Does ShortPixel Delete/Replace the Original Uploaded Image after Converting

Resolved NagaTheme
(@nagatheme)

1 week ago
Hello My Friends at ShortPixel,

1. I have a technical question regarding your plugin because I am conducting an in-depth comparison of WordPress image optimization plugins.

Could you please clarify the following behavior?

Suppose a user uploads this file:

example.jpg or example.png

After your plugin optimizes and converts it to WebP or AVIF, what exactly happens to the original (source) uploaded JPG/PNG file?

To avoid any misunderstanding, I’m not asking about backup files created before optimization.

I’m specifically asking about the original (source) uploaded image that WordPress stores in the Media Library.

Which of the following best describes your plugin’s behavior?

Option A
- The original JPG/PNG remains on disk.
- A WebP/AVIF version is created alongside it.
- Both files continue to exist on the server.
Option B
- After successful conversion, the original JPG/PNG is automatically deleted.
- The optimized WebP/AVIF becomes the only image stored on disk.
- WordPress Media Library is updated to use the new image.
2. If your plugin supports both behaviors, could you please specify:
- Which option is the default?
- Which settings enable each behavior?
3. If the original JPG/PNG is deleted (Option B), are all generated WordPress image sizes (thumbnails, medium, large, etc.) also generated from the WebP/AVIF image, and does this remain fully compatible with the standard WordPress Media Library and image editing features?

Or does your plugin intentionally keep the original JPG/PNG to maintain compatibility with WordPress core and third-party plugins?

4. If the original JPG/PNG is deleted (Option B), does it work for pre-existing images? Or just work for new uploads?

Thank you very much for your clarification.

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)

Plugin Support Adrian
(@adrianrus)

1 week ago

Hello @nagatheme ,

Thank you for your message and for using ShortPixel! 🙂

For the first question, the answer is Option A. This is because we still use the optimized JPG/PNG alongside Web/AVIF as a fallback mechanism. If a user’s browser doesn’t support WebP or AVIF, the user will see the optimized JPG/PNG image rather than seeing a broken image.

For the second question, the plugin currently only supports Option A, but we’re looking forward to adding a new option which soon which will allow you to directly replace the JPG/PNG image in the media library with the WebP/AVIF image. This will be only optional and the user will always have the option to choose or switch.

For the third question, Option B doesn’t exist yet but when we’ll be adding it, the thumbnails will be WebP/AVIF as well, so that’s correct!

For the fourth question, while Option B doesn’t exist yet, we’re planning to make it work for both pre-existing images and new uploads.

All the best,

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)

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