What is WebP?
What WebP does differently, how well it is actually supported in 2026, when it is the right default, and the cases where it still is not.
In short
WebP is a modern image format that compresses better than JPEG at the same visual quality and supports transparency like PNG. Every current browser displays it. The main reason not to use it is software outside the browser that cannot read it.
WebP is an image format from Google that does both jobs JPEG and PNG do separately: it has a lossy mode that beats JPEG on file size at matching quality, and a lossless mode with transparency support like PNG.
What it does differently
Lossy WebP borrows its techniques from video encoding — it came out of the VP8 codec. The most useful of those is prediction: rather than describing each block from scratch, it predicts a block from its already-decoded neighbours and stores only the difference. Photographs have a great deal of local similarity, so there is a lot to predict, and that is most of where the saving comes from.
It also supports an alpha channel in both modes, which JPEG has never had. That combination — photographic compression plus transparency — is the thing neither older format could do.
Support in practice
Every current browser renders WebP, and has for years: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari and everything built on them. On the web it is simply not a compatibility question any more.
Outside the browser is where it still bites. Some desktop image viewers, older design software, certain upload forms and a good number of internal business systems will not accept a .webp file. If you are handing an image to a person rather than publishing it to a page, JPG remains the safer choice.
| Situation | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Photograph on a web page | WebP | Smallest file at the same visual quality |
| Logo or graphic with transparency | WebP | Much smaller than PNG, alpha preserved |
| Emailing a photo to someone | JPG | Opens in anything, anywhere |
| Uploading to a form that rejects it | JPG or PNG | Compatibility beats efficiency |
| Screenshot you will edit again | PNG | Lossless, no accumulating damage |
Using it in Dexta
Compress Image has a Convert to WebP option alongside the quality slider, and switches it on automatically for PNG sources — because PNG ignores the quality slider entirely, converting to WebP is the only way to make a PNG meaningfully smaller there. Convert Format will also move an image between JPG, PNG and WebP directly.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Converting your only copy to WebP before checking the destination accepts it.
- Converting an already-compressed JPEG to WebP and expecting the original quality back. The damage came along; you have just re-packaged it.
- Using lossy WebP for screenshots at a low quality. It is better than JPEG at edges, but not immune — keep the quality high or stay on PNG.
Tools used in this guide
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