why does nobody use it?
How does webp work and why does nobody use it anyways.
It uses something called Predictive Coding that shrinks data without losing quality.
While it look new. it’s actually a repurposed video codec from 2010 but let me explain.
WebP works by looking at a block of pixels and "predicting" what the neighboring
blocks will look like based on the colors it already has.
Instead of saving every single pixel, it only records the "residual"
or the tiny difference between its guess and reality.
Because this math is so efficient,
WebP can make files 30% smaller than JPEGs while still supporting
transparency and animation.
So why does it feel like nobody uses it?
The truth is, everyone uses it, you just don’t see the extension.
Giants like Google, YouTube, and Facebook automatically convert your uploads
to WebP to save petabytes of space.
The "hate" comes from the fact that old-school photo editors
and desktop OS versions still treat it like an outsider,
making it a nightmare to "Save Image As". Fortunately, with 2026 updates,
almost every modern browser and app now handles WebP natively,
finally ending the era of the "unsupported file" error.
Timestamps:
00:00 - What is webp
00:10 - How does webp work
00:35 - Why people hate webp