Media Converter cuts your image weight automatically by converting uploads to modern WebP or AVIF, with a bulk tool for images already in your library — smaller files, sharper Core Web Vitals, no manual exporting.
Where: WP Admin → Tiger Elements → Tools → Media Converter. This screen holds everything about how a file is handled when it is uploaded — image conversion and SVG permission.
How it works
- On upload — new images are converted to your chosen format automatically, at the quality you set.
- Bulk convert — process the existing Media Library in the background, in batches, so a large library doesn’t tie up a single request.
Settings
- Target format — WebP, AVIF, or Both (WebP as the primary file plus an AVIF sibling).
- Quality — set separately per format (defaults: WebP 82, AVIF 55), so you can tune each codec independently.
- Lossless — re-encode the full image losslessly from the kept original when you can’t afford any quality loss.
- Keep backup — retain WordPress core’s untouched original so a conversion can be reversed (on by default).
- Max width — an optional cap in pixels (0 uses WordPress’s default 2560px “big image” threshold).
- Source types — convert JPEG and PNG (on by default); GIF is off by default because converting an animated GIF would lose its animation.
SVG uploads
WordPress blocks SVG uploads by default, and for good reason: an SVG is XML, so it can carry <script>, event handlers and references to external files — a stored-XSS vector. This screen lets you switch them on with three guard rails rather than all-or-nothing.
- Administrators only — the upload is permitted only for users who can already publish unfiltered HTML. Editors and authors still cannot upload an SVG, even while the setting is on.
- Sanitised on the way in — every file is scrubbed as it is uploaded: scripts,
on*event handlers,javascript:andvbscript:URIs,<foreignObject>and the DOCTYPE/ENTITY block (XXE and “billion laughs”) are removed. A file that will not parse as a valid<svg>is rejected outright. - Scoped — the
image/svg+xmltype is only added to the allowed list while the setting is on; switching it off removes it again.
SVGs are vector, so the image converter leaves them alone — the WebP/AVIF settings above apply to JPEG, PNG and GIF only.
Safe by design
Conversion is built on WordPress 7’s own image_editor_output_format pipeline rather than rewriting attachment rows by hand, so every reference — thumbnails, responsive srcset, the media grid — stays correct and native. Core still keeps the original file, so nothing is destroyed in place.
Troubleshooting
AVIF images don’t display for some visitors.
AVIF has narrower browser support than WebP. Choose WebP for the broadest compatibility, or Both so browsers that can’t read AVIF fall back to the WebP primary.
An animated GIF stopped animating.
GIF conversion is off by default for exactly this reason. If you enabled it, disable GIF conversion and restore the affected file from its backup.
Bulk conversion seems stuck.
It runs in the background in batches and depends on WordPress cron. Reload the tools screen to see progress; on a very large library it can take several passes to finish.