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Why Your WebP Images Might Look Blurry and How to Fix It

44 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Converter for media – optimize images | convert webp & avif

Content

Many users of the 'Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF' plugin report that their converted WebP images appear blurry or suffer from a noticeable loss in quality. This is a common concern, especially for photographers and site owners who prioritize visual fidelity. Let's break down why this happens and the steps you can take to resolve it.

Why Does This Happen?

The plugin generates WebP files from the image files present in your WordPress /uploads directory. This is a crucial detail. If you have previously used another optimization plugin (like Smush or reSmush.it) that compressed your original JPG or PNG files, the 'Converter for Media' plugin uses those already-compressed files as its source. This means the conversion process is starting from a lower-quality image, which can lead to a further, more noticeable loss in quality in the final WebP output—a effect often called "double compression."

Furthermore, the plugin's default conversion quality settings might not be the ideal sweet spot for your specific images, potentially exacerbating the issue.

Common Solutions

1. Adjust the Plugin's Quality Setting

The plugin allows you to control the conversion quality. A higher percentage results in better quality but larger file sizes. Based on community feedback and testing, a quality setting of 92% is often considered a great balance between visual fidelity and file size reduction, sitting between the plugin's default 90% and 95% options. Experiment with this setting to find what works best for your images.

2. Optimize Your Source Images Correctly

Since the plugin uses the files in your /uploads folder, the quality of your WebP images is directly tied to the quality of those originals. The 'Converter for Media' team suggests that pre-optimizing images with another tool before WebP conversion is often unnecessary and can be counterproductive. For the best results:

  • Upload High-Quality Originals: If possible, upload images that have not been heavily compressed by other plugins first.
  • Check WordPress Compression: WordPress compresses uploaded JPGs to 82% quality by default. If you require the highest quality, you can use a code snippet in your theme's functions.php file to set the jpeg_quality to 100. This ensures the plugin has the best possible source material to work with.
  • Regenerate Thumbnails: After changing WordPress's default compression or uploading new originals, use a regeneration plugin to create new thumbnails from the higher-quality sources. The 'Converter for Media' plugin will then generate WebP versions from these improved files.

3. Understand the Conversion Process

It's important to remember that this plugin creates new WebP files in a separate directory; it does not alter or replace your original uploaded files. Your original JPG and PNG images remain safe and untouched on the server. The plugin uses server-level rules to deliver the appropriate format (WebP, AVIF, or the original) based on the visitor's browser capabilities.

Conclusion

Blurry WebP images are typically a source issue, not a bug in the conversion plugin itself. By ensuring you start with high-quality original images and fine-tuning the plugin's quality setting, you can achieve significant file size reductions while maintaining excellent visual quality on your website.

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