WP Auto WebP Optimizer

A lightweight, plug-and-play WordPress plugin designed to automatically convert newly uploaded images (JPG, JPEG, PNG) to the next-gen WebP format. It applies an optimal 80% compression quality and safely removes the original files to keep your hosting storage clean and efficient.

✨ Features

• Automatic Conversion: Seamlessly converts .jpg, .jpeg, and .png files to .webp during the WordPress upload process.
• Optimized Quality: Forces an 80% compression quality for the main WebP image and all generated sub-sizes (thumbnails, medium, large, etc.), ensuring fast page load times without noticeable visual loss.
• Storage Saver: Automatically unlinks (deletes) the original JPG/PNG files after successful conversion to prevent server bloat.
• Clean Code: Written in PHP with Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) principles to avoid conflicts with other plugins.
• Zero Configuration: No settings panel needed. Just activate and it works.

⚠️ IMPORTANT WARNING: For NEW Uploads Only!

Please read this carefully before using the plugin:

• This plugin is strictly designed to process NEW image uploads moving forward.
• DO NOT use this plugin in combination with tools like "Regenerate Thumbnails" to process your existing media library.
• Why? Because this plugin deletes the original .jpg or .png file upon conversion. If you force it on old images, the old image URLs embedded in your existing posts/pages will still point to the .jpg extension, resulting in broken images (404 errors) across your site.
• To optimize old images, it is highly recommended to use standard caching/optimization plugins (like Converter for Media or LiteSpeed Cache) that create parallel WebP files and serve them via .htaccess rewrite rules without deleting the original files.

🚀 Installation

1. Download the plugin folder or the .zip file from this repository.
2. Go to your WordPress Admin Dashboard.
3. Navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
4. Upload the .zip file and click Install Now.
5. Click Activate Plugin.
6. Alternatively, you can upload the unzipped folder directly to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory via FTP/SFTP and activate it through the WordPress dashboard.

🛠️ Server Requirements

• WordPress: 5.8 or higher (WordPress core natively supports WebP from 5.8 onwards).
• PHP: 7.4 or higher.
• Image Editor: Your web server must have either the GD or Imagick PHP extension installed and compiled with WebP support (most modern hosting providers have this enabled by default).

📄 License

This project is licensed under the GPL-2.0+ License. Feel free to modify and distribute it.