How to Convert JPEG Images to WebP

Converting to WebP images can lead you to many benefits as the WebP images are 25-34% smaller than comparable JPEG images. Smaller image files result in faster page loading speed.

Using WebP thumbnails, YouTube significantly boosted page loading speed, reducing load time by 10%.

However, converting from JPEG to WebP can take time and effort. Most image editing tools are incompatible because WebP is a relatively new image format. 

So, you must take a different approach to convert JPEG to WebP images. 

In this article, we will discuss the 6 easiest ways to convert your JPEG images to WebP.

Let’s dive deep!

How to Convert JPEG to WebP Online

You can easily convert your JPEG images to WebP using the Shortpixel Image Compressor and WebP Converter tool. While converting JPEG to WebP, it also compresses the WebP image. It’s a completely free JPEG to WebP converter.

So, your JPEG picture gets converted to a smaller WebP picture. Let’s see how to do it,

Step 1: Get to the Shortpixel Image Optimizer and choose your preferred compression level. You can select Lossy, Glossy, or Lossless compression. When preserving image quality, choose lossless. In contrast, lossy reduces image file size significantly.

Step 2: Navigate to Settings and turn on Generate WebP. You can also remove the background color from the converted WebP image.

Step 3: Now, upload the JPEG image to Shortpixel Image Optimizer to convert to WebP. It will be ready to download as a compressed WebP image. You can also see the compression percentage. 

Shortpixel lets you convert and compress 50 images at once. However, keep in mind that the maximum file size is 10 MB.

How to Convert JPEG to WebP in Photoshop

Photoshop is the most popular photo editing software. You can convert images to various formats while editing them using Adobe Photoshop. 

Likewise, you can convert your JPEG images to WebP format using Photoshop. Let’s do it, 

Step 1: Open Photoshop. You must install a WebP support add-on if your Adobe Photoshop version is over 23.2. In this case, follow this guide. Or you can launch the Adobe Photoshop tool. 

Step 2: Open Photoshop and import the JPEG image you want to convert to WebP. To do so, navigate to File > Open.

Step 3: Go to File > Save As after editing the JPEG image. If you want to keep the JPEG image, choose WebP as the “Save as type” format.

If you want to keep your base JPEG image, click mark As a Copy, or the WebP image will replace your base JPEG image.

Step 4: A WebP settings dialogue box will appear when you click Save a copy. Configure WebP settings according to your preferences, then click OK to save your WebP image. 

How to Convert JPEG to WebP Images on Mac

WebP Converter is one of the best solution for converting JPEG to WebP on Mac. You can quickly convert your JPEG images to WebP using this tool. 

Convert JPEG to WebP on Mac using WebP Converter:

Step 1: Launch the WebP Converter on your Mac. If you dont have it, download and install WebP Converter on your Mac.

Step 2: Drag and drop the JPEG image into the WebP converter to convert your JPEG image to WebP. Select WebP from the decode options. 

Here, you can customize the quality of the converted WebP image with the compression type and adjust the color profile, height and width.

Step 3: Finally, click on Start, which is in the top right corner. You will have your JPEG images converted to WebP. 

Convert JPEG to WebP on Linux with Command Line Tools

Converting JPEG images to WebP on Linux can be efficiently done using command-line tools such as “cwebp,” which is part of the WebP image processing tools provided by Google. Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1: First, you need to install the WebP tools. Most Linux distributions have these tools available in their package repositories.

You can install it using the command on different open-source systems,

For Ubuntu/Debian-based systems: 

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install webp

For Fedora and other RPM-based systems:

sudo dnf install libwebp-tools

For Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S libwebp

Step 2: Once the installation is complete, you can convert a JPEG image to WebP using the “cwebp” command. The basic syntax is as follows:

cwebp input.jpg -o output.webp 

Replace input.jpg with the path to your JPEG file and output .webp with the desired path for the resulting WebP file.

Step 3: You can use a simple loop in the terminal if you want to batch convert JPEG to WebP. For example, to convert all JPEG files in the current directory:

for i in *.jpg; do cwebp "$i" -o "${i%.jpg}.webp"; done 

This command looks for all .jpg files in the current directory and converts each JPEG image to WebP format. You have to save the result with the same name but with a .webp extension.

Step 4: Remember, the quality and size of the output WebP images can be adjusted using various options in the “cwebp” command.

For example, to set the quality factor to 80 (on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 is the best quality), you can use:

cwebp -q 80 input.jpg -o output.webp 

Convert JPEG to WebP in Batch Using WordPress Plugin

You can quickly bulk convert JPEG to WebP images in WordPress with the ShortPixel Image Optimizer plugin. Follow these simple steps to batch convert JPEG to WebP images: 

Step 1: After installing the Shortpixel plugin, you must enable the WebP converter. Navigate to, 

Settings > ShortPixel > Advanced > Create WebP 

Selecting the Create WebP will enable the plugin to create WebP images. 

Enable this for new and existing images in your Media Library.

Step 2: Go to Media > Bulk ShortPixel. Ensure the “Optimize” toggle for “Media Library” is turned on, and select the option to create WebP files. Start the optimization process by clicking “Start optimizing.”

Step 3: Shortpixel provides two methods for serving WebP images to your users: 

1. Using the <PICTURE> tag syntax 
2. without altering the page code (via .htaccess)​​

Choose the method that best fits your site’s setup. The .htaccess method is recommended but may only work with some CDNs or NGINX.

Step 4: Use your browser’s developer tools to check if the served images are in WebP format. You can inspect the network tab for the image’s MIME type.​

Convert JPEG to WebP Using a Google Chrome Extension

To convert JPEG to WebP using a Chrome extension, you can use the “Convert WebP to JPG” Chrome extension. Here’s a brief process:

Step 1: Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store.

Step 2: Click the extension icon to upload your JPEG files directly or by dragging and dropping them.

Step 3: Select the folder and the image name to save your converted WebP image.

Step 4: You can also convert any image in your browser to WebP without downloading it. Right-click on the image and select “Save image as WebP” to convert the image to WebP.

Summary

In conclusion, converting JPEG images to WebP format offers numerous benefits, including significantly reduced file sizes and improved web performance without sacrificing image quality.

By choosing the best Jpeg to WebP conversion method for your needs, you can seamlessly integrate WebP into your workflows, ensuring that your websites are fast, visually appealing, and efficient.

Since the web is constantly changing, you should adopt WebP to optimize your online presence.