Why does my image save as WebP?

Answered by Robert Flynn

When it comes to saving images on the web, there are different formats available, such as JPEG, PNG, BMP, and even WebP. However, sometimes you may notice that your image is saved as WebP instead of the format you expected, like JPEG. This can be a bit confusing, but there is a reason behind it.

WebP is actually an image format that was developed by Google specifically for web graphics. It was designed to provide better compression and smaller file sizes compared to other formats, without compromising the image quality. This means that images in WebP format can load faster on websites, resulting in a better user experience.

So, why is your image saving as WebP? Well, the reason could be that the image you are trying to save was originally in WebP format. It’s possible that the image you are viewing or downloading from a website was uploaded or converted to WebP for optimization purposes.

Google, being the creator of the WebP format, often saves images in this format on its platforms. For example, if you use Google Photos and download an image, you may notice that it is saved as a WebP file. This is because Google optimizes the images to be in WebP format to save storage space and improve loading times on their platforms.

It’s also worth mentioning that some web browsers, like Google Chrome, natively support the WebP format. This means that if you come across an image in WebP format while browsing, it will be displayed without any issues. However, not all browsers support WebP by default, so if you try to open a WebP image in a browser that doesn’t support it, you may encounter difficulties. In such cases, you can try renaming the file extension from “.webp” to “.jpeg” or “.jpg” to open it as a regular JPEG image.

Your image may be saving as WebP because it was originally in that format, or the platform you are using is optimizing images for better web performance. WebP offers advantages in terms of compression and loading speed, making it a popular choice for web graphics.