What is the WebP Image Format? Does it Impact SEO?

In today’s image-saving landscape, whether you’re a graphic designer, content creator, or digital marketer, you may have observed a shift away from traditional JPG and PNG formats in favor of the WebP format. While some images seamlessly open, others may not, leaving many curious about what WebP files actually are. Augment would like to help you gain a thorough understanding of the WebP format, read on for a comprehensive guide;

What is WebP?

WebP is a digital image file format developed by Google. It has become a standard image format known for its excellent display quality. It offers images with a file size that’s about 25-34% smaller than JPEG files while maintaining almost identical image quality to both JPEG and PNG formats. This smaller file size allows websites to load faster, creating a better user experience.

Various Google products use the WebP format. For example, images on the Google Play Store often have the “.webp” file extension. A notable advantage of WebP is its ability to display transparent backgrounds similar to PNG files, even though they’re larger than normal WebP files by around 22%. However, they are still three times smaller than PNG image files.

Beyond Google products, numerous websites, especially news outlets and others, have embraced WebP files to optimize user experience and website performance. Consequently, websites load noticeably faster when compared to the use of conventional image file formats such as JPEG, GIF, or PNG.

How Does WebP Impact SEO?

Website loading speed directly impacts SEO ranking. A faster-loading website provides a better user experience, contributing to higher rankings. Therefore, the faster your website loads, the better it performs in search engine rankings. The choice of using WebP images can significantly enhance user experiences. Now, let’s explore the advantages and disadvantages of the WebP format.

Advantages of WebP Images:

• Faster website loading times impress users and encourage repeat visits.
• Improved loading times can boost SEO scores and elevate website rankings in search results.
• Allows for lossless and lossy image optimization.
• Supports transparent backgrounds like PNG files.
• Supports animations like GIF files.
• Compatible with various browsers such as Google Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Opera.
• WebP is an open-source format, allowing for free usage and collaborative development.
• Helps save data storage space in libraries, preventing excessive data load on websites.

Disadvantages of WebP Images:

• Designed primarily for online use, WebP files are more suitable for internet-based applications than offline use.
• Some devices might not support the WebP format, leading to image display issues. In such cases, pairing WebP images with JPEG versions is a workaround.

Despite its disadvantages, when aiming for high-quality and user-friendly websites, the benefits of using WebP images often outweigh the downsides. Utilizing WebP images can enhance website rankings and improve overall user experiences. By integrating WebP files into your website, you can work towards improving its overall performance and search engine visibility.

• Picture formats
• SEO
• WebP
• Webspeed