Shopify image limits
Shopify product images are widely reported to accept up to 4,472 × 4,472 px and 20 MB; 2,048 × 2,048 is a common choice for square product photos that zoom well. This preset sets a 2,048 px long edge and compresses to a sensible size.
Consistency matters
Shopify themes show product images in grids. Products shot at different ratios make uneven rows. Pick one ratio, square is the safest, and crop everything to it with resize and crop. Keep the product a similar size in each frame.
Page speed
Shopify serves images through its CDN and creates smaller versions for different screens, but the original you upload sets the ceiling for quality and the starting point for those versions. A clean 2,048 px JPEG or WebP at quality 80–85 is a good master: detailed enough for zoom, small enough not to slow your admin uploads.
WebP
Shopify accepts WebP. If you choose WebP here, files are typically 25–35% smaller than JPEG at the same quality, though Shopify may convert formats when serving.
Backgrounds
For catalogues on white, the product photo preset cuts out each product and centres it on a square white canvas.
Uploading to Shopify, step by step
- Open the product in your Shopify admin.
- Drag the compressed images into the Media section.
- Reorder them so the main image is first, and add alt text describing each.
- Check the product page on mobile; themes crop differently on small screens.
Checklist before you upload
- Same aspect ratio for every product.
- Product a similar size in each frame.
- Alt text on every image for accessibility and search.
- Variants with their own image where colour or style differs.
If Shopify rejects the file
- Too large: lower the target a little (some systems count 1 KB as 1,000 bytes) and run it again.
- Wrong type: make sure it is a .jpg; some systems refuse WebP or HEIC.
- Too small or blurry: start from the original photo rather than a screenshot or a copy sent through a messaging app, which are already compressed.
- Sideways: the photo relied on an orientation tag; the tool applies orientation, so re-run it from the original if needed.
The limits used by this preset are the commonly quoted ones and are flagged for checking in the sources below; if Shopify states a different figure on its upload screen, change the target above the button to match.
Alt text and file names
Descriptive file names (blue-linen-shirt-front.jpg) and alt text help search engines and screen-reader users understand your images. Rename the compressed files before uploading and add alt text in the Shopify admin. The compression here does not touch file names, so name them as you want them to appear.
Zoom and detail
Many Shopify themes offer zoom on product images. 2,048 px gives a useful zoom on most screens; larger originals give more, at the cost of slower admin uploads.
Background consistency
Mixed backgrounds make a collection page look untidy. Shoot against the same backdrop, or cut products out and place them on one colour with the product photo preset, before compressing here.
Private by design
The image never leaves your device. It is decoded in your browser, processed in a background worker by open-source codecs compiled to WebAssembly (MozJPEG, libwebp, libavif and OxiPNG, via the jsquash project, plus pica for resizing) and handed back as a download. There is no upload, no account and no server copy to delete. You can confirm it in your browser's developer tools: the Network tab shows the page's own files and the codec files loading, and nothing carrying your image. After the first visit the tools work offline.