WebP is an image format created by Google in 2010 to make web pages load faster. It can replace JPG, PNG and GIF with a single format: it supports lossy and lossless compression, transparency and animation.
How WebP works
Lossy WebP is based on the way the VP8 video codec compresses a single video frame. It predicts each block of pixels from the blocks around it and stores only the difference, which is more efficient than JPEG’s approach. Lossless WebP uses a separate method that finds repeated patterns and colours, making it smaller than PNG for most images. Both modes can include an alpha channel for transparency.
What WebP is good at
- Smaller files. Google’s studies found lossy WebP 25–34% smaller than JPG at similar quality, and lossless WebP about 26% smaller than PNG.
- Transparency with lossy compression. Something neither JPG nor PNG can do: small files that still have see-through backgrounds.
- One format for everything. Photos, graphics and simple animations.
Where WebP falls short
Every current web browser shows WebP, but support elsewhere is less complete. Older photo viewers and editors, some office programs, print services and many upload forms still reject it. That is why images saved from websites as .webp often need converting. WebP also tops out at 8 bits per channel and 16,383 pixels per side, so it isn’t suited to professional photo archives.
WebP and saving from websites
When you right-click a picture on a website and save it, you get whatever file the site sent your browser. Many sites send WebP to browsers that support it, even when the page or original file was a JPG. That’s why “Save image as” so often gives you a .webp file.
Common WebP conversions
Convert WebP to JPG for photos you need to open, print or upload elsewhere, and WebP to PNG to keep transparency or edit without loss. Convert JPG and PNG to WebP to make website images lighter.