What Is WebP? When to Use It and How to Convert It

WebP is an image format created for the web. It can store photos with lossy compression, like JPG, or graphics without any loss, like PNG, and it supports transparent backgrounds. Its main selling point is size: for the same visible quality, a WebP is usually around 25 to 35 percent smaller than a JPG, which makes web pages load faster.

Many websites now serve images as WebP to save bandwidth. When you right-click and save a picture, you get the file the site actually sent, so it ends in .webp even if the original was a photo or a PNG.

That is fine for viewing: current versions of Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS open WebP files, and every modern browser displays them. Problems start when you try to use the image elsewhere. Some email apps, office software, older photo editors, and many upload forms still expect JPG or PNG.

For a photo, convert it to JPG: the file stays small and works everywhere. Add it to PNG to JPG, which accepts WebP and other formats as well. Any transparent areas become white.

If the image is a logo or graphic with a transparent background that you need to keep, convert it to PNG instead with JPG to PNG, which also accepts WebP.

Both conversions run in your browser, so the image is not uploaded anywhere.

In most cases, yes. Images are usually the heaviest part of a page, and smaller images mean faster loading, especially on mobile data. Page speed affects how many visitors stay and is one of the signals search engines consider.

Most website builders and content management systems accept WebP uploads. If yours does not, a well-compressed JPG is a good fallback.

AVIF is a newer format that can compress even smaller than WebP at similar quality, and current browsers support it. It is slower to create and less widely supported outside browsers. For most sites today, WebP is the practical middle ground: much smaller than JPG and almost universally displayed. If your website platform offers AVIF automatically, there is no harm in letting it.

On a computer, the file name ends in .webp when you save it. If file extensions are hidden, check the file's properties or information panel, which shows the type. On a phone, the gallery may say the format is not supported when you try to edit or share it, which is often the first sign.

Some websites decide the format based on your browser, so the same image can download as WebP in one browser and JPG in another.

WebP supports transparent backgrounds, like PNG, and short animations, like GIF. Animated WebP files are usually much smaller than the equivalent GIF. When you convert an animated WebP to JPG or PNG, only a single frame is kept, so keep the original if the animation matters.