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What Is WebP and Why Is Google Pushing It?
WebP is a modern image format developed by Google in 2010. It uses advanced compression algorithms that produce images 25-35% smaller than comparable JPEGs and 25-26% smaller than PNGs — at the same or better visual quality.
Google now explicitly recommends WebP in its Core Web Vitals guidelines, and PageSpeed Insights will flag non-WebP images as an optimization opportunity. Using WebP directly improves your website's performance score.
WebP vs. JPG vs. PNG — Real Numbers
Here's what you can typically expect when converting:
- A 2MB JPG photo → WebP equivalent: ~1.3MB (35% smaller)
- A 500KB PNG logo → WebP equivalent: ~370KB (26% smaller)
- A 800KB PNG screenshot → WebP equivalent: ~450KB (44% smaller)
Across an entire website, this can reduce total image weight by hundreds of megabytes.
Browser Support in 2026
WebP is now supported by 97%+ of all browsers worldwide, including:
- Chrome (since v23)
- Firefox (since v65)
- Safari (since macOS Big Sur / iOS 14)
- Edge (all modern versions)
The only remaining holdout is very old IE versions — which represent less than 0.5% of web traffic in 2026. You can safely use WebP for all web projects.
How to Convert JPG/PNG to WebP for Free
- Go to RapidKit's WebP Converter.
- Upload your JPG or PNG image (drag & drop supported).
- Adjust the quality setting (80% is the recommended sweet spot).
- Click Download WebP.
Your image is converted entirely in the browser — nothing is sent to a server. Your files stay private.
When to Use WebP vs. Other Formats
- Use WebP for: All website images, blog post images, product photos, backgrounds, thumbnails.
- Stick with PNG for: Images that need to be edited further (lossless source files), favicons, images shared outside the web.
- Stick with JPG for: Images that will be uploaded to platforms that don't support WebP (some social media, email clients).
How to Implement WebP on Your Website
If you're worried about the rare browser that doesn't support WebP, use the HTML <picture> element as a fallback:
<picture>
<source srcset="image.webp" type="image/webp">
<img src="image.jpg" alt="Description">
</picture>Modern browsers will use the WebP source. Older browsers fall back to the JPG automatically.