When installing WordPress I was informed that the ImageMagick module is missing, but it is listed as optional.
WordPress needs something to help with image manipulation and optimzation — generating thumbnails, cropping, resizing, applying filters, etc.
ImageMagick and GD Library are the two that are commonly used. GD Library is more commonly available and often enabled by default on servers (especially shared hosting), but ImageMagick provides better performance (supports more image formats, produces better quality images, etc).
This is why ImageMagick is optional — it’ll be used when the two are available on the server, but your site still works without it because you have another (though inferior) tool doing the same job.
Installing it seems to be a complicated process as far as I can tell.
This is a PHP module — a SERVER-level software meant to be installed by your host. To an end-user, every server software installation requiring SSH access and commands would be a “complicated process”… but that is routine for the systems administrator managing the server. (If you’re running an unmanaged/self-managed VPS, then, of course, you’re your own host ?? )
GD Library should work fine for most people.
But if you absolutely feel you need ImageMagick, please contact your host to have it installed/enabled for you. (Sometimes the software “binary” may be installed, but not enabled. In that case, you can use a WordPress plugin like ImageMagick Engine to enable it.)
Good luck!
