Most quality issues come from over-compression in one pass.
Three-step workflow
- Start with smart compression
- If details look soft, raise quality by 5 to 10 points
- Resize oversized images before pushing quality too low
Suggested quality ranges
- Social posts: 70 to 80
- Ecommerce product images: 78 to 88
- Blog images: 72 to 82
Always optimize by visual acceptance first, then chase the smallest size.