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Troubleshooting Animated GIF Issues with EWWW Image Optimizer

12 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Ewww image optimizer

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Animated GIFs are a popular way to add motion to a website, but they can sometimes behave unexpectedly when using image optimization plugins. Users of EWWW Image Optimizer have reported specific issues where animated GIFs lose their animation or are incorrectly processed. This guide explains why these problems occur and provides the most common solutions.

Common Problems with Animated GIFs

Based on community reports, the primary issues are:

  • Loss of Animation: An uploaded GIF is saved as a static image, showing only the first frame. This is often linked to the 'Resize Media Images' feature.
  • WebP Conversion: Animated GIFs are incorrectly converted to WebP format by the JS WebP script, breaking the animation on the front end.
  • Thumbnail Animation: WordPress-generated thumbnails of an animated GIF are static and do not play the animation.

Why This Happens

Image optimization involves complex processing. Animated GIFs are multi-frame files, and not all image processing libraries handle them correctly. A function designed to resize a standard JPEG or PNG might only process the first frame of a GIF, stripping away the animation data. Similarly, a script that automatically converts images to modern formats like WebP might not have a proper exception rule for files that are already animated.

Solutions and Workarounds

1. Prevent Animation Loss During Resize

The most frequently reported cause of animation loss is using the Resize Media Images option. The image processing engine resizes each frame individually, which can corrupt the animation container.

Solution: To preserve animation, it is recommended to disable the 'Resize Media Images' option for animated GIFs. You can resize your GIFs to the desired dimensions using a dedicated graphics tool before uploading them to WordPress.

2. Fix JS WebP Conversion for GIFs

In some cases, the plugin's JS WebP script attempted to serve a WebP version of an animated GIF, which broke the animation. The EWWW Image Optimizer team has acknowledged this as a bug.

Solution: This specific issue has been fixed in the plugin's development version. If you encounter this problem, you can update to the latest official release of EWWW Image Optimizer. If a new release is not yet available, you can follow the guide to update the plugin from GitHub to get the immediate fix.

3. Animated Thumbnails

By default, WordPress does not generate animated thumbnails. When you upload an animated GIF, the main file remains animated, but the smaller thumbnail sizes (e.g., 'medium', 'thumbnail') are created as static JPEG or PNG files.

Solution: This is a standard WordPress behavior and not a fault of the optimization plugin. To display an animated thumbnail, you must directly use the full-size, original GIF file URL in your theme or template where the smaller image size is called for.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Animated Images

The EWWW Image Optimizer team has indicated that future development may focus on converting animated GIFs to the animated WebP format, which offers better compression and performance. For now, the best practice is to avoid using resize functions on animated GIFs within the plugin and ensure you are running the latest version to benefit from any existing bug fixes.

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