FREEAPC Editorial tool · Images
WordPress plugin to convert folder images to WebP and AVIF
The APC Editorial Folder Image Converter makes a light WebP or AVIF copy beside every image in your theme folder, page-builder kits and folders you uploaded. The original is never touched, and your site starts serving the light copy at the same address. Free, with no AI key.
- Free forever
- Original never touched
- Same image address
In short
The Folder Image Converter turns the JPG and PNG images that live outside the Media Library into WebP or AVIF: your theme's image folder, page-builder kits and folders uploaded by FTP. It writes the light copy beside each image, never touches the original, and your site serves the copy at the same address.
It is the sibling of the Image Converter: that one handles the Media Library, this one handles everything else. The 2 never touch the same images, so you can use both together.
- Converts
- JPG and PNG outside the Media Library
- Folders
- Up to 50, each with its subfolders
- To
- WebP or AVIF (with AVIF, a WebP too)
- Quality
- 5 levels, from Lossy to Lossless
- Original
- Never touched: same name and place
- Pace
- In the background, up to 50 at a time
- Plan
- Free, forever
The problem
The images nobody converts.
Not every image on your site went through the Media Library. And most converters only see what is in there.
When you upload a photo through WordPress, it becomes an item in the Media Library, stored in the uploads folder. But many images arrive by other routes: the theme ships its logo, backgrounds and icons inside its own folder; a page-builder kit may keep the images of its ready-made sections in a folder of its own; and some people upload whole galleries by FTP into a folder of their own.
These images have no item in the library, so converters that work through the library walk right past them. Yet your visitor downloads every one of them, and tools such as PageSpeed Insights look at every image on the page, not just the library's. A heavy background in the theme's header weighs as much as a photo in a post.
| Where the image lives | Example | Has a library item? | Who converts it in APC Editorial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Media Library (uploads folder) | Photos uploaded through WordPress | Yes | The Image Converter |
| Theme folder | Logo, backgrounds and icons that come with the theme | No | The Folder Image Converter |
| Page-builder kit | Images of ready-made sections, in the kit's folder | No | The Folder Image Converter |
| Folder uploaded by FTP | A gallery that stayed outside the library | No | The Folder Image Converter |
The uploads folder, and any folder that contains it (such as the whole wp-content), cannot be picked here. That is how the 2 converters never touch the same images.
Speed and SEO
Theme images weigh on every page.
Theme images show up across the whole site: the logo, the header background, the footer icons. A heavy image there is downloaded on every visit, on every page. That is why converting those few images makes every page lighter at once.
And the background at the top of the home page is often the largest element on the screen, which Google measures as LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), one of the Core Web Vitals. To understand the difference between the formats, see the Image Converter page.
- Less weight on every page at once, starting with the images that repeat.
- The same look: at the Optimal level, the difference can't be seen with the naked eye.
- Nothing to redo in the theme: each image keeps the same address.
What it does
From the folders you pick to light copies.
A tab of its own, with the same format and quality controls as the Image Converter.
Finds the folders for you
Detect folders with images looks inside wp-content for the folders that hold images and says how many each one has. The Media Library is already left out.
Or type the path
Add a folder by path takes any real folder inside your site, such as wp-content/themes/your-theme/img. Up to 50 folders fit, and each one counts with its subfolders.
WebP or AVIF
Under Convert to, pick the format. With AVIF, a WebP copy is made too, so Safari also gets a light image. The card shows what your hosting supports.
5 quality levels
The Conversion strategy bar goes from Lossy to Lossless. Optimal, in the middle, is the best choice for most sites.
In the background or now
Start background conversion converts up to 50 images at a time, with pauses, and keeps going with the tab closed. Convert now does it all at once, with the tab open.
No hidden data
Remove image metadata strips the GPS location and other hidden data from the light copies. The color profile stays, so the colors don't change.
How your site shows it
The same address, a lighter image.
The plugin never renames, moves or deletes any of your files. Beside each photo.jpg it writes a photo.avif or photo.webp, and the server starts handing the light copy to whoever asks for it, at the usual address:
- Each browser gets what it accepts: AVIF, WebP or, in old browsers, the original.
- Nothing to rewrite: the theme, the CSS and the pages keep pointing to the same files.
- It works on Apache or LiteSpeed hosting, the vast majority. On others, the originals keep showing as before, and nothing breaks.
- A folder that refuses goes back at once: if a folder's server won't accept serving the light copy, the plugin undoes it on its own, and that folder keeps showing the originals.
- A WebP your theme already shipped stays as it is: the plugin never writes over or deletes what it didn't make.
Step by step
Convert your folders in 4 steps.
The tool comes off: it only acts on the folders you pick.
-
Turn the tool on
With APC Editorial installed and your jode.io account connected, turn on the Folder Image Converter in Global Settings › Add-ons/Tools.
-
Pick the folders
In Folders to convert, use Detect folders with images or type the path and click Add folder.
-
Format and quality
In the Image format & quality card, pick WebP or AVIF and leave the strategy on Optimal.
-
Convert
Under Convert the images in these folders, click Start background conversion and you can close the tab.
Want to see each card? The step by step in the docs shows the whole tab.
No risk
The originals 1 click away.
Since the original was never touched, going back to it just means no longer serving the light copy. Both versions stay stored side by side.
- In the Back to your original images card, Restore my original images shows the originals again at once; Use the lighter copies again undoes it, without converting anything again.
- If your site uses a page cache or a CDN, clear it after switching, so the change shows everywhere.
- Turned the tool off, removed a folder from the list or deactivated the plugin? That folder shows the originals again.
Want the copies gone for good? Delete the lighter copies removes the copies from the folders you picked. Since the originals were never touched, the folders go back to exactly how they were before conversion. Only a site administrator sees this button.
Free and PRO
The Folder Converter is Free. All of it.
Nothing in this tool is locked behind PRO. It runs on your server and never goes through jode.io.
Forever
- JPG and PNG in the folders you pick, to WebP or AVIF
- Up to 50 folders, each with its subfolders
- Background conversion and back to the originals in 1 click
- Together with the Image Converter, Free as well
What PRO adds
- The featured image created with AI, which comes out in WebP or AVIF
- Planning and writing your articles with AI
- 30 days free to try everything
FAQ
Questions about converting theme images.
How is it different from the Image Converter?
The Image Converter handles the Media Library only. The Folder Image Converter handles images that live in other folders: your theme's, page-builder kits' and those uploaded by FTP. Use both together: they never touch the same images.
Does it change or delete the theme's files?
No. The light copy sits beside the original, with the same name and another extension. The original is never renamed, moved or deleted, and its address stays the same.
Do I need to change the theme's CSS or code?
No. Each image keeps its address, and the server hands the light copy to the browser that accepts WebP or AVIF. The theme, the CSS and the pages are not rewritten.
Does it work on Nginx hosting?
The light copies are served by the web server itself on Apache or LiteSpeed hosting, the vast majority. On other servers, such as Nginx, the originals keep showing as before and nothing breaks.
Can I convert the whole wp-content folder?
No. The Media Library folder sits inside it, and that one belongs to the Image Converter. Pick the theme and kit folders, or use Detect folders with images, which already leaves the library out.
My theme already ships WebP images. Are they replaced?
No. If a WebP or AVIF with the same name already sits beside the JPG, the plugin doesn't write over it, and deleting the copies never removes what it didn't make.
Does it work on shared hosting?
Yes. Background conversion works on up to 50 images at a time, with short pauses, and keeps going with the tab closed. An image that fails 3 times is skipped, so it never holds up the others.
Does it need an AI key or a subscription?
No. The Folder Image Converter is Free forever and uses your site's own server. You only need to sign in with your jode.io account, which is free.
More add-ons and tools
Works together with these.
Each add-on and each tool turns on and off on its own, in Global Settings › Add-ons/Tools.
APC Editorial
Download it free and use it today.
The Folder Image Converter tool is part of APC Editorial, the plugin to generate articles with AI with editorial planning. Free add-ons and tools stay free forever; PRO ones are unlocked during the 30 free days.