Image Processing Queue
On-the-fly image processing done right.
The facts
- Rating
- 5★ from 9
- Active installs
- 300+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 2 May 2019
- Added
- Mar 2017
- Requires WP
- 4.6
- Tested up to
- WP 5.2.26
- Downloads
- 7,623
Our analysis
AI-assistedImage Processing Queue is a WordPress plugin designed for theme developers to manage image sizes more efficiently. It allows for the definition of specific image sizes tailored to different contexts within a theme, which helps to reduce disk space usage and upload times by limiting the number of resized images.
Unlike on-the-fly image processing, this plugin does not require users to wait for images to be generated. Instead, it retrieves the closest existing image size immediately and processes the requested sizes in the background. This functionality is particularly beneficial for responsive themes, as it accommodates various breakpoints effectively.
Best for: This plugin is suitable for WordPress theme developers looking to optimise image processing.
What it does well
- ✓Reduces disk space usage by limiting resized images
- ✓Immediate retrieval of existing images without user wait time
- ✓Supports responsive themes with defined image sizes for breakpoints
- ✓Generates images in the background using WP Queue
- ✓Automatically manages images in post meta for srcset
Where it falls short
- •Limited information on specific features or configurations
- •Last updated in May 2019, which may affect compatibility
Verdict
Image Processing Queue offers a practical solution for managing image sizes in WordPress themes, particularly for those focused on responsive design. However, its last update may raise concerns about ongoing support.
From the developer
WP Engine's own description of Image Processing Queue, lightly tidied.
Image Processing Queue is an alternative to on-the-fly (OTF) image processing (e.g. Aqua Resizer)
for WordPress themes.
Like OTF image processing, it allows theme developers to define image sizes for specific theme
contexts rather than defining a size for all uploaded images. This greatly reduces the number of
resized images and hence reduces disk space usage and the wait time when uploading an image.
Image Processing Queue differs from OTF image processing in how it behaves when an image doesn’t
exist yet. OTF generates the image right away and the end-user has to wait for the image to be
generated. With Image Processing Queue there’s no waiting. It immediately returns an image that
already exists (that is the closest fit to the image size requested) and adds the image size to
a queue. Image sizes are quietly generated in the background using WP Queue.
Image Processing Queue also accommodates responsive themes much better than OTF. It allows theme
developers to define a list of image sizes that will work best for their theme’s responsive
breakpoints. Images generated by Image Processing Queue are added to the post meta so that WordPress
core’s responsive functions will automatically add them to the srcset and delete them from the
filesystem when the image is deleted from the Media Library.