When you’re given a limited amount of space for web hosting, there are only so many files you can upload and host on your site. This can often be a problem for business owners and graphic designers wanting to showcase high quality images, movies and games. Fortunately, there are methods of consolidating your media to fit your website’s limited amount of space.

Make Images Smaller

One way to reduce the amount of media space used on your site is to make images smaller. Although this can lower the quality, it’ll give you more space for additional images. It also doesn’t hurt to check your media folder for image duplicates. For example, some web hosting sites offer different sizing options for images, therefore creating duplicates of pictures you upload. To correct this, choose the sizing option you prefer and set the rest to zero.

If you’re still running out of space, your last resort is to delete old images to make room for new ones. Pick and choose the images you’re most proud of and display those instead of every image you’ve taken.

Reduce Video File Size

Another way to reduce the amount of space used on your site is to make video files smaller. For those who don’t want to sacrifice quality, this can feel like a knife to the heart, but videos take up a significant amount of space on your website. To make videos smaller, you can either lower the resolution, frame rate or bit rate.

The better option is to upload your videos to YouTube or another video site and embed it or link to it from your site. This allows you to keep the quality of your videos and save the space you would’ve used from uploading the video to your site.

Upgrade your Site

Reducing image and video sizes might work for a while, but you’ll probably outgrow your first website eventually. If your site gains popularity or your portfolio keeps expanding, it might be time to look into a web hosting service that gives you the adequate space you need to show off your work. Utilizing a web hosting service allows you a significant amount of storage space, a wide selection of templates and the ability to obtain more domains.

Running out of space on your website can make you want to chuck your computer out the window. But by making smart use of your website’s storage space, you can display your best images and videos and catch the eyes of future employers and clients. If all else fails, upgrade your site to hold your portfolio – and save yourself a broken computer.