Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN vs Zero Budget Bot Shield

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.

Zero Budget Bot Shield is a WordPress security plugin that provides country blocking and 404 abuse protection without using external APIs or services Country Blocking Without External APIs Most geo-blocking plugins depend on third-party IP lookup services. Zero Budget Bot Shield does not. Instead, it reads country codes directly from: Cloudflare IP country headers Hosting provider GeoIP headers Standard server-level GeoIP integrations This means: No API keys No outbound IP lookups No visitor data sent to external services No privacy policy complexity Features All features are available out of the box, with nothing locked behind a paywall. Country blocking using server-level GeoIP headers No external APIs, IP databases, or paid services Automatic detection and blocking of 404 abuse Configurable rate limits and time windows Admin dashboard with statistics and event logs Exportable logs for auditing and analysis Native WordPress admin interface No front-end scripts or styles Fully self-contained and privacy-friendly How It Works Zero Budget Bot Shield uses country codes provided by your server environment, such as: Cloudflare IP country headers Hosting provider GeoIP integrations Standard server-level GeoIP modules No outbound IP lookups are performed, and no visitor data is sent outside your WordPress installation. For 404 protection, the plugin monitors repeated not-found responses per IP address and automatically applies temporary blocks when thresholds are exceeded. Privacy and Performance No user tracking No storage of personally identifiable information No external API calls or SaaS dependencies No background cron jobs No performance impact on normal visitors All processing happens locally using infrastructure you already control. Recommended For Small businesses and personal websites Non-profits and educational institutions Shared hosting environments Developers who want simple, dependency-free protection Sites that require country blocking without paid services About WPNatives WPNatives develops practical, security-focused tools for WordPress site owners who value stability, performance, and transparency. Our plugins are designed to be lightweight, self-contained, and standards-compliant, with a focus on protecting WordPress sites without introducing unnecessary complexity, external dependencies, or recurring costs. We prioritize clean code, predictable behavior, and compatibility with common hosting environments. Our goal is to help individuals, nonprofits, small businesses, and agencies improve their site security and resilience using solutions that are easy to understand and maintain. Learn more at wpnatives.com and explore our latest plugins, guides, and support resources.