HoatzinMedia vs Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN

HoatzinMedia is a WordPress media cleaner and storage optimizer that helps you reclaim disk space and improve site performance by identifying unused attachments, oversized uploads, and storage pressure signals. It includes a clear dashboard, a reversible trash workflow, and batch-based scanning designed for large media libraries. Benefits: Reduce storage usage by finding unused and heavy media files Improve WordPress performance by keeping uploads lean and organized Delete with confidence using a safe trash table with restore support Scale to large sites with batch processing and scan locking Modules Dashboard What it does: Shows media health score, server/storage signals, and library breakdowns. REST endpoints: GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/dashboard, GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/dashboard/uploads-breakdown Hook points: Refreshes automatically after content changes via save_post cache bump; scan completion clears the dashboard transient. Smart Scan & Unused Media What it does: Batch-based scanning to detect unused attachments, then review and delete safely. REST endpoints: POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/scan, GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/unused-results, POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/delete-unused, POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/delete-unused-all Hook points: WP-Cron action hoatzinmedia_scheduled_scan runs a full scan when scheduling is enabled; the scanner uses posts_where during content search to reduce query overhead. Large Files Explorer What it does: Lists media files over a size threshold so you can quickly reclaim space. REST endpoints: GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/large-files?size=1|3|5 (MB threshold) Duplicate Checker What it does: Finds likely duplicate attachments and helps you validate before removal. REST endpoints: GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/duplicates, GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/attachment-usage?attachment_id=123 Hook points: Adds Media Library UI enhancements via manage_upload_columns, manage_media_columns, and manage_media_custom_column. Convert to WebP / AVIF What it does: Converts images to modern formats (WebP/AVIF) and manages converted variants. REST endpoints: Settings: GET/POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/converter-settings, GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/converter-settings/scan Converter: /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/image-formats/library, /image-formats/convert, /image-formats/background, /image-formats/background/status, /image-formats/background/log, /image-formats/background/cancel, /image-formats/background/pause, /image-formats/background/resume, /image-formats/delete Hook points: add_attachment can auto-convert new JPEG/PNG uploads based on settings; delete_attachment cleans up converted variants; background jobs run on the hoatzinmedia_convert_job_run action. Regenerate Thumbnails What it does: Rebuilds WordPress image sizes for selected attachments (useful after theme changes). REST endpoints: GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/regenerate/library, GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/regenerate/sizes, POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/regenerate, plus background endpoints under /regenerate/background/* Hook points: Background jobs run on the hoatzinmedia_regenerate_job_run action. Modules & Settings What it does: Enables/disables features and stores global plugin settings. REST endpoints: GET/POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/modules, GET/POST /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/settings, GET /wp-json/hoatzinmedia/v1/status Hook points: admin_menu registers the HoatzinMedia admin pages; init ensures scan scheduling and updates WebP serving rules when enabled. SVG Upload Support (optional) What it does: Allows SVG uploads with sanitization safeguards (including Elementor compatibility). Hook points: upload_mimes, wp_check_filetype_and_ext, wp_handle_upload_prefilter, wp_handle_sideload_prefilter, elementor/files/allow_unfiltered_upload, elementor/files/allow-file-type/svg Core features: Dashboard with media health score and live metrics Unused media scanner with batch processing and locking Safe trash table for reversible deletions Large file explorer by size threshold Translation-ready UI and REST responses Usage Review the media health score and high-level stats on the dashboard. Run an unused media scan from the Unused media scanner panel. Inspect results and move files to the HoatzinMedia trash. Use the large file explorer to identify heavy attachments by size.

Compress images, optimize images, and enable image lazy load automatically with the powerful Smush image optimizer to keep your WordPress site fast, without losing quality. Smush makes it easy to optimize images, compress images, and deliver images faster across your entire WordPress site. This all-in-one image optimizer automatically reduces image file sizes, enables image lazy load, and serves modern formats like WebP and AVIF, all without breaking image quality or adding extra work. Whether you’re running a blog, store, or portfolio, Smush helps you optimize images at scale and keep your site fast with a trusted WordPress image optimizer. Trusted by 1+ Million Sites | 4.8/5 Star Rating Get everything you need to optimize images and speed up your site. Smush works out of the box with no complicated setup – just install and let it handle the rest. Compress images without losing quality Reduce image file size automatically while keeping your images sharp and clear. Smush is an easy-to-use image optimizer which let’s you compress images using both lossless and lossy compression, giving you the best balance of quality and performance without extra work. You can also compress images outside the media library using Directory Smush, making it easy to optimize images stored in theme folders, plugins, or other directories on your server. Lazy load images for faster pages Enable image lazy load across your site so images load only when needed. This image optimizer improves initial page speed and creates a smoother experience for visitors without extra configuration. Serve WebP and AVIF images automatically (PRO) Convert images to WebP and AVIF and serve them automatically to supported browsers. Smush helps you optimize images using next-gen formats to reduce file size and improve load times across your WordPress site. Deliver images faster with an Image CDN (PRO) Serve images through a global image CDN to reduce latency and improve load times for visitors around the world. 119 global CDN servers Up to 500 GB of bandwidth Faster image delivery based on visitor location Improved performance for image-heavy and high-traffic sites Automatically resize and fix image dimensions (PRO) Eliminate common PageSpeed warnings and improve layout stability with automatic image sizing. Smush dynamically resizes images to perfectly fit their containers, regardless of original size, helping fix the “Properly size images” warning in Google PageSpeed Insights. It also automatically adds missing width and height attributes to your images, improving rendering speed and reducing layout shifts. This helps you meet the “Ensure images have explicit width and height” recommendation without any manual work. Optimize your entire site, automatically Smush works across your whole site as a powerful image optimizer to optimize images as you upload them and maintain performance over time without manual work. Optimize images automatically on upload Compress images in bulk or individually Works with your existing media library No need to re-upload images Enable image lazy load across your site Convert images to WebP and AVIF Deliver images with an integrated image CDN Automatically resize and serve correctly sized images Optimize images outside the media library with Directory Smush Built for performance Smush improves page speed and overall performance by reducing image weight and improving how images are delivered. Reduce page load times Improve user experience Better performance for image-heavy pages Supports image lazy load and preload images (PRO) for faster perceived performance Works with your existing setup Smush is built to work with your current WordPress setup, including popular themes, page builders, and plugins. Compatible with Gutenberg, Elementor, WPBakery, and more Works with WooCommerce stores No need to change your workflow Easy to enable and configure Designed to be simple You don’t need to be a performance expert to optimize images with Smush image optimizer. Works out of the box Simple settings when you need them No technical knowledge required Safe to use on any site Why choose Smush? There are plenty of image optimization plugins, but Smush focuses on making it easy to optimize images, compress images, and improve performance without complexity. As a leading WordPress image optimizer, Smush gives you powerful optimization tools without the technical hassle. Trusted by over 1 million WordPress users Built specifically for WordPress Regular updates and improvements Backed by the WPMU DEV team Get started in minutes Install Smush, activate it, and start to compress images, optimize images, and enable image lazy load right away. This easy-to-use image optimizer helps most sites see improvements immediately without changing how they upload or manage images. About Us WPMU DEV is a premium supplier of quality WordPress plugins, services and support. Learn more here: https://wpmudev.com/ Don’t forget to stay up to date on everything WordPress from the Internet’s number one resource: WPMU DEV Blog Hey, one more thing… we hope you enjoy our free offerings as much as we’ve loved making them for you! Contact and Credits Originally written by Alex Dunae at Dialect (dialect.ca, e-mail ‘alex’ at ‘dialect dot ca’), 2008-11.