Why WebP exists
WebP supports both lossy and lossless compression, plus alpha transparency. For photos, lossy WebP is typically smaller than JPG at similar visual quality. For graphics with flat colors, lossless WebP can beat PNG.
Browser support
Modern Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari all decode WebP. If you need ancient browser fallbacks, keep a JPG/PNG alongside or convert on the fly. For most SEO-focused sites in 2026, WebP (or AVIF) is a safe default for hero and content images.
When to use WebP
- Product photos and blog images where size matters for LCP
- UI graphics that need transparency without huge PNGs
- When you control the stack and can serve
image/webp
Convert locally with PixNest
Use JPG to WebP, PNG to WebP, or the image compressor. Everything runs in your browser with canvas — nothing is uploaded.