The problem is that it took nearly a decade for that to happen, and now Google’s already working on the next version of the format, according to a new “libwebp2” repository on the company’s Git server. ![]() WebP essentially needed to become popular before it could become popular. ![]() The lack of native support in popular apps for the majority of the format’s existence meant people had to create their images, convert them to WebP, and then keep the non-converted version as a backup in case someone visited their website via a browser that didn’t support the format. That has become less of a problem as more browsers have added support for the format, however, so WebP should benefit as a result.Īnother drawback was the hassle it took to manage WebP files in the first place. ![]() Website operators couldn’t assume that all of their visitors would be able to view images saved using the format, so they had to fall back on the same formats Google was trying to make obsolete. Drawbacks of WebPįor years, WebP’s biggest drawback was its limited support. ![]() Google effectively created a triple threat, which means people don’t have to manage multiple image file formats for their websites, especially if they want to prioritize load times. Google claims animated WebP files have several advantages over GIFs, too, including 19% (lossless) to 64% (lossy) smaller file sizes.Īll of this means that in some cases the format offers advantages over existing formats by bringing similar image quality with much smaller file sizes in others it offers more advanced technology. The format can also be used to present animations, much like GIFs. WebP supports lossy images similar to JPEGs, but it can also be used for lossless images, and support for the alpha channel means it can offer similar transparency to PNGs. That alone would give website operators a good reason to choose WebP over JPEG, but that’s not all the format has to offer. The format accomplishes that goal by offering 25-34% greater compression than JPEG files, according to one Google study, without sacrificing visual quality. We’ve already established that Google created WebP to help image-heavy websites load faster.
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