{"id":696,"date":"2024-05-07T11:41:43","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T11:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/docs\/step-by-step-guide-to-install-short-pixel-image-optimization\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T08:46:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T08:46:54","password":"","slug":"step-by-step-guide-to-install-short-pixel-image-optimization","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/knowledge-base\/article\/step-by-step-guide-to-install-short-pixel-image-optimization\/","title":{"rendered":"Step-by-step guide to install and use ShortPixel Image Optimizer (SPIO)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-41c06ba8 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"ShortPixel Image Optimizer for WordPress - 2024 Installation Guide\" width=\"1720\" height=\"968\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FVPWeNsJWss?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"install\">1. Install ShortPixel Image Optimizer (SPIO)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are 3 ways you can install ShortPixel Image Optimizer (SPIO), and they are the same as with every other plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1.1 By using WordPress plugin search (easy method)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to your WordPress\u00a0admin area and click on <strong>Plugins<\/strong><em> > <\/em><strong>Add New<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Find the plugin by typing &#8220;shortpixel image optimizer&#8221; in the search field.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click on <strong>Install Now<\/strong>\u00a0on the\u00a0ShortPixel Image Optimizer\u00a0box. Once installed, the button will change to\u00a0<strong>Activate<\/strong>. Click on it and that&#8217;s it!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/file-by78BkA7rA.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1.2 By uploading the plugin<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also&nbsp;download and upload the plugin if you don&#8217;t feel comfortable using the plugin search.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Download the plugin by clicking <a href=\"https:\/\/downloads.wordpress.org\/plugin\/shortpixel-image-optimiser.latest-stable.zip\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Go to your WordPress admin area and go to <strong> Plugins <\/strong><em>>\u00a0<\/em><strong>Add New<\/strong><em> >\u00a0<\/em><strong>Upload Plugin<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Browse<\/strong>, look for the <em>.zip<\/em> file that you downloaded, select it, and upload it by clicking on\u00a0<strong>Install Now<\/strong>. After activating it, that&#8217;s it!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/file-rGKnJgu8e9.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1.3 Manually using FTP<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The 3rd way, which is for experienced users, is to&nbsp;download and upload the plugin via FTP.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Download the plugin by clicking <a href=\"https:\/\/downloads.wordpress.org\/plugin\/shortpixel-image-optimiser.latest-stable.zip\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Extract\u00a0the<em> .zip<\/em> file on your computer. Extracting the plugin .zip file will create a new folder with the same name. This is the folder that you need to manually upload to your website using an FTP client.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Open the FTP client and connect\u00a0to your website using the login credentials provided by your web host.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Once connected, you need to access the <code class=\"inline-code\">\/wp-content\/plugins<\/code> path.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Upload\u00a0the folder you extracted from the .zip file to the <code class=\"inline-code\">\/wp-content\/plugins<\/code> \u00a0folder on your web server.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/file-zizshIy8UW.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>After uploading the files, go to the WordPress admin area and click on <strong>Plugins <\/strong>in the admin menu. You will see your plugin successfully installed on the plugins page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click on the <strong>Activate\u00a0<\/strong>link, as seen below.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/file-hE4nkW0Qeg.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"api\">2. Adding your API Key<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In order for the optimization process to work, you must configure the plugin with the API Key associated with your account.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shortpixel.com\/login\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Log in<\/a> to your ShortPixel account, go to the <strong>API Key<\/strong> menu and\u00a0copy your API Key.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/file-U8bcCvrxep.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to the plugin settings (<strong>Settings <\/strong><em>> <\/em><strong>ShortPixel<\/strong>) and paste the API Key you copied.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Once copied, press the <strong>Validate <\/strong>button.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-20250313_112115-1024x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-20250313_112115-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-20250313_112115-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-20250313_112115-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-20250313_112115-360x239.jpg 360w, https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-20250313_112115.jpg 1493w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"optimizing\">3. Optimizing your images<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>All done, now you can start using the plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to<strong> Settings <\/strong><em>> <\/em><strong>ShortPixel <\/strong>and review all the settings to make sure everything is set up according to your preferences. You can go to <a href=\"https:\/\/shortpixel.com\/knowledge-base\/category\/shortpixel-image-optimizer\/\" rel=\"noopener\">this section<\/a> of our knowledge base in case you have any doubts or concerns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Once everything is set, you have two options:\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pat yourself on the back; your next uploads will be automatically optimized (<a href=\"https:\/\/shortpixel.com\/knowledge-base\/article\/why-are-my-images-automatically-compressed\/\" rel=\"noopener\">as long as you did not change it before<\/a>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Go to the menu <strong>Media <\/strong><em>> <\/em><strong>Bulk ShortPixel\u00a0<\/strong>to optimize all the images that were uploaded before installing the plugin.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"callout-red\">\n<strong>Important<\/strong>: Remember that after optimizing your images, you should clear the cache of your site. You can follow our guide here: <a href=\"https:\/\/shortpixel.com\/knowledge-base\/article\/how-to-clear-wordpress-cache\/\" rel=\"noopener\">How to clear WordPress cache<\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1. Install ShortPixel Image Optimizer (SPIO) There are 3 ways you can install ShortPixel Image Optimizer (SPIO), and they are the same as with every other plugin. 1.1 By using WordPress plugin search (easy method) 1.2 By uploading the plugin You can also&nbsp;download and upload the plugin if you don&#8217;t feel comfortable using the plugin [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"doc_category":[37],"glossaries":[],"doc_tag":[],"class_list":["post-696","docs","type-docs","status-publish","hentry","doc_category-shortpixel-image-optimizer"],"blocksy_meta":[],"year_month":"2026-04","word_count":491,"total_views":"2448","reactions":{"happy":"0","normal":"0","sad":"0"},"author_info":{"name":"admin","author_nicename":"admin_mdli53m5","author_url":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/author\/admin_mdli53m5\/"},"doc_category_info":[{"term_name":"ShortPixel Image Optimizer","term_url":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/knowledge-base\/category\/shortpixel-image-optimizer\/"}],"doc_tag_info":[],"knowledge_base_info":[],"knowledge_base_slug":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/docs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2677,"href":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/696\/revisions\/2677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"doc_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_category?post=696"},{"taxonomy":"glossaries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossaries?post=696"},{"taxonomy":"doc_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kb.shortpixel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_tag?post=696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}