Perxel Image Optimizer

Perxel Image Optimizer converts your WordPress media library to WebP locally,
on your own server, and serves it – entirely from an admin page, built for shared
hosting.

• No third party. Conversion runs in PHP via WP_Image_Editor (GD/Imagick).
  Nothing is uploaded to a CDN or an external optimization service, and there is
  no API key, account or paid tier. Your images never leave your host.
• Free. The whole plugin, no upsell.
• Runs in the background. A light scan estimates the work, then a background
  job (Action Scheduler) converts the library newest-to-oldest, one calendar
  month at a time. Pause, resume, cancel, close the tab – progress is durable.
  Optional email report when a run finishes.
• Or run it Fast. An opt-in mode that drives the conversion from the open
  admin tab, so the server works continuously – much quicker on shared hosting
  with no cron. It throttles itself if the host pushes back, and stopping never
  loses work.
• Your JPEG and PNG files stay. foo.jpg gets a foo.jpg.webp sibling;
  the conversion never modifies the source file.
• Image size limit. New uploads are scaled down to a maximum size (1920 px
  by default, adjustable), and the unused full-size original WordPress keeps
  beside a scaled upload is deleted to save disk space (can be turned off).
  “Shrink existing images” does the same once for images uploaded before.
• Serving through a managed .htaccess block on Apache/LiteSpeed, with an
  to <picture> fallback on nginx or when .htaccess is not writable.
• Per-attachment Convert / Reconvert / Remove buttons in the Media library.
• New uploads are converted automatically, shortly after upload.
• WP-CLI commands (wp perxel-image) for running it over SSH.

The admin area is two screens under Media > Optimization: an Optimization page (scan
→ prepare → live monitor) and a separate Settings page (environment,
conversion options, serving, notifications, cleanup).

1. Upload the perxel-image-optimizer folder to /wp-content/plugins/.
2. Activate the plugin through the Plugins screen.
3. Go to Media > Optimization.

1. 

   Optimization: the prepare screen shows the whole-library image count, an estimated time, and a choice of Background or Fast run.

2. 

   Settings: image size limit, JPEG/PNG quality, sizes to convert, serving, and completion-email options.

1.2.1

• Fix: “Shrink existing images” (and wp perxel-image cleanup) saves the resized JPEG at quality 82, WordPress’s default, even when the theme sets a higher JPEG quality (some force 100, which made the shrunk files several times bigger).
• Fix: wp perxel-image settings set serve true now writes the .htaccess block on Apache too (over WP-CLI the server was not recognised, so it fell back to <picture> tags until an admin page was opened).

1.2.0

• New: find the plugin’s screens and settings from WordPress’s command palette (Cmd/Ctrl+K, WordPress 6.9 and newer, on any admin screen). Type “WebP”, “image size”, “quality” or “email report” and pick “Perxel Image Optimizer > …” to open that section.
• Shared admin UI updated to 0.24.0.

1.1.0

• New: image size limit. New uploads bigger than the maximum (1920 px by default, adjustable in Settings, 0 = no limit) are scaled down on their longest side.
• New: the full-size original WordPress keeps beside a scaled upload is deleted, to save disk space. On by default; turn off “Delete originals of scaled uploads” to keep them.
• New: “Shrink existing images” in Settings deletes the kept originals of images uploaded before and scales full-size images over the maximum down, in place, so links keep working. Their WebP copies are redone automatically.
• Fix: deleting an image now deletes its WebP copies too (they were left on disk).
• New: WP-CLI commands: wp perxel-image status, convert, cleanup (with --dry-run) and settings.

1.0.2

• Housekeeping only, no behaviour change. Plugin URI now points to the product page on perxel.com instead of the GitHub repo.

1.0.1

• Tightened output-escaping suppressions in the admin views to per-file
  targeted ignores, addressing the plugin review’s escaping feedback.
• Media Library scripts/styles now load only on the Media list and the
  single-attachment edit screen.

1.0.0

• First public release.
• Local WebP conversion via WP_Image_Editor – no CDN, no external service, free.
• Month-scoped bulk run with two drivers: a background run on Action Scheduler
  (pause, resume, cancel, durable progress, optional completion email) and an
  opt-in Fast mode where the browser tab drives the encode loop directly, for
  shared hosting with no working WP-Cron loopback. Fast mode self-pauses when
  the host throttles and resumes after an escalating cooldown; a live Gentle /
  Balanced / Turbo control sits on the running monitor.
• Closing the tab, Stop, or Cancel never reverts converted files – the run
  parks and resumes from where it left off.
• Per-attachment Convert / Reconvert / Remove buttons in the Media library, and
  automatic conversion of new uploads.
• Serving via a managed .htaccess block on Apache/LiteSpeed, with an <img> to
  fallback elsewhere.
• Two admin screens under Media > Optimization – Optimization (prepare + live monitor)
  and Settings – in a shared sidebar layout, server-rendered.