How to Convert JPG Photos to WebP for a Faster Website

For photography portfolios, online storefronts, and online publications, image files represent the majority of total page weight. Converting JPG photos to WebP can make such pages noticeably lighter.

The tangible benefits of WebP

• Smaller files: WebP is usually smaller than a JPEG of similar visual quality, by an amount that depends on the photo.
• Faster loading: lighter images can improve loading measurements such as Largest Contentful Paint.
• Lower data usage for mobile site visitors browsing on limited data plans.
• Support in all current web browsers.

Step by step conversion

1. Choose one or more JPG photographs.
2. Set the quality slider. 80 to 85 is a good starting range.
3. Press Convert to WebP.
4. Download your optimized images and replace your existing heavy web assets.

The conversion runs in your browser, and the photos are not uploaded.

Worked example: a gallery page with twelve photos

1. Export the twelve photos from your editor at the width the gallery displays them, plus a larger version only if visitors can click to enlarge.
2. Convert the first photo to WebP at 85, 75 and 65. Compare the three results with the JPG at full size.
3. Pick the lowest setting at which you cannot see a difference in skin, sky and fine patterns. For many photos that is around 75 to 80, but let your own eyes decide.
4. Convert the other eleven at that setting and check the sizes in the list.
5. Upload them, open the gallery on a phone using mobile data and see whether it feels faster.

Common mistakes

• Starting from small, already compressed JPG files. The gain is tiny and the second compression can be seen.
• Using one setting without ever looking at a result.
• Converting pictures for marketplaces and social networks. Those platforms compress every upload again in their own way, and some do not accept WebP at all.
• Forgetting that EXIF data is dropped. If you rely on copyright or caption fields stored in the photo, they will not be in the WebP.
• Removing the JPG files from your computer once the site looks fine.

A fair expectation

Published comparisons generally find WebP somewhat smaller than JPG at the same visual quality, but how much depends heavily on the photo and on how the JPG was made. For your own pictures, the only number that counts is the one in the result list. If the saving across a page is a few percent, it is not worth the trouble. If your JPG files came straight from a camera at high quality, the saving is usually clear.

Troubleshooting

• The WebP is larger than the JPG: the JPG was strongly compressed already. Keep the JPG.
• Skies show bands of colour: raise the quality by ten points for that photo.
• The site refuses the upload: your content system may need a setting or an update to allow WebP.

Checklist

• The photos are for a website.
• They are resized to their display width before conversion.
• I compared at least one result with its original at full size.
• I kept the WebP only where it is clearly smaller.
• The JPG originals are stored safely.