Optimize an SVG by identifying what makes it large and removing only information that the drawing does not need. Whitespace cleanup, path simplification and removal of embedded raster images solve different problems. Keep the source and compare the rendered output after each meaningful change; a smaller XML file is not useful if the icon or illustration changes.
Identify the source of the bytes
Inspect whether the file contains long path data, editor information, repeated shapes, fonts or embedded raster images. An embedded photograph can dominate the file size; removing spaces around tags will barely affect that payload. Exporting a photograph inside an SVG does not turn it into efficient vector geometry.
Choose the appropriate level of cleanup
ZipMyImages performs basic removal of comments and whitespace between SVG tags. It does not perform full path optimization or sanitize untrusted SVGs. SVGO is a dedicated optimizer with configurable transformations for more involved work. Read its configuration before using aggressive cleanup on a production asset.
Preserve IDs used by CSS, scripts, masks, clip paths or references. Keep a useful viewBox for scaling. Removing apparently unused content without considering how the file is embedded can break behavior outside the standalone preview.
Compare at the actual delivery sizes
Illustrative check: inspect a logo at its small navigation size and at a larger print-like preview. Look for changed letter shapes, clipping, missing gradients and shifted alignment. Test the background colors and embedding method used by the site, not just the transparent preview in an editor.
Separate size optimization from safety
Minification is not a security review. Treat externally supplied SVGs according to your application security policy and use an appropriate sanitization process where required. If the destination requires a raster file, export at its intended pixel dimensions and inspect the edges; rasterization no longer preserves unlimited vector scaling.