTube | Thumbnail | 1280 x 720 px | | Website | Hero image | 1920 x 1080 px | | Website | Blog thumbnail | 800 x 450 px | | Email | Header image | 600 x 200 px |

Bookmark this. You'll reference it constantly.

Batch Resize Strategy

Don't resize to every platform size from the original. Start with the largest size and work down:

1. Start with the highest quality original (at least 3000px wide)
2. Create your largest needed size (e.g., 1920px hero image)
3. Derive smaller sizes from there (1200px, 1080px, 800px, 600px)

This prevents upscaling artifacts and keeps your workflow organized. Name files consistently: product-name-1200x630.jpg, product-name-1080x1080.jpg.

Batch Compression for Web

Uncompressed images are the number one cause of slow websites. A typical smartphone photo is 4-8MB. Your web version should be under 200KB.

JPEG compression: For photos, 75-85% quality is the sweet spot. Below 70%, artifacts become visible. Above 90%, the file size barely improves.

PNG compression: For graphics with transparency, sharp edges, or text. PNG compression is lossless, so it optimizes without quality loss.

WebP: 25-35% smaller than JPEG at equivalent quality. Most browsers support it now. Use it as your primary web format with JPEG fallback.

AVIF: Even better compression than WebP, but slower to encode and not yet universally supported. Worth using if your stack supports it.

Batch Format Conversion

Different contexts need different formats:

Print materials: Use TIFF or high-quality PNG. Lossless formats preserve every detail.

Web photos: JPEG or WebP. Lossy compression is fine for photographs.

Web graphics: PNG for transparency, SVG for icons and illustrations.

Social media: JPEG or PNG. Most platforms re-compress uploads anyway, so start with the best quality that meets their size limits.

The image converter handles format conversion while preserving quality settings.

Batch Cropping for Social Media

The biggest time sink: creating platform-specific crops from a single image. A landscape photo needs to become a square for Instagram, a wide banner for Twitter, and a vertical story.

Tips for efficient cropping:

• Shoot wide. Give yourself room to crop in any direction.
• Center important elements. They'll survive any aspect ratio.
• Use rule of thirds. It works for most crop ratios.
• Batch crop by aspect ratio. Group all 1:1 crops together, then all 16:9, then all 9:16.

The image crop tool lets you set precise dimensions for each batch.

A Practical Workflow

Here's how to process a set of product photos efficiently:

1. Organize originals in a single folder, named consistently
2. Batch resize to your largest needed dimension
3. Batch crop into required aspect ratios (square, landscape, portrait)
4. Batch compress each size for web delivery
5. Batch convert to WebP with JPEG fallbacks if needed
6. Verify a sample from each batch before uploading

This workflow turns an all-day task into a 30-minute process.

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Image processing doesn't have to be tedious. Set up a consistent workflow, know your target dimensions, and use batch tools to handle the repetitive work. Your future self will thank you every time a new batch of photos arrives.