What Is WebP, and Should You Use It?
2026-06-14
You may have seen ".webp" files and wondered whether to embrace them or convert them away. WebP is a modern image format from Google designed for the web, and for online images it's usually the best choice. Here's what it actually does and how to decide.
How WebP saves space
WebP supports both lossy compression (like JPG) and lossless compression (like PNG), plus transparency — all in one format. Using smarter compression methods than the older formats, it typically produces files 25–35% smaller than JPG at the same visual quality, and often much smaller than PNG. Smaller files mean faster pages and less bandwidth, with no visible quality drop.
Browser support is no longer a worry
A few years ago, patchy support made people cautious. Today every current browser — Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari — displays WebP, so for anything that lives on a website it's safe to use. Convert your existing assets with JPG to WebP or PNG to WebP and you'll shrink your media library noticeably.
When to keep (or convert back to) JPG/PNG
Use JPG or PNG when a file must open in very old software, be accepted by a service that only takes those formats, or be edited in a tool that doesn't support WebP. In those cases, convert WebP to JPG. Rule of thumb: WebP for the web, JPG/PNG for maximum compatibility. Whichever you choose, you can always compress further afterward.