1What is a WebP file?
WebP is an image format published by Google in 2010, designed as a successor to JPEG. It handles three cases in a single container: lossy compression, lossless compression, and — the valuable one — transparency, which JPEG cannot represent.
A WebP is typically 25 to 35% lighter than a JPEG at comparable visual quality. Its real strength is not there, though: it is coverage. Where AVIF took a decade to win over Apple, WebP has been supported by every major browser since 2020, making it the universal fallback format of the web.
2Can Pixora Viewer open a WebP?
Yes, and it is one of the simplest cases: WebP has been in the viewer's accepted format list from the start, on equal footing with JPG and PNG.
As with other image formats, decoding is delegated to the browser. Here that has practically no consequence, since WebP support is near-universal: on any installation from 2020 or later, the image will display.
3Which browsers open a WebP?
| Browser | Minimum version | WebP playback |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | 32 (January 2014) | yes |
| Firefox | 65 (January 2019) | yes |
| Edge | 18 (October 2018) | yes |
| Safari (macOS) | 14 (September 2020) | yes |
| Safari (iOS) | 14 (September 2020) | yes |
| Opera | 19 (2014) | yes |
| Samsung Internet | 4 (2016) | yes |
| Internet Explorer | none | no |
4Why does Windows sometimes refuse to open a WebP?
This is the most widespread confusion around the format. Windows only built WebP support into its own viewer with Windows 11 and later Windows 10 updates; earlier versions show no thumbnail and either open the file in a browser tab or fail outright.
So the file is not at fault, and neither is your browser: it is the operating system preview. The solution is to go through the browser, which will read it without difficulty.
- Windows 10 and 11 up to date: the preview works, provided the WebP extension from the Microsoft Store is installed when missing.
- Windows 8 and earlier: the built-in preview does not handle WebP. Open the file in your browser.
- macOS: Preview has handled WebP since macOS 11 Big Sur.
- Older applications: an image editor from before 2020 may reject the file even though your browser accepts it.
5Showing a folder of WebP files as a slideshow
- Open the viewer.
- Select the folder containing your WebP images.
- The slideshow starts and walks through the files in the natural order of their names.
- Set the display duration to suit the occasion: a few seconds for a quick scan, a full minute for a narrated presentation.
6Should you convert a WebP to JPEG?
Not for display: WebP beats JPEG at equal quality, and converting would only make the image heavier. Two exceptions are worth knowing, however.
The first concerns old software: some desktop publishing or printing tools still do not open WebP. The second concerns transparency: if you must replace a transparent WebP with a JPEG, you lose the alpha channel and get a white or black background instead. In that specific case, convert to PNG instead.
7Frequently asked questions
Is WebP a safe, long-lasting format?
Yes. It is published by Google, publicly specified, supported by every major browser and used at scale across the web. It is neither a closed proprietary format nor an experimental one.
Can a WebP be transparent?
Yes, like a PNG. That is one of its advantages over JPEG, which does not support transparency. Note, though, that converting a transparent WebP to JPEG loses that transparency.
Does an animated WebP replace a GIF?
Technically yes, and it is usually lighter. The nuance is animation support, which arrived later: Firefox only handled animated WebP from version 90, in 2021.
Why is a WebP file heavier than expected?
WebP can be saved with lossless compression, which produces heavier files than lossy compression but preserves the image exactly. A lossless WebP intended for archiving will therefore be heavier than a JPEG.
See your WebP files full screen
Open a folder, start the slideshow. Nothing leaves your device.
Open the viewer