Free Photoshop Alternatives To Use When Editing Your Images

When running a website, it’s important to make your site as quick and user friendly as possible. When looking to speed up your site, you potentially could look at moving hosts, cleaning up your website code, or implementing a CDN, amongst many other changes. These changes could seem a little complicated and require you to work with an expert and pay them to make these changes for you. One change that is within your control and easily done, is your website image sizes. When you look at the media images you have uploaded to your blog, how big in size are they? If they are any bigger than 200kb, then they could be slowing down your site and need editing. If you have never edited your images you could find they are in the megabytes which are way too big, especially if you are uploading them directly from your mobile phone. 

In order to reduce your photo sizes, you may be thinking that you need to use photoshop or a paid software that is similar to achieve the desired result. Yes, photoshop is an extremely powerful image editing software, and if you can afford to pay for it, we would recommend it. That said for many bloggers or website owners out there, you may see enough value in purchasing photoshop yet and would like a free alternative. Luckily, there are a whole variety of online imaging editing softwares that you can use free of charge to edit your WordPress photos with. Below we have put together a list of ten Photoshop alternative options to choose from 

Fotor 

Fotor is an extremely powerful photo editing software that is free to use (although, they do have a premium paid for version). Their range of advanced features allows you to not only edit images but enhance them or make dramatic changes. They have a large support section with a variety of articles that are designed to help you use their software easier and to be able to edit your images quicker and more professionally. It’s simple to use and has had a lot of positive reviews making it the one to look out for, for wider use within the industry. 

Learn more about Fotor.

Adobe Photoshop Express 

Adobe Photoshop Express is a photo editing app that is free to use for any quick changes that you would like to make to an image. With Adobe’s premium option being photoshop, you can imagine how useful the express version is and how robust and user friendly it is. It’s super simple to use and within a few clicks, you can make dramatic changes to your images that turn them from an average shot, to a professional shot that you could frame on a wall. Adobe Photoshop Express has been rated highly by most of its users and would be a great option for you to edit your WordPress images with. It may be that after you have used this for a few months, you get used to the interface and upgrade to using their premium version which is Adobe Photoshop. 

Learn more about Adobe Photoshop Express 

BeFunky 

Simple to use and easy to sign up to, BeFunky is a popular free software that is used by many as a Photoshop alternative, especially when it comes to editing images before uploading them to your WordPress website. Their collection of editing tools can be used by graphic designers, as well as agencies and individual users. If you are looking to edit a variety of similar images, their batch editing tool will make your process a lot quicker and efficiant. You are able to crop, enhance images and reduce their file size all with a few clicks of a button. If you use stock imagery on your website, they offer a whole plethora of free stock images that you can use on your site, which you can then edit without leaving the website. 

Learn more about BeFunky

Gimp

If you are after an advanced photo editing software then Gimp would most likely be your best bet. A lot of users would say Gimp is the closest comparison to Adobe Photoshop but it’s free. It’s used by graphic designers, photographers, agencies as well as many freelancers. It’s a very powerful tool that will allow you to completely manipulate your images as well as design unique artwork or marketing materials and mock-ups. When it comes to WordPress, it’s ideal as you can enhance your image and then reduce the file size to match the ideal upload size for your wordpress website. Gimp has been around and supporting many industries for years now and is completely free. 

Learn more about Gimp 

Pixlr 

Pixlr is an online image editor and great Photoshop alternative that does not require you to download a program in order to use it, although there is an option should you need to. It’s ideal for WordPress users as you can easily upload your photo, make the changes you need, reduce the file size and then move it over to your site. If you require some more advanced features such as removing the background or putting together specific designs, you can also do this but with their more advanced application called Pixlr E, which is also free to use. There is a whole tutorial section on their site should you need any assistance in making some changes but the bulk of it is fairly easy to use. 

Learn more about Pixlr

Inpixio 

As they state on their website, by using Inpixio you can make professional-looking photos in seconds and it is a great Photoshop alternative. Their free version is extremely powerful and lets you do all the basic functions that you would need for a WordPress image such as enhancing colours, reducing file size, adding a filter or changing the file type. You can also make beautiful graphics that can easily be uploaded and used across your social media channels such as Facebook or Twitter. One key feature which is particularly useful is the before and after setting. When editing your image you can easily see a before and after to make sure you are happy with the changes you have made. If you aren’t happy, then simply undo your changes and try again. If you enjoy using Inpixio you can always upgrade to their premium version once you are sure you will benefit from it. 

Learn more about Inpixio

Paint.Net 

You may have used it before if you are a windows user, but if you are after some simple edits and want to reduce your file size then paint is an easy solution for you. This option is mainly for a complete beginner but paint does offer a variety of features that may benefit your site from using. If you get stuck using paint, they have a tutorial section that will talk you through how to do things and fix something if it’s not working. As a software that was originally owned by Microsoft (now maintained and developed by Rick Brewster), it is growing in popularity and some users have even said they prefer to use it instead of some of the more known editors like Adobe Photoshop. 

Learn more about Paint.Net

Fotostars  

Fotostars may not have all the premium features that some image editors have, but it does have all the essentials and makes them easy to use and be a good Photoshop alternative. Whether you are looking to touch up an image, resize, edit the colours or add some effects, Fotostars have you covered. You can edit your image directly on their website without even having to create an account with them. It’s there for anybody who wants to do some advanced changes, or create a masterpiece however, Fotostars is free, easy to use and great if you want to make a change quickly.

Learn more about Fotostars 

Overall whichever image editor you opt for, they will all help improve your file size and speed up your wordpress site. Depending on what you are going to use them for, some are better for complete beginners whilst others for a more advanced user. If you try one, play around with it and see if it’s easy for you, if you don’t like it simply uninstall and try out a different Photoshop alternative. They are all free, so no matter which one you choose, you will get the desired result of being able to enhance your images. If after a while you realise the benefits of using an image editing software the option is always open to upgrade and use a software like adobe photoshop. 

Which image editor do you use? Have we missed any that you would like to recommend? Have you tried any of the above and found it useful to you? Let us know in the comment box below, we would love to hear from you.