Hedef Image Optimizer — WebP & AVIF

Hedef Image Optimizer — WebP & AVIF is a lightweight but powerful image optimization plugin that converts your JPEG and PNG uploads into modern WebP and AVIF formats.

All conversions happen locally on your server using GD and/or Imagick – there is no external API, no remote storage and no extra monthly bills.

The plugin is developed and maintained by Hedef Hosting and is provided completely free of charge. If you have ideas, bug reports or feature requests, feel free to email us at support@hedefhosting.com.tr.

It focuses on three main goals:

• Better performance – Serve lighter images without visibly losing quality.
• Modern formats – Use WebP and AVIF when supported by your server and your visitors’ browsers.
• Simple control – Configure everything from a single, polished settings page.

Key Features

• Automatically convert JPEG/JPG and PNG images to WebP and/or AVIF on upload.
• Bulk optimization tool for existing Media Library images, with:
  • Progress bar and live log of processed items.
  • “Run again” support to refresh images after changing quality or resize settings.
• Media Library “Optimizer” column:
  • See per-image status, new filesize, and percentage of space saved.
  • One-click Re-optimize and Restore original actions (if you keep originals).
• Per-image controls in the attachment edit screen:
  • Optimize/Re-optimize just that image.
  • Override the global “Optimize on upload” setting.
• Server capabilities checker for GD / Imagick WebP and AVIF support.
• Optional frontend integration using tags with WebP/AVIF elements:
  • Modern browsers get AVIF/WebP.
  • Older browsers fall back to the original image.
• Adjustable compression quality (0–100) with recommended ranges.
• Optional resize of next-gen copies above a configurable max width (e.g. 2048px).
• Optional EXIF/IPTC metadata stripping from next-gen copies to further reduce filesize.
• Exclusion rules:
  • Skip specific images based on filename or path (e.g. logo, /icons/, avatar-).
• Works with:
  • WordPress Media Library
  • wp_get_attachment_image()
  • Featured images and most themes/page builders.
• Localization:
  • English (en_US)
  • Turkish (tr_TR) – full translation of the admin UI and bulk screens.

Everything is designed to blend nicely into the WordPress admin with a clean, modern UI.

How It Works

1. When you upload a JPEG or PNG image, the plugin can automatically generate .webp and/or .avif versions (depending on your settings and server capabilities).
2. For existing images, use the Media → Bulk Optimize (NGIO) screen to scan the Media Library and generate missing next-gen versions in small batches.
3. On the frontend, you can enable the integration so that supported browsers will load AVIF / WebP, while older browsers still get the original image.
4. The plugin stores lightweight stats in attachment metadata (ngio) so you can see how much space you’ve saved on each image and across the library.

Requirements

• PHP 8.1 or higher (for AVIF support through GD or Imagick).
• WordPress 6.5 or higher.
• One of:
  • PHP GD extension compiled with WebP/AVIF support.
  • PHP Imagick extension with WEBP/AVIF codecs enabled.

If your server is missing some of these, the Server support box on the settings page will clearly show what’s available and what is not.

Usage

1. Choose formats and automation

On the Settings → Image Optimizer page:

• Enable WebP, AVIF, or both, depending on your server capabilities.
• Turn on Optimize on upload if you want new images to be processed automatically.
• Enable Serve via to send WebP/AVIF to compatible browsers.

You can also:

• Pick a quality level (e.g. 80–85 for most sites).
• Enable Resize next-gen copies and set a max width (e.g. 2048px).
• Enable Strip metadata to remove EXIF/IPTC from generated copies.
• Add Exclusion patterns (one per line) to skip specific images.

2. Bulk optimization

Go to Media → Bulk Optimize (NGIO):

• Click Optimize all images to start the process.
• The progress bar will move as images are processed.
• The log will list each optimized attachment.
• If you change quality or resize settings later, you can run bulk optimization again – existing next-gen copies will be refreshed.

3. Per-image controls

In Media → Library (list view):

• Use the Optimizer column to see:
  • Status (optimized/not optimized).
  • New filesize and percentage of space saved.
  • Links to Re-optimize and Restore original.

In the attachment edit screen:

• Use the NextGen optimization metabox to:
  • Optimize/re-optimize just that image.
  • Override the global “Optimize on upload” behaviour.

License

Hedef Image Optimizer — WebP & AVIF is free software released under the GNU General Public License v2.0 or later. You can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GPL as published by the Free Software Foundation. See https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html for the full license text.