WebP is an image format developed by Google in 2010, designed to replace both JPEG and PNG for web use. It achieves 25-35% smaller file sizes than JPEG at equivalent visual quality using a more sophisticated prediction-based compression algorithm. WebP also supports lossless compression, alpha transparency, and animation — making it a versatile replacement for JPEG, PNG, and GIF.
The format uses block-based prediction: each block is predicted from neighboring blocks, and only the difference (residual) is encoded. Intra-frame and inter-frame prediction, combined with arithmetic coding, achieve efficiency that JPEG's DCT-based approach cannot match. For web pages, switching from JPEG/PNG to WebP typically reduces image payload by 30% with no visible quality difference.
Browser support is now universal: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari (since 2020) all support WebP. For websites targeting modern browsers, WebP is the recommended format. If you need to support very old browsers, serve WebP with a JPEG/PNG fallback using the HTML picture element. FileCurve can convert any image to WebP instantly.