WordPress really did make website creation and management easier and more accessible to everyone. However, many of its features are yet to be discovered by the users. As for today, we are going to learn about editing tools offered by WordPress.
WordPress does have an image editor, not really packed with features, though. In fact, it is quite basic but it is good nevertheless, if you need a quick fix to your photos and have no other editing tools ready.
You do not need to install any other interesting WordPress plug-ins: crop and cut photos, scaling, rotating, and flipping are already built-in WordPress. Let’s discover how to gain access to these WordPress image editing opportunities!
WordPress Functions for Editing Images
Image Uploading
Before we get to the editing, we have to find what image to change. In order to add a new picture, go to Media-Add New. From there, you can either drag and drop or choose an image through the “Select image” button.
You can also edit the images that are already in the library! Instead of uploading, simply click on the image that needs some editing.
After you have uploaded or selected an image, you will see attachment details. In this section, you can give your image a name, caption, alt text (for better inclusivity), and description (for search rankings). Under the image itself, you will see the button “Edit the image”. Click on it to start editing. Also, make sure to neatly group the images in order to simplify the future process of working with them.
Cropping
In order to crop out the unnecessary details or simply change the picture from landscape to square, you need the first option on the upper bar in the editing tool – the crop. After you have pressed the icon of cropping, you can start working with the picture. Use the mouse to define which part of the image you want to stay.
Scaling
Website speed matters both for ranking and users themselves. If your loading is longer than 3 seconds, the majority of users are likely to leave the page and never come back. They are likely to think that your website contains some viruses even and is dangerous for the computer, and we do not think it is a sign of great user experience. The time that you should be aiming for is under a second!
One of the ways to reach this is to scale down the pictures. Too high-quality pictures take a lot of time to load. It does not mean that you have to use an awful quality of two pixels, but scaling down pictures a little bit will go a long way.
In order to scale the image, take a look at the box “Scale image” on the right. You can scale either height or width; the second parameter will be calculated automatically so that the ratio of the picture does not get distorted.
Another way to decrease the loading time is to choose a lightweight theme in WordPress.
Rotating
The next two icons after the cropping option are rotating. The first icon will rotate the picture 90 degrees anti-clockwise, the second will do the same clockwise.
Flipping
You can either flip images vertically (upside down, icon 4) or horizontally (mirror image, icon 5).
Do not forget to press the “Save” button after you have finished the editing!
Advanced Editing Options
As we have already mentioned, this editing is quite basic. If you want to draw on the picture, put some effects on it to fit your aesthetic, or change the objects within the picture, you will need more advanced tools.
The most popular editing tool is Photoshop. It offers a very impressive variety of tools; there is barely anything you can do with Photoshop: artists manage to create surreal pictures in there that seem so real! It is also available on both Mac or Windows, which makes it even more popular among editors. However, advanced editing requires advanced skills – it takes some time to learn how to edit pictures professionally with Photoshop. The tool is quite pricey, too.
If you just want to add effects or text, you do not really need such an advanced tool. For example, you may use:
Picverse by Movavi
Photo editing with Movavi becomes an easy and enjoyable process. Picverse by Movavi offers a set of tools that goes beyond the traditional functions as it utilizes the power of Artificial Intelligence. AI color optimization, old image restoration, precise project removal, and over 100 high-quality filters are only some of the functions provided by this software.
Canva
Canva is a perfect solution for those who have zero knowledge of Photoshop but still want to create pictures or edit them. There are plenty of templates, icons, elements, lines, fonts, etc. Even the free version offers a lot of exciting editing opportunities.
PixlrX
This free editing tool is unique since it offers layers, just like in Photoshop, which makes it more advanced than Canva. You can combine multiple images in one, sharpen, change colors and brightness all you want.
While choosing the photo editing software, make sure that it is compatible with your operating system. In case you are struggling with loading these tools or they seem to be too slow, do not forget to check your computer for ransomware!
Conclusion
You can easily edit pictures with WordPress; all the basic tools are built-in. It is a great option if you need to change something really quickly and have no access to editing software. With WordPress image editor, you can crop images to create an aesthetically pleasing page, scale them down for faster loading, rotate, or flip the pictures. However, more advanced editing like adding text or using effects is not available in WordPress. Using external editing software makes sense in such cases.