What is WebP?
- WebP is a modern image format developed by Google, intended to replace JPEG, PNG, and GIF formats.
- WebP images are 26% smaller than PNGs, and 25-34% smaller than comparable JPEGs at equivalent quality.
- As of January 2023, 96.3% of browsers currently support the WebP image format, including Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. This high level of support makes WebP a widely compatible choice for serving images on the web.
- WebP supports transparent images and animation.
Compare the results.
The image is visibly indistinguishable even though the WebP version is 58% smaller in file size.
Orignial PNG: 120k
WebP: 50k
How to convert images into WebP.
The process of converting images into WebP is reletively simple.
Option 1: Use an online tool like TinyPNG to manually convert your images.
Option 2: Some web hosting providers like SiteGround include an image optimization tool in their hosting packages.
Option 3: If your website is a WordPress website, you can use a WordPress plugin like Converter for Media to automatically convert your images into WebP.