FREEAPC Editorial tool · Images
WordPress plugin to convert images to AVIF and WebP
The APC Editorial Image Converter makes the photos in your Media Library much lighter, keeps the original right beside them and makes your site show the new version without you editing a single post. Free, with no AI key, on your own server.
- Free forever
- Original always kept
- Converts in the background
In short
The Image Converter turns the JPG and PNG images in your WordPress Media Library into AVIF or WebP, with every size your theme uses. Your site starts showing the light version on its own, without you editing a single post, and the original stays stored so you can go back whenever you like.
It is part of APC Editorial, but it works on its own: you don't need to generate articles, it uses no AI and it never sends an image outside your server.
- Converts
- JPG and PNG in the Media Library
- To
- AVIF or WebP (with AVIF, a WebP too)
- Quality
- 5 levels, from Lossy to Lossless
- New images
- Converted on upload, if you want
- Older images
- In the background, up to 50 at a time
- Original
- Kept; back in 1 click
- Plan
- Free, forever
The formats
AVIF and WebP: the same photo, much lighter.
JPG and PNG date from the 1990s. WebP and AVIF are modern formats that store the same image in far fewer bytes, and every current browser can show both.
WebP was created by Google. According to Google, a WebP photo is 25% to 34% smaller than the same JPG at equivalent quality, and a lossless image is 26% smaller than a PNG. AVIF is newer and usually compresses even more than WebP, while keeping details, gradients and shadows better.
In practice, the right format depends on what your audience uses. That is why the plugin never makes you choose between lightness and reach: with AVIF, it also makes a WebP copy, and each browser gets the lightest format it asks for.
| Format | Compression | Transparency | Browsers | In the Image Converter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPG | Lossy. Heavy for the quality it delivers. | No | All | Goes in as the original and stays stored. |
| PNG | Lossless. Great for logos, poor for photos. | Yes | All | Goes in as the original and stays stored. |
| WebP | Lossy or lossless, much smaller than JPG and PNG. | Yes | All current ones | An output format. Also the extra copy when you pick AVIF. |
| AVIF | Lossy or lossless, usually the lightest of the 4. | Yes | Recent versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari | An output format, when your hosting supports it. |
The Image format & quality card shows whether your hosting can write AVIF and WebP before you choose.
Speed and SEO
A light image is a fast page.
On most sites, images are the largest part of each page's weight. And the image at the top of an article is often the largest element on the screen, which Google measures as LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), one of the Core Web Vitals.
Tools such as PageSpeed Insights flag heavy images as one of the first things to fix. Swapping the JPG for AVIF or WebP cuts what your visitor downloads, especially on phones and mobile data, without changing anything they see.
- A faster page for your readers, on any connection.
- Less data to download on a phone.
- The same look: at the Optimal level, the difference can't be seen with the naked eye.
What it does
Everything the converter takes care of.
A tab of its own to set it up, and a column in the Media Library to follow each image.
AVIF or WebP
Under Convert to, pick the format. The card tells you what your hosting supports, so you never pick something it can't write.
5 quality levels
The Conversion strategy bar goes from Lossy (smallest file) to Lossless. Optimal, in the middle, is the best choice for most sites.
Uploads converted on arrival
With Convert new uploads automatically, every image that enters the library comes out light, with nothing for you to remember.
The whole library, bit by bit
Start background optimization converts in groups of up to 50 images, with pauses, and keeps going with the tab closed. It is gentle on shared hosting.
Each image's savings
The APC Image Converter column shows the size before and after, for every size, and lets you Optimize, Re-optimize Now at another level or Restore originals.
No hidden data
Remove image metadata strips the GPS location, the camera model and other hidden data. The color profile stays, so the colors don't change.
How your site shows it
The light version live, with nothing to edit.
You don't need to swap a single image in your posts or touch the HTML. Once converted, your site serves the light version on its own:
- Featured images, galleries and page builders switch to the converted file on their own.
- Images pasted into your posts' text keep the same address, and each browser gets what it accepts: AVIF, WebP or, in old browsers, the original. It works on Apache or LiteSpeed hosting, the vast majority.
- Your posts' content doesn't change: no text or HTML you wrote is rewritten.
- No image ever breaks: if the version asked for isn't fully on the server, the image stays as it was.
Step by step
Convert your images in 4 steps.
Everything is in the plugin's Image Converter tab. The tool comes on, but it converts nothing by itself until you say so.
-
Install APC Editorial
Download the plugin for free, install it in WordPress and sign in with your jode.io account. The converter works on the Free plan.
-
Pick format and quality
In the Image format & quality card, pick AVIF or WebP and leave the strategy on Optimal.
-
Handle new uploads
Turn on Convert new uploads automatically and, if you like, Remove image metadata.
-
Convert what's already there
Under Optimize existing images, click Start background optimization and you can close the tab.
Want to see each screen? The step by step in the docs shows every card.
No risk
The original is never lost.
Both versions of every image sit side by side on the server. Switching the one your site shows is instant, and nothing is converted twice.
- In the Back to your original images card, Restore my original images puts the originals back on the site; Use the lighter copies again undoes it. As often as you like.
- Just one image? In the Media Library column, Restore originals brings that image back and Use the converted version undoes it.
- Turned the tool off or deactivated the plugin? The originals come back on their own, and the converted copies stay stored.
Want the copies gone for good? Delete converted images & restore originals first puts the originals back and updates every page that points to a converted image, so no page loses a picture, and only then deletes the copies. The card says how many images are left out and why.
Free and PRO
The converter is Free. All of it.
Nothing in the Image Converter is locked behind PRO. PRO adds images created with AI, which are born light.
Forever, with no image limit
- AVIF and WebP, with the 5 quality levels
- New uploads converted and the whole library in the background
- A column with each image's savings
- Back to the original and safe deletion of the copies
AI images, already light
- The AI-generated featured image comes out in WebP or AVIF, with your logo and palette
- Images created with AI in the editor's media window
- 30 days free to try everything
FAQ
Questions about converting images to AVIF and WebP.
AVIF or WebP: which should I pick?
If your hosting supports AVIF, pick AVIF: it is usually the lightest, and the plugin also makes a WebP copy for browsers that don't ask for AVIF. If your hosting doesn't, pick WebP, which works in every current browser. The Image format & quality card shows what your hosting supports.
Does the converter delete my original images?
No. Each image's original stays stored beside the converted version, and you go back to it in 1 click. Even the option that deletes the converted copies puts the originals back before deleting anything.
Do I need to replace the images already in my posts?
No. Featured images, galleries and page builders switch to the converted file on their own. Images pasted into your posts' text come out light too, at the same address, on Apache or LiteSpeed hosting, without changing your posts' content.
What if a visitor's browser doesn't accept AVIF?
For images pasted into your posts' text, it gets the WebP or, in an old browser, the original JPG and PNG. Featured images, galleries and page builders use the format you picked directly, and current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari show both AVIF and WebP. If much of your audience uses very old devices, prefer WebP.
Does it work on shared hosting?
Yes. Background conversion works in groups of up to 50 images, with short pauses, so the server is never overloaded. An image that fails 3 times is skipped, and the Try them again button sends the skipped ones again.
Which images does it convert?
JPG and PNG in the Media Library, with every size WordPress creates. Other file types show JPG and PNG only in the column. Images outside the library, such as those in your theme folder, are handled by the Folder Image Converter.
Does it need an AI key or a subscription?
No. The Image Converter is Free forever, uses your site's own server and never sends an image elsewhere. You only need to sign in with your jode.io account, which is free.
After changing themes, do I need to convert everything again?
Only the new sizes the theme creates. Use Regenerate Thumbnails: it rebuilds the sizes without breaking the images already converted.
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 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.