Why Convert to WebP in Magento 2

Boost Search Rankings

Google uses loading speed as a ranking factor. Faster sites appear higher in search results. WebP images are 25–34% smaller than JPEG images at equivalent quality, which directly improves your Core Web Vitals scores.

Your Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) needs to be under 2.5 seconds for good rankings. Heavy images are the #1 cause of slow LCP. Converting to WebP immediately addresses this issue.

Increase Page Speed

47% of users leave websites that take longer than 2 seconds to load. Another 40% abandon sites loading beyond 3 seconds—resulting in 87% of potential customers lost due to slow images.

WebP reduces file sizes without visible quality loss. Product pages load faster, category grids appear instantly, and your entire store feels more responsive.

Improve Mobile Performance

Mobile shoppers account for over 75% of eCommerce traffic and 60% of orders. Most mobile users have limited data plans, and large images consume data quickly and frustrate users.

WebP adoption reached 68% of top sites in 2025, with browser support exceeding 96.5% globally. Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning your mobile site’s performance directly affects rankings.

Reduce Server Load

Smaller images mean less bandwidth consumption. Your server responds faster to user requests, and pages load quickly even for visitors on slow connections.

Search engines have crawl budgets—the number of pages they crawl within a timeframe. Lighter pages allow more pages to be crawled, improving your overall search visibility.

Pass Core Web Vitals

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Must be under 2.5 seconds
• INP (Interaction to Next Paint): Must be under 200 milliseconds
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Must be under 0.1

WebP vs Other Formats: 2025 Statistics

WebP is now the second most adopted next-gen format. AVIF is emerging but hasn't reached WebP's adoption level yet.

How to Convert Images to WebP in Magento 2

Method 1: Online Conversion Tools

Use online converters for small-scale conversions:

Pros

• No installation required
• Quick for 5–10 images
• Free for limited use

Cons

• Manual upload and download process
• File size limits (usually 10–20 images max)
• No automation
• Paid subscriptions needed for bulk conversion
• No browser fallback handling

Online tools work if you have only a handful of images. For stores with hundreds or thousands of images, extensions are the better choice.

Method 2: Magento 2 WebP Extensions (Recommended)

Extensions automate the entire conversion process. They handle bulk conversion, browser compatibility, and ongoing optimization.

Key Features to Look For:

Automatic Conversion: Extensions convert images in the background without manual work. Select folders, set quality levels, and let the extension handle everything.

Multiple Conversion Methods

• Page Load: Converts images when pages load
• Cron Job: Scheduled automatic conversion
• CLI Command: Manual batch conversion
• Admin Upload: Upload pre-converted WebP files

Browser Fallback

• Automatically serves original images to older browsers that don't support WebP, ensuring full compatibility without breaking the user experience.

Quality Control

• Set compression levels (1–100) to balance file size and visual quality.

Conversion Tools

• Choose between GD, Imagick, or Cwebp based on your server setup.

Advanced Options

• Skip specific folders
• Convert Page Builder images
• Add lazy loading attributes
• Convert CSS background images
• Process external images

Setting Up WebP Conversion

Prerequisites

Install required libraries first:

composer require rosell-dk/webp-convert

Run the image resize command:

bin/magento catalog:image:resize

Configuration Steps

Enable the Extension: Turn on WebP conversion from the admin panel.

Set Quality Level: Choose a value between 1–100. Higher values provide better quality but increase file size. A range of 75–85 is optimal for most stores.

Select Conversion Tool:

Cwebp: Fast conversion with high-quality output.

GD: Ensures maximum compatibility across environments.

Imagick: Advanced image processing with excellent quality.

Choose Conversion Method:

Page Load: Converts images on demand when users visit pages.

Cron: Automatically converts images in the background.

Page Load & Cron: Uses a combined conversion approach.

CLI: Allows manual control via the command line.

Skip Folders: Exclude specific directories (such as captcha folders) from conversion.

Add Lazy Loading: Enable lazy loading to defer offscreen images and improve page performance.

Bulk Conversion via CLI

For large image libraries, use CLI commands:

Testing Your WebP Setup

• Use built-in testing tools provided by most extensions.
• Enter an image ID to compare original and converted images.
• Review the original image size versus the WebP converted size.
• Check the compression percentage achieved.
• Compare visual quality between original and WebP images.
• Verify correct image display across different browsers.

WebP Conversion Statistics Dashboard

• Track overall conversion progress directly from the admin panel.
• Monitor the total number of images converted.
• View images pending conversion.
• Analyze conversion rate (per hour or per day).
• Measure total file size savings and compression percentages.
• Identify the conversion method used for each image.

Grid View Image Insights

• Compare original image size with WebP size.
• View compression percentage for each image.
• Check the conversion status.
• See the conversion method applied.

Browser Compatibility Handling

Modern extensions automatically detect browser capabilities. They serve WebP to supported browsers and fall back to JPEG/PNG for older ones.

Performance Impact: Real Numbers

Actual results from WebP implementation:

Does WebP reduce image quality?

No. At proper quality settings (75-85), visual differences are imperceptible. You get significantly smaller files with the same perceived quality.

What about older browsers?

Extensions automatically serve JPEG/PNG to browsers without WebP support. This affects less than 3% of users in 2025.

Can I convert product images in bulk?

Yes. Extensions process thousands of images automatically using cron jobs or CLI commands.

Will this slow down my store?

No. Page load conversion happens asynchronously. Cron and CLI methods process images in the background.

How much disk space will I save?

Expect 25-35% disk space reduction compared to JPEG/PNG. A 10,000 image store saving 30% recovers significant server space.

WebP vs AVIF: What's Next?

AVIF is the newer format offering even better compression:

• 50-60% smaller than JPEG
• Better quality at lower bitrates
• Growing browser support (95%+)

However, WebP remains the practical choice in 2025:

• Universal browser support (97%+)
• Faster encoding/decoding
• Better tool ecosystem
• Proven track record

Conclusion

Stores with extensive product catalogs see the biggest impact. If you have hundreds or thousands of images, WebP conversion should be your top priority. Start with an extension that handles automation, browser compatibility, and ongoing optimization. Manual conversion isn't practical at scale.

FAQs