In their continued mission to help developers build best-in-class web experiences, Google’s web.dev community recently released their images.tooling.report. This report compares some of the most popular software and services for shipping images in production – and lists ImageEngine as one of the top-performing image CDNs on the market.
The images.tooling.report was built by comparing a wide variety of features. ImageEngine was ranked as a top performer in many of the tests, but where we outshined our competitors was by using automation to simplify the entire image optimization process, while also delivering superior image quality. For example, we were the only image CDN that uses automated psychovisual optimizations to compress images at scale. This technical term refers to our use of machine learning to automatically calibrate our image optimization process – and we’re the only company profiled that does it! By automating the image optimization process, we make it faster, more accurate, and more accessible for the end-user to remove bytes from images without compromising visual quality.
And that’s the whole point, right? ImageEngine makes the image optimization process as simple and streamlined as possible. We detect, we optimize, and we deliver.
Mobile device detection means more than the ability to query the screen size and feed it into some breakpoint evaluation. It means detecting the actual device model and multiple capabilities, including OS version, browser version, screen pixel density, screen resolution, support for advanced image and video formats, and much more. This is where ImageEngine is unique in the market. ImageEngine uses exact mobile device detection from our WURFL technology to improve image optimization further than the other image CDNs mentioned in the report. This has a massive impact on the effectiveness of image optimization.
Using automation in our optimization process allows us to increase the speed and precision of our calculations. As the images.tooling.report also shows, we support next-gen image formats and convert images to the most efficient file format to save transfer time and payload. Accurate device information allows us to tailor each image for each device precisely, ensuring an excellent user experience.
We serve these perfectly optimized images from our global PoP network. Composed of device-aware edge servers, this network serves images lightning-fast from the closest local server, often from cache (98% cache hit rate). Having a presence worldwide and the ability to rapidly spin up new servers if needed means we can serve companies across the globe.
Image optimization doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective – you just have to choose the right tool. ImageEngine provides a streamlined process, starting with accurate device detection using WURFL, then using industry-leading automation to optimize images efficiently and precisely, and finally serving those optimized images quickly from its global network of edge servers. Google’s web.dev team noticed our excellent image optimization solution – and our happy customers noticed their SEO and PageSpeed improvements too!