When Was WebP First Introduced by Google?

The WebP image format was first introduced by Google in 2010 to make web pages significantly faster and lighter. Designed to provide more efficient compression than legacy formats like JPEG and PNG, it has evolved into a core standard for modern digital media delivery across major web browsers.

The 2010 Announcement and Origins

Google officially unveiled the WebP format on September 30, 2010. The initiative stemmed from Google’s acquisition earlier that year of On2 Technologies, a company specializing in video compression. By adapting the intra-frame prediction technology used in the VP8 video codec, Google engineers created a container format capable of encoding still images with substantially reduced file sizes without sacrificing perceived visual fidelity.

Core Objectives of the WebP Format

Prior to WebP, websites relied predominantly on JPEG for photographic images, PNG for graphics requiring transparency, and GIF for basic animations. WebP was designed to consolidate these diverse needs into a single format that delivered several key performance advantages:

• Lossy Compression: Typically delivers file sizes 25% to 34% smaller than comparable JPEG images.
• Lossless Compression: Reduces file dimensions roughly 26% smaller than traditional PNG equivalents.
• Alpha Channel Support: Enables 24-bit RGB color with transparency, unlike standard JPEG files.
• Animated Images: Supports animation with smaller footprints and richer color palettes than 8-bit GIFs.

Evolution and Industry Adoption

At its launch in 2010, WebP supported only lossy compression. In late 2011, Google extended the specification to support lossless compression, transparency, and ICC color profiles.

While adoption began primarily within the Chromium ecosystem, universal support expanded across the web over the following decade. Today, every major browser—including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Microsoft Edge—natively supports WebP decoding, establishing the 2010 format as an essential tool for web developers seeking optimal loading speeds.