Browser support for WebP has substantially improved over the years. While initially, it faced limitations in compatibility, major browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Opera now support WebP. This widespread acceptance has fueled its adoption and encouraged web developers to leverage its advantages for improved web performance. Why should their differences matter in your choice of an image format? Perfect for digital photography, blog images, and social media graphics with complex color gradients. Many JavaScript libraries, such as LazyLoad or native browser lazy loading, support lazy loading implementation.

PNG: The Champion of Graphics and Transparency

• But despite AVIF’s possible advantages, WebP remains supreme since it is supported by the majority of modern platforms and browsers.
• PNG is universally supported across all browsers and platforms, while WebP support is still growing.
• Most modern browsers support WebP, but it’s essential to check compatibility based on your audience’s browser usage.
• However, WebP offers better compression for transparent images, resulting in smaller file sizes.
• When it comes to image formats, the choice between WebP and PNG can be a tough one.

In today’s scenario, the speed and performance of your website can make or break user experience, which in turn impacts your conversions and search engine rankings. For D2C brands, SMB owners, and digital agencies, choosing the right image format is crucial for providing a seamless browsing experience. While both have their strengths, understanding which one suits your website’s needs can significantly improve your site’s performance. WebP and PNG are among the most commonly used formats for web images due to their quality and compression capabilities.

The Best Speed Test Site for Accurate Results

• While both have their strengths, understanding which one suits your website’s needs can significantly improve your site’s performance.
• Always resize and compress images to match their intended display size, avoiding unnecessary bloat and bandwidth consumption.
• It was developed as a patent-free alternative to GIF, and it supports lossless compression and transparent backgrounds.
• Transparency is one of the main strengths of PNG, as it is a good choice for logos, icons, interface controls, and images that require crisp edges.
• Supports 8-bit transparency using separate lossless compression for alpha data, ensuring minimal size and optimized prediction models.
• PNG, on the other hand, is a well-established image format that’s supported by all major web browsers.

In case you have graphic material or complex images where every little detail counts (such as technical diagrams), WebP will allow you to maintain high accuracy and detail. For example, a 500KB PNG image as WebP can be only 250KB without any noticeable loss in quality, which is especially important for sites with lots of graphics. Lossless WebP vs PNG is not worse in quality, but in lossy mode, it can lose some details. However, such a loss is normally not noticeable to the human eye, particularly if the compression level is selected correctly. Using WebP vs PNG is a decision that depends on whose format image qualities are more important to your WordPress site.

📸 How to Choose the Right Image Format: JPG, PNG, WebP, SVG Explained (2025 Guide)

Unlike JPEG, PNG preserves sharp edges and supports transparency without introducing compression artifacts. By leveraging PNG for such elements, you can ensure that your website’s branding and visual assets are displayed with utmost clarity and precision. Using WebP can positively impact SEO due to improved page load speeds, which is a ranking factor for search engines. Optimized PNG images can also contribute to SEO, particularly when high-quality visuals are essential for user engagement and content presentation. Choosing the right format can enhance both website performance and search engine visibility. WebP is increasingly supported by content management systems (CMS) and image optimization plugins, making it easier to implement on modern websites.

WebP: The Modern Hero for the Web

Best for images with transparency, such as logos, icons, infographics, and illustrations. If you’ve stumbled upon images in the WebP format and wondered how they compare to the familiar PNG, you’re not alone. These formats serve different purposes, and knowing when to make the switch can save you time, space, and a bit of sanity. Software engineering PNG images support up to 24-bit color depth, which is suitable for most applications but may be limiting for some uses.

Cons of WebP File

Adobe Photoshop (with WebP plugin) — while using Photoshop, you can save in WebP via the WebP plugin. It is a paid method that offers total control over the file size and quality of the Should you prefer WebP image format to PNG image saved as WebP. Below is a rundown of both free and paid PNG to WebP converters as well as the best WordPress image optimization plugins. As animated images must be employed, WebP is a suitable option over PNG. WebP also supports animation, but it is much smaller in size than usual GIFs.