🖼️ MBR WebP Converter

A free WordPress plugin by Made by Robert

Convert JPG, JPEG & PNG images to WebP — and slash file sizes by 90%+

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No PRO tiers. No CDN upsells. No API limits. No registration. Just fast images — completely free.

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✨ What It Does

MBR WebP Converter takes your existing JPG, JPEG and PNG images and converts them to the modern WebP format — serving lighter, crisper images to your visitors without you changing a single line of content.

Pages load faster. Bounce rates drop. Core Web Vitals improve. And it takes minutes to set up.

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🚀 Features

Feature	Detail
🔄 Bulk Conversion	Convert your entire existing Media Library in one click
⚡ Auto-Convert on Upload	New uploads are converted to WebP automatically
🎛️ Adjustable Compression	Set quality from 1–100. Try 1 for 90%+ compression with excellent sharpness
🔙 Safe Rollback	Deactivate to instantly revert to originals — WebP copies are cleaned up automatically
🖼️ <picture> Tag Delivery	Serves WebP via semantic HTML — works on Apache, Nginx, and CDNs
✅ Elementor Compatible	Full support for Elementor image and gallery widgets
✅ Gutenberg Compatible	Wraps core/image and core/gallery blocks automatically
🛠️ Server Diagnostics	Built-in checks for GD library, WebP support, and folder permissions
📋 Conversion History	View, manage and bulk-delete your conversion log
💯 100% Free	No premium version, no limits, no nonsense

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📸 How It Works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      MBR WebP Converter                         │
│                                                                 │
│  1. Scan your Media Library for JPG / JPEG / PNG files          │
│  2. Convert using PHP GD with your chosen compression level     │
│  3. Store the .webp file alongside the original                 │
│  4. Serve WebP to modern browsers via <picture> tag             │
│  5. Fall back gracefully to original for older browsers         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The original files are always kept on disk — WebP versions sit alongside them. In the WordPress admin, you still see your familiar JPGs and PNGs. On the front end, visitors get the WebP magic. ✨

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📦 Installation

1. Download the plugin zip from this repository
2. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
3. Upload the zip file and click Activate
4. Navigate to Admin → WebP Converter to get started

💡 Alternatively, copy the plugin folder to /wp-content/plugins/mbr-webp-converter/ and activate via the Plugins screen.

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🛠️ Usage

Converting Existing Images

1. Go to WebP Converter in your WordPress admin menu
2. Check the Server Diagnostics panel — everything should show ✅
3. Click Start Conversion to convert your entire Media Library
4. Watch the progress bar — converted images appear in the history table below

Auto-Converting New Uploads

1. Under Settings, tick Automatically convert new images upon upload
2. Click Save Settings
3. That's it — all future uploads are converted to WebP on the fly 🎉

Choosing a Compression Level

• Default: 75 — a solid balance of quality and size
• Recommended: 1 — delivers 90%+ compression while retaining excellent visual quality
• Range: 1 (smallest file) → 100 (best quality, largest file)

🔬 The 1 setting genuinely impresses. Give it a try before assuming you need a higher value!

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🔁 Rollback & Safety

Want to go back to originals? Simply deactivate the plugin. On deactivation:

• All WebP files created by this plugin are deleted (tracked via the internal registry)
• WebP files you uploaded directly are not touched
• Your original JPG/PNG files are never modified
• .htaccess rewrite rules are cleaned up automatically

⚠️ Always back up your site before activating or deactivating any plugin.

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💡 Pro Tips

• 🔃 Flush your caches after converting — WP Rocket, SiteGround, server cache, and browser cache (Windows: Ctrl+Shift+R / Mac: ⌘+Shift+R)
• 🔃 Flush again after deactivating if reverting to originals
• 📤 If you upload a native .webp file, a PNG fallback is created automatically — this file will not be deleted on deactivation
• 🌐 Running Nginx? The plugin will show an admin notice — you'll need to add WebP delivery rules at the server level (or rely on the built-in <picture> tag wrapping, which works regardless of server)

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🖥️ Server Requirements

Requirement	Minimum
WordPress	3.0.1+
PHP	7.4+
PHP GD Library	Required (with WebP support)
Uploads folder	Must be writable
Server	Apache / LiteSpeed (.htaccess rules applied) or Nginx (manual config / <picture> tags)

The Server Diagnostics panel in the plugin admin will confirm everything is good on your specific host.

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❓ FAQ

Q: If I deactivate and reactivate, do I need to convert all images again? Yes. Deactivation performs a full rollback and removes all WebP copies created by the plugin. A fresh conversion run is needed after reactivation.

Q: Will my original images be deleted or modified? Never. Your JPG/JPEG/PNG originals are always preserved. The plugin only creates additional .webp files.

Q: What compression level should I use? Start at 1. It sounds counterintuitive, but WebP at quality 1 still looks great and can reduce file sizes by 90%+. Only increase if you notice quality issues on your specific images.

Q: Does this work with Elementor? Yes — the plugin hooks into elementor/widget/render_content for image and gallery widgets, wrapping output in <picture> tags.

Q: Does this work with Gutenberg? Yes — core/image and core/gallery blocks are supported via the render_block filter.

Q: Does it work on Nginx? The .htaccess WebP delivery rules are Apache/LiteSpeed only. On Nginx, you'll need to add equivalent server config. However, the HTML <picture> tag wrapping works on all server types, so WebP is still delivered — it just relies on HTML rather than server-level rewriting.

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📋 Changelog

v1.5.8

• Minor bug fixes

v1.5.7

• Added user-configurable compression level setting (default: 75)

v1.1.5

• Initial release

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👨‍💻 About the Author

Built by Robert Palmer — freelance WordPress developer based in the UK, operating under Made by Robert and Little Web Shack.

All MBR plugins are free, open-source, and built to enterprise quality with no premium tiers or upsells. Ever.

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If this plugin saves you time or improves your site, consider buying me a coffee! ☕

Licensed under GPLv2 or later