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WebP (.webp)

WebP is a new modern image format, developed by Google to be a successor to the common image formats widely being used on the web. It supports adjustable lossy compression, making it a good replacement for JPEG with a 25-35% smaller final image size with the same visual quality and compression levels. WebP also supports lossless compression and 8-bit alpha transparency channel which makes it a choice to use instead of PNG. About 25% smaller image size is expected for WebP lossless images compared to PNG.

Animated WebP has also some advantages over animated GIF. It supports 24-bit RGB color with an 8-bit alpha channel, compared to GIF's 8-bit color and 1-bit alpha. WebP supports both lossy and lossless compression and a single animation can have combined lossy and lossless frames. That makes animated WebP an excellent choice for animated images created from real-world videos. On the other hand, common web image formats like JPEG, PNG, and GIF are more compatible and well-supported by web browsers, compared to WebP. So, it's a good idea to use WebP with a fallback to common replacement formats for a safe compatibility result.

WEBP Specifications

Name WebP
File Extension(s) .webp
Category Raster Images
Use For Photographs, web graphics, icons, logos, flat images, screenshots, and drawings.
Developer Google
MIME Type(s) image/webp
License No license required; source code is openly available.
File Sample(s) N/A
Compression Lossless (Huffman, LZ77, or color cache codes) or lossy (VP8).
Max Dimensions 16,383×16,383 pixels
Color Modes
Mode Bits Description
YUV420 8 Lossy WebP stores the image in 8-bit Y'CbCr 4:2:0 format.
True color with alpha 8 Lossless WebP uses 8-bit ARGB color, with each component taking 8 bits for a total of 32 bits per pixel.
Animation Yes
Transparency Yes
Interlacing No
Metadata Yes
Layers No
Multipage Yes
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