In the operation of a website, high-quality image content is undoubtedly the key to attracting users and enhancing the brand image.The thumbnail, as the first impression of the content, its display effect directly affects the user's willingness to click and the overall browsing experience.It is fortunate that AnQiCMS provides very flexible and powerful functions for image processing, especially for thumbnails, allowing us to easily achieve various thumbnail effects according to different scenarios and design requirements.

Intelligent thumbnails make image management easier

AnQiCMS deeply understands the pain points of content operators, especially in terms of image processing, which often requires a lot of time.The system内置 built-in intelligent image processing mechanism greatly reduces the burden in this aspect.When you publish articles, products, or create categories, even if you do not manually upload a thumbnail, AnQiCMS can automatically extract the first image from the content as a thumbnail, ensuring that each piece of content has a visual representation.This feature is very practical in daily operations, especially when content updates frequently, ensuring the integrity of content display.

Flexible and diverse thumbnail processing methods

The image may require different display formats in different positions. In the AnQiCMS backend, go to the 'Content Settings' area, and you will find a dedicated option for configuring thumbnail processing methods. Here, three core processing modes are provided, which are sufficient to meet the vast majority of visual needs:

  1. Scale by the longest side proportionally: Display the entire image content while maintaining the aspect ratioThis processing method is characterized by its ability to find the longest side (either width or height) of the original image based on the thumbnail size you set, and then scale it proportionally from that side.This means that the image will not be cropped or distorted, and the entire content will be preserved.

    • Applicable scenarios:If your website design requires high integrity of image content and is willing to accept thumbnails in fixed size containers, there might be blank spaces or incomplete filling on the other side. This method is an ideal choice.It ensures that users can see the full view of the image at a glance, especially suitable for displaying artworks, close-ups of people, or any images that need to retain the original composition.

  2. Fill by the shortest side: Display the entire image within a fixed size and fill the backgroundSimilar to geometric scaling, the blanking process also ensures the integrity of the image content without any cropping.But its difference lies in the fact that, regardless of the original image's aspect ratio, the final thumbnail will always strictly adhere to the fixed size you set (for example, 200x200 pixels).The image content will be centered on this fixed-size canvas, and if the image content is not enough to fill the entire canvas, it will be filled with the specified background color (usually white).

    • Applicable scenarios:When your website layout requires strict uniform thumbnail size (such as square images in product lists) and you hope that each image can be fully presented without being cropped, which results in the loss of information, the blanking function becomes particularly important.It can create a visually uniform picture wall effect, and the background filling ensures the overall aesthetics.

  3. [en] Trim to shortest edge: centered trimming, focusing on core content, creating a unified appearanceCropping is another commonly used thumbnail processing method, which will center-crop the shortest edge of the original image according to the thumbnail size you set.This means that part of the content on both sides of the image may be cropped, but a thumbnail that matches the set size will ultimately be generated, and there will be no background filling.

    • Applicable scenarios:If your website design aims for ultimate visual consistency, for example, all thumbnails in the information list must be strictly in a 16:9 ratio, and the core content of the images is usually located in the center area, then the cropping feature will be your first choice.By cropping, you can ensure that all thumbnails maintain a consistent aspect ratio visually, making the page layout more neat and professional.Of course, it is necessary to be cautious when using this method, as important information at the edges of the image may be cropped out. Therefore, careful consideration should be given when choosing this approach.

[en] Fine-grained control and overall optimization

In addition to these three core processing methods, AnQiCMS also provides other practical settings to further optimize image display and website performance:

  • Thumbnail size settings:You can globally set a unified thumbnail size to avoid manual adjustments each time you upload, ensuring consistent image style on the website.
  • Default thumbnail:Set a 'reserve player' for content without a dedicated thumbnail. When content lacks a thumbnail, it will automatically use the default image to prevent blank spaces on the website page and maintain the integrity of the content.
  • Batch regenerate thumbnails:If you adjusted the thumbnail processing method or size, there is no need to handle them one by one manually. AnQiCMS provides a batch regeneration feature to update all thumbnails on the site with one click, saving time and effort.
  • Automatically compress large images and support WebP format:To enhance website loading speed, AnQiCMS supports automatic compression of uploaded large images and can convert them into a more efficient WebP format, effectively reducing image size and improving user experience and SEO performance.

Common Questions (FAQ)

  1. Question: What will AnQiCMS do if I don't manually upload a thumbnail for the article?Answer: AnQiCMS has an intelligent recognition feature.If your article content includes images, it will automatically extract the first image in the article as the thumbnail for the content.Even if you forget to upload, it ensures that the content has a visual preview.

  2. What is the best time to choose "Crop to shortest edge" instead of "Pad to longest edge"?Answer: If a specific area of your website (such as a news list, product grid) requires all thumbnails to have a strictly consistent aspect ratio, and it is acceptable to discard parts of the image edges, then 'Crop to shortest side' is **the choice, as it ensures visual uniformity.The 'fill to the longest edge' option is suitable for when you want to display all the content of the image without any part being cropped, but also need a fixed size container. The extra space will be filled with the background color.

  3. How does the thumbnail processing method or size of the background change affect the previously uploaded images?Answer: It will not be updated immediately.After modifying these settings, you need to use the "Batch regenerate thumbnails" feature.This feature will reprocess the thumbnail versions of all uploaded images according to the latest settings, ensuring that all images on the site apply the new processing rules and sizes.