What is a WebP file?

WebP is an image format developed by Google and released in 2010. It was designed to make images on websites smaller, so pages load faster. Many sites now serve their images as WebP, which is why you sometimes save a picture from the web and get a .webp file.

What WebP can do

WebP covers what used to take three formats:

• Lossy compression, like JPG, for photos.
• Lossless compression, like PNG, for graphics and screenshots.
• Transparency in both modes, which JPG can't do.
• Animation, like GIF, at much smaller sizes.

Google reports that lossless WebP images are about 26% smaller than PNGs, and lossy WebP images are 25–34% smaller than comparable JPGs. Your results depend on the image.

Where WebP files work

Every current major web browser, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, displays WebP images. Recent versions of Windows and macOS open them in their built-in photo apps.

Support is weaker elsewhere: some older image editors, office apps, print services and upload forms still don't accept WebP. That's the most common reason to convert one.

How to open or convert a WebP file

• To view it, drag the file into any browser window.
• To use it somewhere that wants JPG, convert it with WebP to JPG. Choose WebP to PNG instead if the image has a transparent background, since JPG doesn't support transparency.
• To make your own images smaller for a website, convert them with JPG to WebP or PNG to WebP.

All of these converters run in your browser and don't upload your images.

Related

• WebP vs PNG vs JPG for websites
• What is an AVIF file?, a newer format with even smaller files