How to use it
- Add the JPGs you want on your site.
- Start with quality 80. Check the percentage saving next to each file.
- Download and upload the WebP files in place of the JPGs.
Is WebP safe to use on a website now?
Yes. Every current major browser displays WebP, including Safari since 2020. The only visitors who cannot see WebP are on software many years out of date. If you run a site where that audience matters, the HTML <picture> element lets you offer WebP with a JPG fallback.
Choosing a quality number
WebP and JPG quality numbers are not the same scale. A WebP at 80 usually looks about like a JPG at 85 to 90. For photos on a web page, 75 to 82 is a sensible range. Below 70, WebP tends to go soft and smeary rather than blocky, which is kinder to the eye than JPG artefacts but still loses texture in hair, grass and fabric.
Watch the percentage next to each file. If a JPG was already heavily compressed, the WebP may barely be smaller, and occasionally larger. In that case keep the JPG; there is nothing to gain.
Do this at the end, not in the middle
WebP is a delivery format. Keep your originals as they are, and convert copies when you publish. That way you can re-export at a different size or quality later without stacking compression on compression.
JPG and WebP compared
| JPG | WebP | |
|---|---|---|
| First released | 1992 | 2010 |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | No | Yes |
| Animation or pages | No | Animation |
| Best for | Photos for sharing, email and print | Images on websites |
| Support | Universal | All current browsers; some apps and forms still refuse it |
Questions people ask
How much smaller will my images be?
For typical photos, 25 to 35 percent smaller than a JPG of similar quality. Images that were already squeezed hard will save less.
Does WebP help SEO?
Indirectly. Search engines reward pages that load quickly, and images are usually the heaviest part of a page. Smaller images help page speed scores, especially on mobile.
Should I use WebP or AVIF?
AVIF is smaller still, often by another 20 percent, but encoding is slower and a few older browsers lack support. WebP is the safer default. Try the AVIF converter and compare the results for your own images.
Can Safari convert to WebP here?
Yes. Safari cannot write WebP by itself, so this page quietly loads a small WebP encoder when it needs one.