EffortLess Simple Image Optimiser

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 .webp sidecar 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