Why estate agents compress listing photos
Photographers often deliver full-resolution exports straight from camera, sometimes 8MB or more per image. Rightmove and Zoopla accept large files, but slow uploads and soft display quality hurt the experience.
Remote branches on slower lines feel upload pain first. Compressing a twenty image set from 120MB total down to 15MB can be the difference between success and a frozen browser tab during CRM upload.
Compressing before upload keeps detail where it matters while cutting transfer time. Vendors waiting for a live link notice when admin is stuck watching a progress bar.
CRM upload panels often stall on large batches during peak listing hours. Compressed sets keep the admin flow moving when three instructions land the same afternoon.
Hotspots on 4G dongles in rural branches make large uploads painful. Compressed 1600px sets keep negotiators productive away from fibre broadband.
Honest expectations on quality
Aggressive compression can soften fine detail on exterior brickwork and foliage. Stampi targets a sensible balance for portal use rather than promising invisible magic.
Twilight externals with noise in the sky show compression artefacts before daytime shots. If you specialise in dusk hero images, spend ten seconds on the preview slider for those files.
Preview before and after on a sample image before you process the full batch. Kitchen units and white bathroom tiles are good tests for muddy colour shifts.
White kitchen units and pale grey walls show banding first when compression is too aggressive. If your stock skews modern new-build interiors, spend extra time on the preview slider.
Period properties with detailed cornicing and fireplace surrounds show compression before plain new-build walls. Heritage stock deserves an extra preview pass.
One step in portal preparation
Compression works best alongside resize and format conversion. A typical workflow: resize to 1600px longest edge, convert to sRGB JPG, compress, and add your agency logo in a single Stampi export.
New instructions often arrive as a photographer zip plus three vendor iPhone snaps. One Stampi batch normalises, compresses, and brands the combined folder instead of three separate workflows.
Most agents upload identical photo sets to Rightmove and Zoopla. Prepare once and syndicate twice.
Vendor-supplied iPhone snaps mixed with 4000px photographer files compress differently in one batch. Check the preview on one file from each source before processing everything.
Winter interiors with warm tungsten light compress differently from cool daylight externals. Spot-check one of each if the instruction spans both.
When file size matters beyond portals
Emailing a vendor their marketing pack? Many inboxes choke on 25MB of uncompressed JPEGs. A compressed web set attaches reliably.
Your own website and social channels benefit from lean files that load quickly on mobile. Export web-optimised at 2048px alongside portal-ready 1600px versions from the same source folder.
Admin staff often batch compress while negotiators are on viewings. Local browser processing means nothing leaves the office network during prep.
Print brochures for premium stock sometimes need separate high-resolution exports. Keep an uncompressed archive folder locally; compress only the portal delivery set.
Window card PDFs and portal JPGs serve different purposes. Do not compress print assets with the same aggressive setting as web delivery files.
What compression cannot recover
Estate chain portals sometimes recompress again after ingest. Starting sane at your end gives their CDN less damage to do.
Double-saving JPEGs in multiple apps before Stampi stacks artefacts. Start from the photographer export when possible.
Compression will not fix blur, poor white balance, or blown highlights. Those need correction before export.
Already over-compressed WhatsApp forwards arrive blocky before Stampi sees them. Ask vendors for original attachments or reshoot rather than expecting recovery.
Scanned old brochure photos digitised for a relist start soft before any modern compression runs. Reshoot or accept honest limits on heritage marketing material.
Batch speed on a typical listing
A standard sale listing carries fifteen to twenty five photos. Batch compress the whole folder in one pass rather than saving each file individually from an editor.
Combine with logo branding so you are not running separate passes for compression and overlay. One download ZIP ready for CRM upload is the goal.
Friday afternoon upload queues are when batch speed matters most. Get the listing live before the vendor calls asking for the Rightmove link.
Seasonal peaks before Easter and September push upload volume. Batch compression keeps part-time admin staff productive when instructions spike.
Monday morning listing meetings expect live links from photos taken the previous afternoon. Overnight batch prep is viable when admin runs compress and brand before negotiators arrive.
Frequently asked questions
How much smaller will my files get?
It depends on the source. Full-resolution 4000px photographer exports often shrink dramatically when resized to 1600px and compressed for portal use. Already-small phone JPEGs may see modest gains. Use the preview slider on a representative image from the batch before processing everything.
Will compression affect Rightmove display quality?
Sensible compression at 1600px sRGB JPG matches what Rightmove recommends. Over-compressing before upload can look worse than letting the portal handle a moderately sized file. Preview kitchen and garden shots specifically; those areas show artefacts first. When in doubt, err on the side of slightly larger files with less aggressive compression.
Can I compress without resizing?
Stampi is built around portal prep, which usually includes resize. For most estate and letting workflows, downscaling 4000px exports to 1600px is the biggest file size win. If you need full-resolution archives, export originals alongside compressed portal versions in one batch.
Is Stampi free to use?
Yes. Stampi is free with no subscription, no credit card, and no trial that expires. Open the app, upload your files, and download the results. We built it that way on purpose because photo prep is annoying enough without a paywall in the middle.
Do I need to create an account?
No. Stampi runs in your browser with no sign-up. Images are processed locally on your device. When you close the tab or download your ZIP, the session is gone. We do not store your files on a server.
How do I get started?
Go to stampi.cc, upload your photos (or click Try with samples to load demo files), add your logo, pick your export formats, and hit Prepare Media. A ZIP downloads in seconds. That is the whole workflow.