If you are using ImageKit for Digital Asset Management, follow the steps from our DAM Guide after creating the account.
Step 1: Create an ImageKit account
If you still need to create an account, sign up for free. The free plan offers generous limits and is well-suited for small-scale projects.
Once you've verified your email, you will be prompted to select an ImageKit ID and a processing region during the account setup process.
- The ImageKit ID serves as a unique identifier for your account and will appear in the URLs of your images & videos, for example,
https://ik.imagekit.io/your_imagekit_id/image.jpg. Feel free to choose any unique identifier that suits your brand. - The processing region is crucial as it determines where your media files are stored and processed. Choose your processing region based on your integration strategy with ImageKit, compliance needs, and your audience's geographical location. ImageKit has six processing regions: North California (United States), North Virginia (United States), Frankfurt (Europe), Mumbai (India), Singapore (Singapore), and Sydney (Australia).
On the enterprise plan, ImageKit lets you create sub-accounts to manage different environments like staging, production, etc. Each sub-account has its own API key, Media Library, and settings. This setup is also helpful for agencies managing multiple clients.
Step 2: Plan your integration
Regardless of how you currently store and serve your media assets, integrating ImageKit is straightforward. The platform offers two primary integration methods, each tailored to fit your specific requirements:
Connect existing storage - Quickly attach your Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Cloudinary backup bucket, or any web server with ImageKit. This method allows you to transform, optimize, and deliver existing media files through ImageKit without extensive migration. The setup takes a few minutes, and you can begin using ImageKit immediately with minimal or no changes to existing URLs. Learn more about connecting existing storage.
Upload media to ImageKit storage - For those preferring to centralize their media uploads, management, sharing, and collaboration, ImageKit provides a full-fledged Digital Asset Management platform. You can upload files directly through the dashboard, utilize the ImageKit API for bulk uploads and management, or use Rclone to synchronize files from any 70 cloud storage, including Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. Learn more about uploading media to ImageKit.
- Both methods offer equal performance, transformation & optimization capabilities. The best approach for you will depend on your existing infrastructure and specific needs.
- If you integrate existing storage with ImageKit, select a processing region nearest your storage to optimize performance. If you migrate your media to ImageKit storage, choose a region closest to your audience to expedite content delivery.
- Most customers start by connecting their existing storage to ImageKit. Gradually, different teams within the organization start using ImageKit DAM for new uploads and managing marketing assets.
- If you are migrating from Cloudinary, Imgix, or another service, read our migration guide.
Step 3: Integrate into your application
Start using ImageKit.io URLs in your application to deliver perfect images and videos.
- To integrate ImageKit into your application, follow one of our platform-specific quick-start guides for developers. The guide covers common use cases, such as rendering images and videos, uploading media, and applying transformations. Checkout quick start guides.
- Learn different transformations to deliver the perfect visual experience.
- Learn how to optimize images & videos for web delivery.
- Refer to production checklist before going live.