Updated 20-Sep-2023
See also discussion of Image Optimization for the Web
Note this is a brief note, as WebP is less interesting than originally thought. Yes, this format is out there, and yes, it can in many cases reduce the size of images by a certain amount. However, browser support is not complete (therefore you still need jpg/png images). And, most editors do not support this image format, so it can't be edited or used in any way other than viewing by some browsers.
Unless and until full support by editors as well as all browsers is available, this will do little more than consume devops efforts for very little return on investment.
WebP supported in WordPress 5.8
- WordPress adds WebP support (07-jun-2021). Best to read these notes as there are issues with configuration of the support, possible memory issues, php libraries to use, etc.
WebP support in GIMP
- Native WebP has been supported in GIMP in the 2.10 release from 2018, and previous to that with plugins.
WebP support in Inkscape
WebP support in Pix and Nemo
The image editor Pix and file manager Nemo, both bundled with Linux Mint but fully functional
ImageMagick convert for webp
If just want to do a lossless duplicate, the ImageMagick command is:
convert input.png -define webp:lossless=true output.webp
Quality can be set, and some very low quality rates can produce very little degradation, depending on the original image.
convert input.png -quality 10 output.webp
Resources and Notes
- Install
cwebpcommand line utility - Gist for image conversion
- Some discussion
- WebP in ImageMagick
- How to deploy WebP via content negotiation
- Via discussion of WebP on ImageMagick discourse forum.
- See also Hongkiat WebP Guide
- Google WebP page
- Webp image format (Sitepoint)
- WebPonize tool
- Webp image format guide (Hongkiat)
- Webp Google utilities
- RJ-Webp WordPress plugin
See also discussion of Image Optimization for the Web