In 2010, Google first introduced WebP to the world. It was hailed as the best image format for the web. In Google’s own words WebP is …
“… a modern image format that provides superior lossless and lossy compression for images on the web. Using WebP, webmasters and web developers can create smaller, richer images that make the web faster.”
Well, it’s 2018 now and WebP is still not quite as big as Google had hoped. Even though WebP offers many advantages over JPEG, PNG, and GIF, but it’s still not the first choice for many web designers, photographers, and the general public.
“Is there something wrong with WebP?”
The short answer is yes, but let’s elaborate on it so we can get a better grasp of the problems that orbit WebP.
Firstly, WebP offers dramatic file size reduction in a lossy setting. Converting your images using the lossless setting in WebP will sometime increase the file size. For that reason, almost everyone uses the lossy compression format. This means reduction image quality.
Minor image quality reduction may not matter for people who post to social media, but not so for photographers and professionals in visual creative. For the latter two, reduction in image quality is a big deal. If a new format offers smaller file size but still introduces quality reduction, then it may not pass the cost-benefit analysis.
Secondly, WebP is not the name that people chatter about. In the end, format awareness wins. When people are thinking about embedding short clips and animation into their websites, their minds go straight to animated GIF. When it comes to sharing photos online, JPEG is the one that pops to mind. If you’re not on the top of peoples’ mind then you might as well don’t exist.
Moreover, WebP is not all rainbow and sunshine. It has several drawbacks and they’re pretty significant. One of the drawbacks is that animation saved as WebP requires more processing power during playback compared to a good old GIF animation.
Practically, it may take several more years until WebP becomes the successor of JPEGs and dominate the internet. That said, we recommend you start using WebP on your website today. Start with the parts where image quality is not the biggest concern. So if you’re a wedding photographer, keep using what you’re using now for your gallery or portfolio pages.
As for the thumbnails, they’re perfect starting points for WebP conversions. Your website visitors will experience faster loading time
What tool should you use for converting those thumbnails?”
Our free online WebP converter is the perfect tool for the job. Just upload the file or enter the link to the target image and the file will be converted without a fuss.
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