How to Resize Images

Table of Content

So, you’ve received that “WARNING! Image size is larger than 3 MB!” message.   

“How do I adjust my image file to be smaller than the limit?”

Well, you’ve come to the right place for this question!

SiteFarm has recently changed the image file limit to 3 MB, which sadly is smaller than most image sizes. There is a way to change your image file to smaller than 3 MB. 

Resizing for PCs

Resizing in Paint

If you are using a PC, you can resize your images through the already built-in program, Paint. 

• First, open the image you want to resize in Paint. You can check the current file size on the bottom. 

You can see here that my file size is currently 5.0 MB.

• Once you have your image, you can click Resize in the Image box. It’s the one with two rectangles to the right of the Select box.

• When you click Resize, another box will pop-up. You can choose to resize your image by percentage or by pixels if you know the exact dimensions that you want it to be. For now, we’ll resize it by percentage since it’s easier.

   

• You can choose an amount to resize the image by. The number, 60 would be the safest amount for files greater than 3 MB and under 10 MB. If your image is close to 3 MB, you do not need to resize it by that much. 

   

• Once you click OK, you must save it to view the new image file size. 

Hooray! It’s under 3 MB now!

NOTE: Depending on how large your original image size file is, you may need to keep resizing until you’ve reached under 3 MB. When you see that it’s less than 3 MB, you’re done!

Resizing for Macs

Resizing in Preview

You can easily resize photos on Macs by using the built-in program, Preview.

• To start, select the image you want to resize by clicking Open With > Preview. Once you have your image opened, go to Tools in your menu bar and select Adjust Size.

• You can choose to resize your image by percentage or by pixels if you know the exact dimensions that you want your image to be. For now, we’ll resize it by percentage. Change the image size by adjusting the width or height. Make sure Scale Proportionally is checked to keep its ratio. 

You can also view the current size of the image in the red oval as seen above.

You can choose an amount to resize the image by. The number, 60 would be the safest amount for files greater than 3 MB and under 10 MB. If your image is close to 3 MB, you do not need to resize it by that much. 

Hooray! The image size is now under 3 MB.

• Check the new size of the image in the Resulting Size box. Once you’ve reached under 3 MB, click OK to save your image and you’re done! 
• You can save a new version of your image by going to File > Export and saving it that way. 

NOTE: If you want to resize for multiple images, select all of the images you want to resize, then select Open With > Preview. Once you’re in Preview, press Command + A to select all of the images. Then, go to Tools and follow the same steps as above. 

Resizing in iPhoto

An alternative to resizing in Preview is resizing the photo in iPhoto, another built-in Mac program. 

• To start, find the image you want to resize and open the image in iPhoto by clicking Open With > iPhoto.

• Once you have your image opened, go to File in your menu bar and select Export. 

• After selecting Export, you can keep the size of the photo by adjusting the JPEG quality. Here, we have selected High, but you can adjust the settings for JPEG Quality to best suit your needs. By default, the width to height ratio will remain the same.

• If you would like to resize the photo, but still keep the image at its maximum JPEG quality, you can instead change the image’s size. Here, you may choose Full Size, Large, Medium, Small, or Custom. 
• When you are finished, click Export and save the image in your desired location. 
• Export and resize the image as you see fit. The downside to this method is that you will not be able to automatically see the size of your image file before exporting. You can view the image size after saving it by selecting Get Info  on the image. 

NOTE: If you want to resize for multiple images, select all of the images you want to resize, then select Open With > iPhoto. Once you’re in iPhoto, press Command + A to select all of the images. Then, go to File > Export and follow the same steps as above.