Images breaking when uploaded, even when compressed and under size limit

Shopify Discussion
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Sometimes when I upload images, they break (see images). These images are compressed and are about 5-7mb each. I have used multiple image compression tools and had very limited success fixing this. Nowhere else I upload these images has this problem. I’ve tried multiple file types. This problem has happened to over 50 products from multiple photoshoots. How can I fix this? What on earth is wrong?

1 Like
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Hi @Red-flowers ,

Your images may break during upload due to issues like progressive JPEG format, CMYK color profile, or corrupted metadata from compression tools. Many platforms don’t support progressive JPEGs or CMYK properly. If you’re using online compressors, they might strip or damage internal image data.

To fix this, open the image in Photoshop or GIMP, convert it to RGB (sRGB), export it as a baseline (not progressive) JPEG, and set quality around 85%. Avoid stripping metadata.

Also, make sure the image size and resolution fit the platform’s limits. If the issue is platform-specific, it could be a CDN or upload bug.

Try uploading a freshly saved image with these settings — if it works, that confirms the problem source.

If my reply is helpful, kindly click like and mark it as an accepted solution.
Thanks!
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Hello @Red-flowers You’re dealing with a frustrating issue — broken images even when they meet Shopify’s size requirements. Let’s go through the most likely causes and solutions step by step:

  1. Shopify Upload Limits & Hidden Constraints
    Even though Shopify allows image uploads up to 20MB, images over ~5MB or over 4000px wide can sporadically fail due to:

. Timeout issues

. CDN caching failures

. Server-side compression errors

Fix:
Try resizing your images to a maximum of 2048px on the longest side, and keep them under 3MB ideally. Shopify does not benefit from ultra-high resolution above 2048px in most themes

  1. Corrupt Metadata or EXIF Issues
    Some compression tools (especially aggressive or web-based ones) leave corrupted or malformed EXIF data that Shopify struggles to parse during processing.

Fix:
Use tools like:

. ImageOptim (Mac)

. RIOT or XnConvert (Windows)

. ExifTool (to strip all metadata completely)

These tools can remove or clean up broken metadata.

  1. Color Profile Problems (e.g. CMYK vs RGB)
    If your images are saved in CMYK (common from Adobe software), Shopify can fail to render them properly.

Fix:
Make sure all images are exported in sRGB color space (not Adobe RGB or CMYK). You can do this in Photoshop under:
File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy) and select sRGB.

  1. File Type Mismatch
    While Shopify supports JPG, PNG, and WebP, sometimes non-standard JPGs or progressive JPEGs break or display incorrectly.

Fix:
Always export as baseline (standard) JPEG — not progressive. You can set this in export settings in Photoshop or online tools like Squoosh.

  1. CDN or Browser Cache Glitches
    Sometimes the image upload does work but displays as broken due to:

. A bad cache in Shopify’s CDN

. Local browser cache

Fix:

. Open the broken image in a new tab and force refresh (Ctrl+F5 or Cmd+Shift+R)

. Try accessing the product on another device/browser

Re-upload the image with a different filename

  1. Shopify Theme or App Conflicts
    If you’re using a custom theme or apps that optimize images (e.g., lazy loading, sliders, etc.), these may conflict with Shopify’s image delivery system.

Fix:

. Test by switching to an unmodified Shopify theme like Dawn

. Disable image optimization apps temporarily

Still Not Working?
If you’re still stuck, feel free to share a few of the broken images here (or screenshots of how they break). I can check the EXIF data, format issues, and see what’s going on under the hood.

Thank you :blush:

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Hi @Red-flowers

You can check via two ways to see if they are the cause codes:

  1. Check if the image is over compressed. If the images you uploaded are over compressed, they will have broken issue and quality loss situation. It is better to compress it once and see the effect after presentation, then see if okay or not.

  2. Shopify end will compress image also to keep page elements under good performance. If you think it will affect images uploaded, you can consider switching the way of uploading from local desktop to URL referring. This will make uploaded image have better status and not over compressed before launching.

Both of them above are all beneficial in some ways, you can have a try and see which one suits you best. Thank you!