Why migrate to WebP?
WebP files are 25–35% smaller than equivalent JPG files. Smaller images mean faster page loads, better Core Web Vitals scores, and improved search rankings. For a site with dozens or hundreds of images, the cumulative effect on both performance and bandwidth costs is significant.
Step 1: Identify which images to convert
Focus first on images that appear above the fold — particularly hero images and any large image that loads immediately when the page opens. These have the greatest impact on perceived load time and on Google's Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) metric.
Step 2: Convert each JPG to WebP
Use our JPG to WebP converter for individual images or small batches. Quality 80–85 produces results visually indistinguishable from the original for most photographic content. Compare the before and after to make sure you're happy with the quality before replacing originals.
Step 3: Provide a fallback during transition
Use the HTML <picture> element to serve WebP to supporting browsers and JPG to everything else:
<picture>
<source type="image/webp" srcset="photo.webp">
<img src="photo.jpg" alt="Description">
</picture>Step 4: Update your references
Replace direct image references in your HTML, CSS, and CMS with the new WebP versions. If you use a content management system, update the media library entries.
Step 5: Measure the improvement
Run a Core Web Vitals check before and after the migration to confirm the improvement. LCP is typically the metric that benefits most from image format optimisation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Will switching to WebP affect my search rankings?
- Positively. Smaller images improve Core Web Vitals — particularly LCP — which is a confirmed Google ranking factor. The effect is most pronounced on image-heavy pages where images are the main content.
- Do I need to keep the original JPG files?
- Yes. Keep your originals. If you ever need to convert to a different format or the WebP conversion needs to be redone at a different quality setting, you want to start from the original rather than re-encoding an already-compressed file.
- Can I use WebP for all images on my site?
- For web images, yes. WebP is supported by all browsers your visitors are likely using in 2026. The only exception is if you know your audience uses very old or non-standard browsers, or if images need to be downloaded and opened in desktop applications that don't support WebP.