Free

Pipe9 Media Optimizer — Automatic WebP Conversion for WordPress

Automatically converts your WordPress images to WebP. Install, activate, done. Your originals never change.

Download from WordPress.org

How It Works

Upload normally

JPEG, PNG, or GIF through the WordPress media library. Nothing changes in your workflow.

Auto-convert to WebP

Uses GD or Imagick — whichever your server has. Original stays untouched. WebP copy is stored alongside.

Smart serving

Browser gets WebP if supported, original JPEG/PNG/GIF otherwise. No broken images. Ever.

See it in action

Original (715 KB) WebP (203 KB)

Original: 715 KB WebP: 203 KB Savings: 72%

Representative sample. Your results depend on image content and quality settings.

Features

⚡ Auto-convert on upload & theme event

Every new media image gets a WebP copy instantly. When a theme is installed or updated, all images in that theme are auto-converted too. No buttons to press.

📦 Bulk convert with theme support

One click converts every image in your library. Check "Include theme directories" to also scan and convert images under wp-content/themes/. Progress bar included.

🎚️ Quality slider

Default 80 (great quality, great savings). Adjust 1-100 from the settings page.

🖥️ GD & Imagick

Auto-detects whichever image library your server provides. No extension hunting.

🔧 4 serving strategies + themes

Apache rewrite (fastest), Nginx config, PHP passthru, or HTML <picture>. Theme images get their own .htaccess rewrite rules when using server-level injection.

🧹 Clean uninstall

Deactivate stops conversion. Uninstall removes all WebP copies, options, and .htaccess rules.

Serving Strategies

Strategy	How it works	Best for
Server Rewrite	`.htaccess` rules serve WebP when browser supports it	Apache/LiteSpeed hosting
Nginx Config	Paste generated `try_files`/`map` directives into your config	Self-managed Nginx
PHP Passthru	PHP endpoint negotiates format per request	Any server (fallback)
HTML <picture>	Rewrites <img> → <picture> with WebP sources	Any server, CDN-friendly
None	Converts only — you handle delivery	Custom setups

Auto-detects your server and picks the best strategy. Override from settings.

Installation

**Plugins → Add New** in WordPress admin
Search for **"Pipe9 Media Optimizer"**
**Install Now**, then **Activate**
Done — images convert on upload automatically

**Requirements:** WordPress 6.4+, PHP 7.4+

FAQ

No. WebP copies are created alongside your originals. JPEG, PNG, and GIF files are never touched. The Restore tool deletes all WebP copies if you want to go back.

Deactivating stops new conversions and serving. WebP files stay on disk. Uninstalling removes everything — copies, options, and .htaccess rules.

Yes. The rewrite and passthru strategies work with any page cache. The <picture> strategy modifies HTML at the page level. CDNs work if they respect the Vary: Accept header, which the plugin sets automatically.

The free plugin skips animated GIFs to avoid losing frames. For animated GIF → WebP or AVIF conversion, use Pipe9 Media Optimizer Pro.