EffortLess Simple Image Optimiser
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Automatically optimise uploaded images using the PHP GD library — no external APIs, no account required.
Effortless Simple Image Optimiser hooks directly into the WordPress Media Library upload pipeline and compresses, resizes and (optionally) converts images the moment they are uploaded — all using the built-in PHP GD extension.
Features
- JPEG compression — re-encodes JPEGs at a configurable quality level (default: 82). GD strips EXIF metadata automatically, further reducing file size.
- PNG compression — applies lossless GD compression to PNG files.
- PNG → JPEG conversion — converts opaque (non-transparent) PNGs to JPEG for significant space savings. Transparent PNGs are always kept as PNG.
- Image resizing — scales down images that exceed a configurable maximum width or height while maintaining the original aspect ratio.
- WebP generation — optionally saves a
.webpsidecar file alongside every optimised image (requires GD compiled with WebP support). - Zero external dependencies — no API keys, no third-party services, no composer packages.
- Graceful degradation — if GD is not available the plugin skips processing and logs a notice; uploads are never blocked.
Settings
Navigate to Settings → Image Optimiser to configure:
- Enable / disable automatic optimisation on upload
- JPEG quality (1–100, default 82)
- Enable PNG → JPEG conversion
- Enable WebP sidecar generation + WebP quality
- Enable / disable resizing
- Maximum width in pixels (default 1920)
- Maximum height in pixels (default 1920)
Requirements
- PHP 7.4 or higher
- PHP GD extension (enabled on virtually all shared hosting)
- WordPress 5.9 or higher