Photon Optimizer: Basic Mode User Guide

Welcome to the Photon Optimizer Basic Mode User Guide! Photon Optimizer is your go-to service for on-the-fly conversion of jpg/png/gif images to the more efficient webp or avif formats. This guide is designed to help you easily set up and benefit from the Basic Mode of Photon Optimizer, ensuring your website's images are automatically optimized for speed and compatibility without consuming additional hosting space.

Key Features of Basic Mode

Automatic Format Conversion: Converts jpg/png/gif images to webp or avif based on the visiting browser's compatibility.
Caching: Optimized images are cached for 365 days, reducing load times for repeat visitors.
No Extra Hosting Space Required: Optimizations are performed on the fly; no additional space is taken up on your hosting account.
Unlimited Traffic: Enjoy the benefits of image optimization without worrying about traffic limits or additional costs.
Easy Integration: Set up through hosting-panel.net and apply the changes directly to your CDN mapping or media URLs in various CMSs or cache plugins.

Getting Started

Step 1: Activating Photon Optimizer

1. Log in to your hosting account and navigate to hosting-panel.net.
2. Click on Domains and select the domain you wish to optimize.
3. From the dropdown menu, choose Photon Optimizer to activate the service for your domain.
   1. If your website is accessed through www.yourdomain.com then please enable www mode.

Step 2: Obtain Your Unique Domain

Upon activation, you will be assigned a unique 8-digit hash representing your domain on photoncache.com.

Step 3: Configure CDN Mapping or Media URLs

With Photon Optimizer activated, the next step is to use the supplied URL in your CDN mapping or update the media URLs in your CMS/cache plugins. This step is crucial for ensuring that your website serves the optimized images.

LiteSpeed Cache CDN Mapping:

• Navigate to the LiteSpeed Cache > CDN
• Configure https://<hash>.photoncache.com/ in the "CDN URL" field
• Ensure "Use CDN Mapping" is set to "ON"
• Under the "Original URLs" textbox, add your domain, such as //yourdomain.com/.

Magento Media URL Configuration:

• Log in to your Magento admin panel.
• Go to Stores > Configuration > Web > Base URLs (Secure).
• Update the "Base URL for Static View Files" and "Base URL for User Media Files" with your Photon Optimizer URL.

Step 4 (recommended but optional): Install PerfGrid Optimizer

We recommend installing and activating the PerfGrid Optimizer plugin from the WordPress plugin directory. This helps dealing with updated css and javascript files when sending these through Photon Optimizer.

FAQs

Q: Will activating Photon Optimizer modify my website's original images?
A: No, Photon Optimizer works on-the-fly. It converts and serves optimized images without altering the original files stored on your hosting account.

Q: How does the service decide between webp and avif formats?
A: Photon Optimizer automatically detects the browser's compatibility and serves images in the most efficient format supported by the visitor's browser.

Q: Is there a limit to the number of images I can optimize?
A: No, Photon Optimizer supports unlimited traffic and image conversions under the Basic Mode.

Q: What happens to the optimized images after 365 days?
A: Cached images are stored for 365 days to improve load times for repeat visits. After this period, images will be re-optimized on subsequent requests.

Q: Does this affect my SEO when using a different domain?
A: Our service automatically sets a "canonical" header towards your actual domain, this means search engines will index it as if the images were located on the actual domain. Serving images in WebP or AVIF may have a small postive effect on SEO.

For additional support or questions, please visit our support page or contact our customer service team.

Congratulations, you've successfully set up Photon Optimizer on your website! Enjoy faster loading times, improved performance, and a better user experience with automatically optimized images.