How to Improve Website Performance with WebP Images on WordPress

What is WebP?

WebP is a next-generation image format created by Google to provide excellent lossless and lossy compression. By using WebP, the size of image files can be significantly reduced, resulting in faster loading web pages and reduced data consumption. .webpIt can support transparent (alpha) backgrounds and animation features, similar to GIFs.

Why choose WebP images on WordPress?

There are several advantages to using the WebP format on WordPress:

1. Smaller file size: The WebP format enables significant compression of image file sizes without significantly affecting image quality. WebP files are smaller than traditional JPEG and PNG formats.
2. Improve website performance: By reducing the size of image files, your website can respond and load faster. This also has a positive impact on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as search engines take into account the loading speed of a website.
3. Transparency and animation support: WebP supports transparent backgrounds and animations, making it an excellent alternative to PNG and GIF.
4. Broad browser support: Currently, all major web browsers (such as Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox, and Opera) support WebP images, ensuring that most users will be able to view your images correctly.

Comparison of WebP and traditional image formats

To visualize the advantages of WebP, we compared the file size and quality of WebP with JPEG and PNG formats.

1、WebP and JPEG

By converting JPEG images to WebP, it was found that the file size was reduced by an average of 70%. This is a significant reduction that barely affects the visual quality of the image. the average size of WebP files is smaller than JPEG files 25%-34%The

2、WebP and PNG

When comparing the WebP and PNG formats, we found that the file size of WebP lossless compression is about 26% smaller than that of PNG. in some examples, we even saved as much as 96% in file size by converting PNG images to WebP.

Using WebP Images in WordPress

Starting with WordPress version 5.8, it is possible to use WebP images directly in WordPress without additional configuration. Below are detailed steps on how to upload and use WebP images in WordPress:

Uploading WebP images

1. Access to the media library: In the WordPress dashboard, navigate to the Media section and click Add.
2. Upload images: Select the WebP images you want to upload, or drag and drop them into the Media Library.

Check that WebP is working properly

To verify that WebP images are working properly on your site, you can use the following methods:

1. Using Chrome Developer Tools: Add the WebP image to the page, then right-click on the image and select Inspect Element. In the Element Inspector, see if the file format of the image is .webpThe
2. Save Image: Right-click on the image on the web page and select "Save Image As", if the file extension is .webpIf the image is in WebP format, the image is correctly displayed in WebP format.

How to convert an existing image to WebP format

While WordPress supports displaying WebP images, it does not automatically convert existing JPEG or PNG images to WebP format. Here are some ways to convert them:

1. Use of design software

It is possible to use Photoshop, Lightroom or Photopea The images are manually converted to WebP format by image editing software such as Converted images can be uploaded directly to the WordPress media library.

2. Use of online tools

There are many online tools that can help you convert images to WebP format, for example:

• Cloudconvert: Support for converting any type of image file to WebP.
• Ezgif.com: A fast and free online tool to convert images to WebP format.

3. Using the WordPress plugin

The easiest way to do this is to use specialized WordPress plugins that batch convert your images to WebP format. Example:

• Smush Pro: A popular image optimization plugin that helps you automatically convert existing images to WebP format.

Other considerations for enabling WebP images

While most modern browsers support the WebP format, there are still a few older versions of browsers (such as older versions of Safari and Android browsers) that do not support WebP images. To ensure that all users can view your images properly, consider using a fallback mechanism that provides an alternative image in JPEG or PNG format when a WebP image cannot be displayed.

reach a verdict

The WebP format is an efficient form of image compression that significantly reduces the size of image files and improves website loading speed and user experience. Using WebP images in WordPress is very simple and this can be achieved through manual conversion, online tools or by using plugins. By adopting the WebP format, you can improve your website's performance, optimize SEO, and provide a faster browsing experience for your visitors.