Installation
How to install Compresso on your WordPress site
Requirements
- WordPress 5.8 or higher
- PHP 7.4 or higher
Compresso ships with its own bundled compression binaries, so it works out of the box on most servers — no extra installation needed. These bundled binaries are always used first. If a bundled binary isn't available for your operating system, Compresso will search for system-installed versions in common paths.
| Binary | Used for |
|---|---|
jpegoptim | JPEG optimization |
pngquant | PNG optimization (lossy) |
optipng | PNG optimization (lossless) |
cwebp | WebP conversion |
gifsicle | GIF optimization |
If no binary is found for a given format (bundled or system), Compresso falls back to PHP's GD library at the optimizer level. Results will still be good, but dedicated binaries produce smaller files.
Install from WordPress
- Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress admin
- Search for Compresso
- Click Install Now, then Activate
Install Manually
- Download the plugin ZIP file
- Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
- Choose the ZIP file and click Install Now
- Activate the plugin
After Installation
Once activated, navigate to Compresso in your WordPress admin sidebar. You should see the dashboard with a system status overview.
Check System Status
The dashboard includes a collapsible System Status section that shows your server's compatibility tier (Excellent, Good, Limited, or Incompatible) and which compression tools are available. Compresso ships with bundled binaries, so most servers work out of the box. If any tools are missing, Compresso falls back to PHP's GD library automatically — no action needed, though dedicated binaries produce smaller files.
Run Bulk Optimization
If you already have images in your media library, go to the Bulk Optimization tab to optimize them all at once. The process runs in the background so it won't affect your site's performance.