Settings
Important settings to configure after installing Compresso
After installation, head to Compresso > Settings in your WordPress admin to configure the plugin. Here are the most important settings.
Compression Mode
Controls the balance between image quality and file size.
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Lossless | No quality loss. Smaller file size savings. |
| Balanced | Recommended. Good compression with minimal visible quality loss. (JPEG: 82%, PNG/WebP: 80%) |
| Aggressive | Maximum compression. May have visible quality reduction. |
| Custom | Set your own quality values per format. |
Balanced is the default and works well for most sites. Switch to Aggressive if page speed is your top priority, or Lossless if you need pixel-perfect images.
Auto-Optimize on Upload
Default: Enabled
When enabled, every image you upload to the media library is automatically optimized. This is the recommended setting — you won't need to think about optimization after uploading.
WebP Conversion
Default: Enabled
Automatically creates a WebP version alongside every optimized image. WebP files are typically 25-35% smaller than their JPEG/PNG equivalents.
CDN Integration
Default: Empty (disabled)
If your images are served through a CDN pull zone with a different domain — for example https://cdn.yoursite.com instead of https://yoursite.com — enter that URL here.
Without this setting, Compresso can't identify CDN-hosted images as belonging to your site, so WebP/AVIF delivery and lazy-load placeholders won't apply to them.
Leave blank if you don't use a CDN or if your CDN uses the same domain as your site (pass-through CDN).
WebP Delivery
Default: Disabled
After enabling WebP conversion, you need to choose a delivery method so browsers actually receive the WebP versions:
| Method | How it works | CDN compatible? |
|---|---|---|
| Picture tags | Wraps images in <picture> elements with WebP sources. Most compatible. | Yes, with CDN URL set |
| JavaScript | Swaps image sources client-side. Works without server config changes. | Always |
| .htaccess | Rewrites image requests at the server level. Best performance, Apache only. | No |
If you use a CDN, avoid the .htaccess method — CDN requests bypass your server's rewrite rules. Use JavaScript delivery instead. Compresso will warn you in Settings if this combination is detected.
After changing the delivery method, clear your cache (browser, caching plugin, and CDN) to see the change take effect.
Image Resizing
Default: Enabled (max 2560x2560px)
Automatically downsizes images that exceed the maximum dimensions. This prevents unnecessarily large uploads from consuming storage and bandwidth.
You can also configure Compresso to skip very large files (default: files over 10MB) to avoid long processing times.
Lazy Loading
Default: Disabled
Defers loading of off-screen images until the user scrolls near them, improving initial page load time.
Key options:
- Placeholder type — choose between none, LQIP (low-quality image placeholder), DCIP (dominant color), or blur
- Skip first N images — keeps above-the-fold images loading immediately (recommended: 2-3)
- Exclusions — skip lazy loading on specific elements by CSS class or ID
Scheduled Optimization Pro
Default: Disabled
Automatically runs optimization during off-peak hours so your server stays free during traffic. Only unoptimized (pending) images are queued on each run — images that are already optimized are skipped.
Configure:
- Frequency — Daily or Weekly
- Day — If weekly, which day of the week to run
- Time — What time to start (uses your site's timezone)
See Scheduled Optimization for full details.
EXIF Metadata
Default: Stripped
By default, Compresso removes EXIF metadata (camera info, GPS data, etc.) to reduce file size. Enable preservation if you need to keep this data — for example, on a photography site.
Logging
Default: Info level, 30 day retention
Controls how much detail is recorded in the optimization logs. Set to Debug during initial setup to help diagnose any issues, then switch back to Info for normal operation.