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Serving Images in Google Recommended WebP Format Made Easy for WordPress Websites

The benefit that images offer is invaluable. Using them on the website not only helps you in numerous ways but let your visitors consume the content easily. Appealing visuals add life to the content by enhancing the overall appearance. Also, images boost engagement and help in search engine optimization.

But there is a problem. The use of images can slow down the website by increasing the page load time. And a slow-loading website is something that users don’t like visiting.

Because both the images and website speed are equally important, you can’t leave any of them. Then what to do? How can you ensure high website speed while using captivating images?

That’s what we are going to see today.

Well, the solution to this problem is to serve the images in the WebP format.

What’s WebP Image Format?

Developed by Google, WebP is a new-age image format that lets you create pictures of small size which don’t mess with the website speed. And while doing so, you need not worry about the image quality. Though WebP images are much smaller than counterparts JPEG and PNG images, the outcome is not quality-compromised. Thanks to the lossy and lossless compression technology that WebP image format use! They offer 25%-34% and 26% smaller images, respectively. Additionally, the WebP format also supports transparent and animated formats. The lightweight techniques and tools make things possible for you.

Talking about the support, all the major browsers support WebP image format.

Okay! So, that was about what can you do to serve quality images without compromising the website speed.

Now the next question. How can you do that?

How to Serve Images in Google Recommended WebP Format in the WordPress?

If your WordPress version supports the WebP image format, you can continue working the way you do with PNG or JPEG image format.

Otherwise, you have different options to serve the WebP images in your WordPress website. Out of which, the three simple options are –

  • Manually convert the images to WebP format using image editing tools.
  • Use command-line tools to convert images.
  • Let the plugins do the task for you.

Don’t you think that the last option is the best? You can do more work with fewer efforts. All you will have to do is to select the best plugin that can automatically serve the WordPress website images to the visitors in the WebP format. Download and install the same; that’s all. This option will also help you serve people who don’t use WebP compatible browsers, because plugins offer fallback option.

Considering the last option to be easily manageable, we are up with some of the best WordPress plugins for you. These plugins are available in the WordPress directory for free.

Best WordPress Plugins for WebP Images

WebP Converter for Media

Do you want to shift to the WebP image format but through a simple route? You have it! Install WebP Converter for Media and see the things working the way you want. It will convert the images (including the existing ones) to the WebP format. Once done, your website visitors will receive the compressed images.

Imagify

With over 5 lakh active installations, Imagify is an advanced and one of the widely used plugins. It lets you serve the images in the desired format, including WebP format in just a click. And that’s not true only for individual images; Imagify offers a one-click bulk optimization service as well. So, if you have a lot of unoptimized images on your WordPress website, set them right instantly. To reduce the image size, this plugin uses the compression method. They offer two compression methods and three compression levels for you to pick the appropriate one, depending upon the requirements. With this plugin, image optimization takes place automatically when you upload images to WordPress. And the best part is that here, you have options to restore the images to the original and change the compression level.

WebP Express

Converting your images to the WebP format is made easy! All you have to do is download and install the WebP plugin to your WordPress website. To convert your images to the WebP format, this plugin uses different methods and the WebP Convert library. With this plugin, your website serves the images in the appropriate format (WebP and JPEG, PNG or other) as per browser compatibility.

Optimole

Here’s a smart plugin offering advanced features, including full automation to address all your image optimization requirements. Using this plugin, you can deliver any type of image in the WebP format to your WordPress website users, as it supports all types of images. It lets you reduce the weight of the images without hampering their quality. Plus, Optimole resizes the images depending upon the device and browser of your visitors. The real-time, cloud-based image optimization enables you to offer a classic experience to each of your users while you limit server load and save your bandwidth.

Check out these to find the most suitable one for yourself. And tell us your favourite plugin for this task in the comment section.

Summing Up

The WebP is a contemporary image format using which you can deliver attractive and meaningful images in a smaller size but rich quality while ensuring that your WordPress website loads quickly. This image format helps you offer a classic overall user experience to your website visitors while saving bandwidth.

Need Help with WebP Image Creation?

Contact Neel Networks. We have a team of expert developers and designers to serve you with WebP images fitting your needs. And if you want to do it on your own, we can help you pick the right tools to convert images into the WebP format. If you are willing to use a plugin for the same but need a customized one, we are equipped to provide you with the same.

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