What is WebP?

WebP is a modern image format that provides significantly smaller file sizes compared to JPEG and PNG while maintaining similar or better image quality. It was developed by Google and released in 2010 as part of their effort to make the web faster.

WebP combines the best features of existing formats: lossy compression like JPEG, lossless compression and transparency like PNG, and animation like GIF—all in a single format with superior compression efficiency.

Compression Savings: WebP lossy images are typically 25-35% smaller than JPEG, and lossless images are 26% smaller than PNG on average.

Features

  • Superior lossy and lossless compression
  • Transparency support (alpha channel)
  • Animation support
  • 24-bit RGB color with 8-bit alpha channel
  • Metadata support (EXIF, XMP, ICC)
  • Up to 16,383 × 16,383 pixel dimensions
  • Significantly smaller file sizes
  • Fast encoding and decoding

Use Cases

Perfect For

  • Website images and graphics
  • E-commerce product photos
  • Blog and content images
  • Mobile applications
  • Responsive web design
  • Any image-heavy website

Advantages

  • 25-35% smaller files than JPEG
  • 26% smaller than PNG for lossless
  • Supports transparency like PNG
  • Supports animation like GIF
  • Faster page load times
  • Reduced bandwidth usage
  • Better SEO through faster loading
  • Growing browser support (96%+ coverage)

Technical Information

WebP uses predictive coding for lossy compression (based on VP8 video codec) and uses various techniques including spatial prediction, color space transformation, and entropy coding for lossless compression.

File extension .webp
MIME type image/webp
Maximum size 16,383 × 16,383 pixels
Color depth 24-bit RGB + 8-bit alpha