Image and media optimisation after converting an AI site to WordPress
How an IT expert handles images, video and media after an AI to WordPress conversion: formats, sizes, alt text, lazy loading and CDN.
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Why images deserve their own plan
On most websites images make up the largest part of the page weight. AI builders often hide this by serving images through their own optimisation service. After a conversion to WordPress that service is gone, and a page that loaded quickly before can suddenly ship several megabytes of photos. I have seen converted homepages where one hero image was larger than the rest of the site combined.
Image optimisation is therefore not a cosmetic detail. It directly affects loading speed, Core Web Vitals and how visitors experience the site on mobile networks.
Start with an inventory
After the conversion I list all images in the media library with their dimensions and file sizes. A simple sort by size immediately shows the worst offenders. Often a handful of images cause most of the problem: screenshots saved as PNG, photos uploaded at camera resolution, or decorative backgrounds that could be a simple CSS gradient.
I also check whether every image actually arrived. Images that were loaded from a temporary storage link on the old platform sometimes need to be downloaded and uploaded manually.
Formats and sizes
WordPress automatically creates several sizes of each uploaded image and uses responsive srcset attributes so browsers can choose the right one. I make sure the theme defines sensible sizes that match the layout. For formats, I convert photos to WebP or AVIF, either through the host or a plugin, while keeping a fallback for older browsers.
A good rule of thumb is that no content image should be wider than about twice its displayed width. Anything larger is wasted bandwidth.
Lazy loading, but not everywhere
WordPress lazy-loads images by default, which is excellent for images further down the page. The main image at the top, however, should load immediately, because it usually determines the Largest Contentful Paint. I mark that image as high priority and exclude it from lazy loading. This single change often improves the LCP score more than any other optimisation.
I also set explicit width and height attributes, so the layout does not jump while images load.
Alternative text and file names
During migration I fill in alternative text for informative images and leave decorative images with empty alternative text. Descriptive file names help too, both for editors searching the media library and for image search. This work is repetitive, but it improves accessibility and SEO at the same time.
I give the editorial team a short guideline so new uploads follow the same standard.
Video and animations
AI-built sites sometimes use autoplaying background videos or heavy animation files. In WordPress I either host short videos on a CDN with a poster image, or embed longer videos from a video platform using a lightweight facade that loads the player only when clicked. Animations are simplified to CSS where possible.
Visitors rarely miss a background video, but they always notice a slow page.
Delivering media through a CDN
A CDN stores images on servers close to the visitor and often converts formats on the fly. Combined with page caching, it makes a converted WordPress site as fast as, or faster than, the original. I test the result with field data in Search Console over several weeks, because lab scores alone do not show real-world performance.
Small differences in image quality after compression are normal and can be tuned per image. The goal is a fast site that still looks sharp.