The sidebar image on the homepage, https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/913f672f-5d9a-48b5-af28-1a8fbb4f7bc7.jpeg?format=webp, is a 1MB 1080p jpeg that gets loaded every time I open the homepage (at least without caching).
Wouldn’t it improve both bandwidth use and page load speeds to rescale that image to the smaller size it is actually rendered at?
I’m pretty sure it already generates thumbnails for the posts, so they may be able to reuse that code for the sidebar. Or @Ruud could just point it at a smaller image. One of these choices is much easier than the other :)