WebP Is Good, Actually

You person astir apt tried downloading an representation from a website, expecting a emblematic JPEG oregon PNG picture, and alternatively received a WebP file. Those WebP representation don’t ever enactment successful the aforesaid tools and services that enactment different representation formats, which has fixed WebP a atrocious reputation. That’s not the responsibility of WebP, though.

WebP was created arsenic an improved mentation of JPEG, PNG, and GIF, with much flexibility and smaller record sizes than those older formats. Widespread adoption took a agelong time, but it’s present fully supported crossed each web browsers and galore representation viewers and editors. If you’re inactive having issues with WebP, don’t blasted the representation format—blame the software.

Why WebP Is Good

So, wherefore fuss WebP astatine all? Why can’t we conscionable support utilizing JPEG, PNG, GIF, and each the different representation formats that person been astir for decades? Those formats aren’t going anywhere, but WebP has immoderate important advantages that person made it progressively popular, particularly connected websites.

WebP was created by Google arsenic an representation format that supports some lossless and lossy compression. Lossy compression tin drastically shrink the record size astatine the outgo of representation quality, overmuch similar JPEG images, and lossless compression keeps representation prime high, similar with PNG. However, WebP has much amended compression than PNG and JPEG. Google says WebP lossy images are 25-35% smaller than a comparable JPEG file, and WebP lossless images are 26% smaller than a emblematic PNG. Transparency and animation are besides supported successful some lossy and lossless modes.

In different words, WebP has the champion capabilities of JPEG, GIF, and PNG formats, but with amended compression algorithms (based connected the VP8 video codec) that trim record sizes. That’s the main crushed WebP images are fashionable connected websites and societal media platforms. Smaller record sizes mean faster load times for you, and little bandwidth costs for the website.

The biggest quality present mightiness beryllium with GIFs, wherever record sizes are often importantly bigger than a comparable video file, due to the fact that the GIF format was invented successful 1987 and predates modern video compression. The surface signaling objection successful a caller Google blog post is lone a fewer seconds long, but it’s a 12.7 MB GIF file. When I converted it to a lossy WebP record astatine 50% prime using ImageMagick, it created a 3.5 MB WebP file.

It's worthy noting that WebP has already been superseded by AVIF, which has adjacent amended record compression based connected the newer AV1 video codec. Much similar the aboriginal days of WebP, enactment for AVIF isn’t wide yet. There’s besides JPEG XL arsenic different competing format, but it’s not enabled successful astir web browsers, and it’s inactive a caller summation successful platforms similar Windows, iOS, and macOS.

Your Apps Are the Problem

Even though WebP is simply a fantastic representation format, with much usage cases and smaller record sizes than JPEG, PNG, oregon GIF, it doesn’t person the champion reputation. That’s mostly due to the fact that wide adoption of the WebP format successful web browsers started long before astir different applications. You’ve astir apt tried downloading an representation that looked good successful your web browser, past recovered retired it was a WebP record that wouldn’t unfastened successful your preferred representation spectator oregon editor.

Google Chrome added archetypal WebP enactment successful 2012, with the merchandise of Chrome 17. It took overmuch longer for different browsers to articulation the party, with the merchandise of Firefox 65 successful 2019 and Safari 14 (in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur) successful 2020. Microsoft Edge and Opera didn’t adhd it until they switched to Chromium. Many different applications and operating systems were dilatory to enactment the format, and galore of them are updated little often than web browsers.

Thankfully, the concern is overmuch amended successful 2025 and beyond. Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows devices present enactment viewing and editing WebP images crossed their record managers and halfway applications, though Windows PCs mightiness request Microsoft’s escaped WebP Image Extension first. WebP files enactment successful caller versions of Adobe Photoshop, Krita, GIMP, and each large web browsers. Many chat and messaging services enactment WebP images, similar Slack and Discord, though WhatsApp lone uses WebP for stickers.

There are inactive galore applications and services that don’t enactment WebP, but present it’s their fault and not the responsibility of WebP. My lone existent problems with WebP these days are websites that don’t enactment them for representation uploads. If I’m downloading an representation to repost determination else, I mightiness inactive person to person it to different format. WebP has been astir for implicit a decennary now, though, truthful there’s not truly an excuse for modern bundle to not enactment with it.

How to Work With WebP

There are galore representation editors and viewers that tin unfastened (and successful astir cases, save) WebP files. Adobe Photoshop 23.2 and aboriginal tin use WebP retired of the box, and older versions conscionable request the WebPShop plug-in. Several escaped and open-source representation editors tin besides open, convert, and prevention WebP files, similar Krita, GIMP, and PhotoStack. If you’re comfy with the bid enactment oregon terminal, you tin use ImageMagick to rapidly person files.

WebP isn’t the lone somewhat-new representation format, either—much of this besides applies to JPEG XL, AVIF, and HEIC images. In fact, AVIF is based connected exertion from AV1, the successor to the VP8/VP9 codec that WebP uses. Some of the applications that enactment WebP files besides enactment those formats.

The adjacent clip you tally into a WebP record you can’t unfastened oregon edit, it mightiness beryllium clip to regenerate your tools, not the representation format. There are inactive times erstwhile converting is perfectly necessary, but those shouldn’t person to beryllium communal occurrences.