After Image Conversion

Hi @mmk175,

Thank you for your message.

Just used the FREE plugin to convert 80k+ images to webp. All went well, about 270(ish) skipped which isn’t bad.

Images are mostly skipped when they are not smaller than the original after being converted to WebP. This happens with small images or those that have been optimized before. The solution to this is to use the AVIF format. Images converted to the AVIF format on your website will weigh 50% less than images converted to WebP only, maintaining even better image quality.

If I delete the plugin will all of my changes be undone?

Yes, you are right. Please tell me why you want to remove the plugin?

As part of the conversion, I had to untick NGINX Direct Delivery within my siteground server. Can I tick this back now?

When you are not using the plugin you can reactivate this feature.

Best,
Mateusz

Hi @mateuszgbiorczyk

Skipped Images – Thanks for helping me understand that skipped images are the result of your software being smart i.e. not converting small images to make them bigger. I like this.

Deleting the plugin – I was always told by old SEOs that if you don’t need a plugin anymore you might as well delete it. Also, since my desired result has been achieved (converting images) why would I want to keep it? – However since you mentioned that all the conversions will be undone if I delete it I guess I have to keep it.

NGINX Direct Delivery – I am being told my sites performance is being hindered by this option not being used on my site. So when you say “not using the plugin” do you mean actually using the converting tool or do you mean having it active on my site.

If you mean having it active on my site then I guess I can’t turn it back on again ever, correct?

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my support post.

Thank you for your answer @mmk175!

Deleting the plugin

Our plugin does not modify or delete original files. Files converted to WebP and AVIF formats are saved in a separate directory: /wp-content/uploads-webpc/. This means it does not make permanent changes to your website.

The plugin does not change URLs to images, so when looking at the source of the website, you will see the URLs for the default images all the time. The plugin creates redirections to output files in WebP and AVIF format, changing the MIME type of these images, but without changing the URL.

The plugin is optimized so that its impact on your website is negligible. So you don’t have to worry about that. The plugin is responsible for loading images in new generation formats (therefore it must be active):

When a browser tries to load an image file, the plugin checks if it supports the AVIF format (if enabled in the plugin settings). If so, the browser will receive the equivalent of the original image in the AVIF format. If it does not support AVIF, but supports the WebP format, the browser will receive the equivalent of the original image in WebP format. In case the browser does not support either WebP or AVIF, the original image is loaded. This means full support for all browsers.

Additionally, when you uninstall the plugin, newly uploaded images will not be optimized. Their optimization is crucial because they are usually displayed on the main page in the list of, for example, the latest blog posts.

NGINX Direct Delivery

You can enable and disable this feature in your hosting at any time. But this option must be disabled for loading images in new generation formats to work properly – that is, what I described to you above.

Hi @mateuszgbiorczyk

Thanks for the explanation. So I will need to keep NGINX Direct Delivery switched off for the webp images to remain active.

Great plugin. I was going to create all images as webp going forward but since you mentioned some browsers do nto support them I guess I am stuck with uploading pngs that will be converted via the plugin.

Thanks for your time. When I get budget for the premium plugin I will be getting it.