Disable WordPress Updates – Version Locker vs Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN

Version Locker is an update manager that lets you disable automatic updates in WordPress and keep any plugin, theme, or WordPress core itself on the version you are running today. Turn off updates for one plugin, for every plugin at once, for themes, or for WordPress core. Once something is locked it will not update automatically, and the one-click update button is withheld until you unlock it. Every switch is reversible in one click. Stop Automatic Updates, Without Losing Track of Them Most plugins that disable updates simply hide them, and six months later you have no idea how far behind you are. Version Locker still shows you the update it is holding, including the new version number and whether it is a major, minor, or patch release. You can add a note explaining why something is pinned, and set a date for the lock to release itself. Downgrade WordPress Core to a Specific Version Pick the release you want and Version Locker offers it under Dashboard > Updates. Nothing is installed until you start it there yourself, and once the site is on that release, further core updates are held back. You can downgrade WordPress to an earlier version, or hold WordPress on the version you have tested, without editing files over FTP or hunting for an old ZIP. Only releases published on WordPress.org are offered, and the package always comes from WordPress.org in your site’s own language. Going backwards across a major version has to be confirmed first, because WordPress upgrades the database as it goes and cannot migrate it back. What Makes This Different Four things you will not find together anywhere else: Roll back to an earlier version. Something broke after an update? Reinstall any version still published on WordPress.org and pin it there, from inside your dashboard. No FTP, no hunting for old ZIP files. Roll back WordPress core, not just plugins. Choose a specific WordPress version and stay on it. Hold new releases for a few days. Set a waiting period and every new release is held for that many days before WordPress offers or installs it. Let other people find the bugs first. It only ever delays an update, it never starts one. Copy your setup between sites. Save your locks and settings to a file and load them on another site. You see exactly what will change before anything is applied. Who This Is For Agencies and freelancers managing client sites. Anyone running a customized or patched plugin. Production and eCommerce sites that update on a schedule. Sites on older PHP or an older WordPress version. Common Problems It Solves Stop WordPress from automatically updating plugins in the background. Prevent a specific plugin from updating while every other update keeps working normally. Keep a customized plugin from being overwritten by a new release. Go back to the version that worked before an update broke your site. Freeze a whole site’s versions before a migration, audit, or busy trading period. Block WordPress core updates until you have tested the new version on staging. Downgrade WordPress to a specific version after a core update broke the site. Hold WordPress on an older version while a theme or plugin catches up. Delay WordPress updates for a few days so someone else hits the bugs first. Stop someone else with admin access from updating a plugin you deliberately pinned. Keep an eye on which updates you are holding, and how far behind you have fallen. Full Feature List Disable automatic updates for individual plugins Disable automatic updates for individual themes Turn off all plugin updates at once Turn off all theme updates at once Turn off WordPress core updates Downgrade WordPress core to a specific version, or hold it on the one you are running Roll back a plugin or theme to any earlier version on WordPress.org Hold new releases for a set number of days before they are offered Block new plugin or theme installs, including ZIP uploads Automatically lock anything you newly install Save your locks and settings to a file, and load them on another site Lock or unlock without a page reload Bulk lock or unlock many items at once “Update available” indicator on locked items, without enabling the update See the pinned version and how far behind you are (major, minor, or patch) Add a note to any lock, and set it to unlock itself on a date Search and filter your plugins and themes Activity log showing who changed what and when, with CSV export Works on Multisite How It Works Version Locker uses WordPress filters to hide update notices and refuse update attempts. Locking never touches your files: nothing is added, changed, or removed on disk. The one exception is Roll Back, which only runs when you ask for it. It downloads the version you pick from WordPress.org and replaces the installed files, exactly as a normal update would. You are warned and asked to confirm first. No account, no API key, no external service. Nothing is sent anywhere.

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.