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WebP File Format

Google Next-gen Image Format

Overview - What is a WEBP File?

A WebP is a new generation image format launched by Google which offers both lossless and lossy image compression for web use. It is intended to generate smaller but denser images that would make the web speedier. WebP has quickly become popular among web developers and designers.

WebP File Extension (.webp): This is the standard as well as the official file extension for WEBP images.

Notes on Variants: WEBP has no other extension for different types such as lossy, lossless, and animated.

File Category

The WebP file belongs to Raster Image Files because it stores pixel-based data. The subcategory of WebP format is Compressed Image Format.

Organization

Google developed the .webp file extension.

Historical Development of WEBP

2010: Google came up with WEBP which uses the VP8 codec to compress images with loss with an aim of improving web performance.
2011: Lossless compression support and alpha channel were also included in the update.
2013: New animation support was added, which placed WEBP as a replacement for GIFs.
2018: Recently, Firefox and Edge have integrated WEBP, thus making this format more popular.
2020: Apple included WEBP support to Safari, which means that Safari now supports all the most popular browsers.
2022: WEBP quickly became an essential component of web optimization even though it had to compete with new formats such as AVIF.

Applications Supported

WebP files work with the following OS:

Microsoft Windows 10 & 11
macOS (recent versions)
Linux systems
Chrome OS

Core Specifications

  • Max Dimensions: 16384 x 16384 px
  • Color Depth: 24-bit + 8-bit Alpha
  • Metadata: EXIF, XMP, ICC Profile

Performance Summary

WebP is 25%-34% smaller than PNG at equivalent quality, significantly fostering quicker loading and reduced bandwidth usage.

Technical Specifications

MIME Type

image/webp
File Signature Details
Hexadecimal Signature 52 49 46 46 XX XX XX XX 57 45 42 50
File Structure

WEBP files are structured in two main parts:

  • The first four bytes represent RIFF container. The middle four represents the file size and the last four indicates that the file is WEBP file.
  • WEBP files are divided into chunks with each chunk serving a specific purpose.
Summary: RIFF Header -> VP8/VP8L/VP8X -> Optional Chunks (ALPH, ANIM, ANMF, EXIF, XMP, ICCP)
Advantages
  • Usually compresses image file size by 25-34% of what JPEG normally would.
  • Fosters quicker loading of websites
  • Reduces the use of bandwidth
  • It supports high picture quality at smaller file sizes.
  • Comes with better compression ratios that the traditional formats
  • It supports the alpha channel transparency.
  • Allows for creating animated WebP images which are somewhat like GIFs.
  • It supports both compressed and uncompressed format of the original data.
Limitations & Disadvantages
  • WEBP is not universally adopted across all platforms.
  • It has limited legacy browser support.
Recommended Use Cases

WebP file format was introduced as a smaller and faster image format compared to other standard image file formats. The recommended use cases for WEBP files are:

Web design and development
E-commerce product images
Website performance optimization
Online photography portfolios
Social media graphics
Common FAQs

WEBP is a new generation image format created by Google that allows for the creation of high definition images that are compressed to a minimum size.

WEBP is smaller than JPEG with similar quality, and it is better than PNG since it has alpha transparency.

WEBP enhances image size by providing increased website speed and performance without lowering its quality.

Yes, WEBP does support transparency (alpha channel) in its lossy or lossless ways, it does.

WEBP images can be made with the help of Photoshop, GIMP, other similar graphic editors or using online converters, or saving from Google Chrome using the ‘Save as’ function.

Websites can use fallback formats (JPEG or PNG) by using HTML tags.
How to Open a WEBP File?
  • Web browsers such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox
  • Image viewers and editors like GIMP, Photoshop with a plugin
  • Many of the default photo viewers on modern platforms
  • Online image viewers
How to Convert WEBP Files?

The recommended conversion strategies are:

SysTools WEBP Converter

Specialized WEBP Utility

Official Tool View Tool

Adobe Photoshop

Professional Image Editor

Official Tool View Tool

GIMP

GNU Image Manipulation Program

Official Tool View Tool

Command-line tools

like ImageMagick

CLI Tools
Is this information helpful to you?

"Finally, a format that balances file size and image clarity!"

Alex R Full Stack Engineer

"Learned about webp, started implementing it and now webp has improved site speed and Google PageSpeed scores dramatically."

Mark H E-commerce Manager

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