How to speedup LiteSpeed Cache Plugin with avif instead of webp Images

As advantageous as using the webp replacement function may seem, because webp images usually have (should have) a significantly smaller file size and this can significantly improve the loading time, this webp replacement function has some disadvantages. One of these disadvantages is that the images converted into the webp image format are not optimized or compressed by the LiteSpeed Cache plugin or by quic.cloud. In the absence of compression, this results in the file size of the webp images being either larger than the original format or only slightly smaller than the original image. Given that the LiteSpeed Cache Plugin does not generally use a webp image, but rather uses the image format with the smallest file size, this explains why it is not uncommon for the original image to be loaded instead of the webp image. If the converted webp images were compressed, the difference in file size between the original and webp images would be much larger. As a result, you only benefit marginally from the supposed advantages of the webp replacement function of the LiteSpeed Cache plugin for WordPress.

The main reason for this malfunction is that quic.cloud does not use the original image for webp conversion, but the optimized version. In order not to worsen the quality of the converted webp images, LiteSpeed does not optimize or compress the webp images. This methodology certainly has its justification, although it would be comparatively easy to use the original image instead of the optimized image! Another justification for this methodology seems to be that optimizing the webp images significantly increases the server load. This does not affect the origin server, but the relevant quic.cloud server. The quic.cloud servers used for webp conversion continually suffer from overload. If LiteSpeed were to additionally optimize the webp images, the load would increase even further. As a result, LiteSpeed or quic.cloud could only provide the webp conversion service with long waiting times or would have to provide significantly more servers for image conversion. Given that LiteSpeed doesn't make any money from conversions when using the Free Plan, it's hard to imagine that LiteSpeed would be willing to absorb these significant additional costs.

Last but not least, using the webp replacement function of the LiteSpeed Cache Plugin for WordPress does not bring the benefits that this function would have you believe. You should therefore look for alternatives! But if other plugins for webp generation cannot be alternatives for the reasons mentioned, what is the solution?

The solution is that everything you need to convert images into webp format is already on your server, or at least the requirements for it exist, which usually also applies to shared hosting. If you leave out the fact that these requirements are only about the fact that your server would be practically able to convert any image format into the webp format, you would be independent of the LiteSpeed Cache Plugin and independent of quic.cloud. This would mean that you would be spared significant costs if you were currently using the paid image service from quic.cloud. Additionally, you would not be restricted by any limits if you use the free plan from quic.cloud. This not only sounds good, it is actually particularly good. All you need is the AWR plugin. AWR stands for "Avif and Webp Replacement". The AWR plugin is a WordPress plugin that was developed specifically for the LiteSpeed Cache Plugin for WordPress and replaces all image-relevant functions of the cache plugin and therefore you no longer need the webp replacement function or quic.cloud. The AWR plugin completely frees you from the limitations of the webp replacement function and quic.cloud and also helps you save a lot of money.

With the AWR plugin you can carry out the webp conversion yourself on your own server. Since the AWR plugin was developed exclusively for the LiteSpeed Cache Plugin for WordPress, it is not only compatible with the cache plugin, but also takes on the function of webp replacement, which ensures that the correct image format depends on the webp support of a browser is loaded and displayed. But it gets even better! Since the A in AWR stands for Avif, you can use the AWR plugin to make your site Avif ready. The avif image format is a comparatively new image format compared to webp, but this image format has been supported by all current browsers for several years. The highlight of avif is that it can reduce the file size of an image by another 50% compared to webp. Even more optimization and thus improvement of the loading time is not possible! The intelligent optimization of the AWR plugin ensures that if the browser does not support the avif format, either the webp version is used as a fallback or, in the worst case, the original image is used for display. When using the webp format, it is also guaranteed that the webp images are also optimized and compressed so that you can use the maximum advantages of the webp image format.

The AWR plugin not only allows you to convert images into the webp and avif format. With the AWR plugin you can not only optimize your original images (.jpg, .png), but you can also use the optimization features for images known from the cache plugin through improved functions. You get a special extra with the LiteSpeed Hacks of the AWR plugin. These hacks unlock unavailable functions of the cache plugin, so that, for example, the server-side deactivation of the built-in crawler is removed and additional functions for page optimization are available.