About this plugin
Vacuum Image Optimizer is a modern, lightweight image optimization toolkit for WordPress. It shrinks your image footprint by generating next-generation WebP and optional AVIF files locally, while always keeping your original files safe and untouched.
Everything happens inside a clean, friendly admin interface — no command line, no external services, and no account required.
Unlike optimizers that rewrite originals or depend on a remote API, Vacuum writes generated formats alongside the source image, can keep restorable backups, and serves WebP/AVIF on the frontend without changing stored media URLs.
What it does
- WebP generation and source optimization — Create optimized WebP copies of JPEG/PNG images and safely recompress uploaded WebP source files when the result is smaller.
- AVIF generation — Optionally generate AVIF, a newer format that is often even smaller than WebP, as a parallel format when the server supports it.
- Bulk optimization — Scan your media library and process eligible images in safe, batched background steps.
- Queue processing — A reliable queue runs work in small WordPress AJAX batches with pause, resume, safe cancellation, retry, and scan-all controls.
- Upload automation — Automatically optimize new JPEG, PNG, and WebP uploads after WordPress creates metadata; Safe Mode queues work conservatively.
- Frontend delivery — Serve generated WebP/AVIF on the frontend with automatic, safe fallback to the original image — your media URLs in the database are never changed.
- Reports — See storage savings, recent activity, top savings, format distribution, and automation stats, with one-click CSV export.
- Localization — Fully translatable, shipping with 9 bundled languages plus an in-plugin interface-language selector.
- Local processing — No external API dependency; optimization runs on your WordPress server.
Safe by design
Vacuum never modifies or deletes your original images. Optimized formats are written alongside the originals, optional backups can be kept, and a one-click restore brings originals back at any time.
Privacy and data handling
Images are optimized locally on your own WordPress server. Vacuum does not use an external API and does not send image data to third-party services. Optimization metadata and optional backups stay in your local WordPress installation.
Features
- WebP image generation (Imagick or GD)
- WebP source-file recompression with backup-first safety
- AVIF image generation as a parallel format
- Optional setup wizard with Safe Mode defaults
- Bulk optimization with scan, scan-all, start, pause, resume, safe cancellation, retry, and clear-failed controls
- Automatic optimization of new uploads after attachment metadata generation
- Non-destructive frontend delivery with original fallback
- Native browser lazy loading (no JavaScript)
- Per-image WebP/AVIF actions in the Media Library
- Generated derivatives registered as Media Library items
- Original backups and one-click restore
- Expanded exclusions for MIME types, file sizes, filenames, and paths
- Local processing with no external API dependency
- Compression profiles and adjustable quality
- GIF and SVG eligibility exclusions
- Reports dashboard with detailed CSV export
- WordPress 7.1 compatibility, PHP 8.3 readiness, and copyable System Status diagnostics
- Interface language selector with 9 bundled translations
- Clean, accessible, mobile-responsive admin UI