Images bring websites to life – but they can also slow them down. Striking the perfect balance between eye-catching visuals and fast load times has long been a challenge for designers and developers.

Enter WebP: Google’s modern image format that lets you keep your site looking sharp and running fast. Not familiar with it yet? Here’s everything you need to know.

What is WebP format?

WebP (pronounced "weppy") is a modern image format developed by Google in 2010, as an alternative to PNG, JPEG, and GIF. It combines the best features of these formats – supporting both lossy and lossless compression, plus animation – resulting in smaller file sizes without sacrificing image quality. Now widely supported, WebP is helping speed up websites without compromising on visuals.

Here’s a breakdown of WebP and what makes it great:

  • A different file extension: You can recognise a WebP file by its .wepb file extension (the bit at the end of the file name).
  • Type of compression: WebP supports both lossy and lossless compression that's more efficient than JPEGs and PNGs.
  • Transparent backgrounds: PNGs are often used when transparency is needed, but it comes at the cost of larger file sizes. Now you can use WebP for lossless transparency, i.e. PNG with alpha channel.
  • Animation support: WebP supports animation, so your Friday memes can now be in the smaller WebP format, rather than be larger-sized animated GIFs.

WebP vs PNG vs JPEG vs GIF

In a nutshell, WebP is capable of significantly reducing JPEG, GIF, PNG image file sizes. And not just a little bit… it reduces it by A LOT. Google has run its own tests to show how the new image format compares:

WebP vs PNG – WebP is on average 26% smaller in size compared to PNGs.

WebP vs JPEG – WebP images are 25-34% smaller than comparable JPEG files.

WebP vs GIF – Animated GIFs converted to lossy WebPs were 64% smaller and lossless files were 19% smaller.

To show you, we've exported the same image as a WebP, PNG and JPEG (saved at max quality). While there isn't much visible difference, the file sizes vary a lot:

WebP image | 13.3 kB
PNG image | 47.4 kB
JPEG image | 22.3 kB

What are the advantages of WebP?

You’ve probably got the message by now WebPs are a big deal because of how much they can decrease file sizes. But what does this mean for your site?

1. Smaller file sizes, same quality

WebP offers both lossy and lossless compression, meaning you get high-quality images at significantly smaller file sizes – better than JPEGs, PNGs, or GIFs.

2. Faster website performance

Smaller image files mean faster page loads, improving user experience and reducing bounce rates – crucial for keeping visitors engaged and boosting conversions.

3. Lower bandwidth usage

WebP images use less data, saving bandwidth – especially useful for image-heavy sites like portfolios, blogs, and online stores.

4. Versatile format

WebP supports both transparency (like PNG) and animation (like GIF), making it a one-stop solution for most image needs.

5. SEO benefits

Faster load times improve Core Web Vitals like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), which can positively impact your Google search rankings.

What are the disadvantages of WebP

The WebP image format brings a load of benefits with it, and while we wouldn’t necessarily call them disadvantages, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Limited offline use

Since WebP is optimised for the web, you may still need PNG or JPEG versions for offline use.

2. Browser compatibility

Most modern browsers support WebP, but some older versions don’t – so a fallback image may be necessary.

3. Software support

Not all programs support WebP natively. Photoshop (v23.2+) supports it fully, but older versions or other editors may require plugins.

So, can you use it?

Yes – WebP is widely supported by most modern browsers, and support continues to grow. While a few older platforms may lag behind, the trend is clear – WebP is becoming the standard.

To edit or generate WebP images in web apps, you’ll need server-side support. Many hosting providers already offer this, but it’s worth checking with yours to be sure.

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Did you know… our Web Hosting packages come with WebP support built into PHP, using the well-known GD library.

What about WordPress?

Our WordPress Hosting also supports WebP, but there are a few more things to consider.

WordPress has supported WebP natively since version 5.8, so you can upload and use WebP images just like JPEGs or PNGs – no plugins needed.

However, about 5% of users (mostly older Safari browsers) still don’t support WebP. So, if you use WebP without fallback images, those users may not see your content.

Also, unlike JPEGs, WebP images aren’t typically created by default on cameras or image libraries, and WordPress doesn’t yet auto-convert images to WebP – so you’ll need to create and upload them manually for now.

Try a WordPress plugin

You can use a WordPress plugin that converts your original images to the WebP format, and also provides the original image as a fall-back if a visitor’s browser doesn’t support WebP.

For example, if you upload a JPEG file to your site, the plugin will:

  • Convert the JPEG file to WebP and serve the WebP version for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc.
  • Show the original JPEG file to visitors browsing with Safari (on older macOS versions) and other browsers that don’t support WebP.

That way, everyone can see your image, and everyone gets the fastest experience possible – win-win!

The development of WebP certainly is not just for designers and devs looking to speed up their sites, but also freelancers and small businesses wanting to get the most from their hosting.

Looking for more ways to speed up your website? We have a whole post that looks at what’s slowing down your WordPress site and how to fix it. Or you can check more interesting website reads over on our blog.