Ask HN: Should I use WebP and stop providing PNG and JPEG?

Hi,

Based on [1], it seems like at least 95% of web users support WebP as an image format.

Is it time to drop support for legacy image formats (PNG, JPEG), or should I still provide them as alternatives (using <source>)?

[1] https://caniuse.com/webp

9 comments

[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 37.6 ms ] thread

speedgoose 3y ago ↗

It depends. If it’s a technical blog you could, if it’s an online shop, don’t.

theandrewbailey 3y ago ↗

Keep them. It might be worthwhile to look into AVIF instead of WebP, as AVIF seems to be winning the current generation image format war.

red_Seashell_32 3y ago ↗

accepts header can be used to optimize here. If client supports webp or afiv - send those. If they don’t - png/jpg

duffyjp 3y ago ↗

The thing that holds me back is that WebP isn't supported on iOS 12. I know it's miniscule but there are still iPad Air 1 and iPhone 6 etc in service. I don't want to switch until I no longer need a fallback JPEG.

schappim 3y ago ↗

> miniscule

So miniscule that iOS 12 doesn't even make it on the graph in 2022: https://www.statista.com/statistics/565270/apple-devices-ios...

nicbou 3y ago ↗

I provide both. Webp by default, and the original format for others. Like duffyjp, I maintain support for iOS 12. I don't find it reasonable for images or text not to load on those devices.

brtkdotse 3y ago ↗

I’ve noticed that LinkedIn doesn’t support webp as the card image, so I have temporarily reverted to jpgs for those in my podcast site.

justsomehnguy 3y ago ↗

Does dropping PNG/JPG provide you some really significant benefits?

If no, then why?

mattbgates 3y ago ↗

As much as I love the idea of WebP, it hardly seems like it's going to replace jpg, png, or gif in full swing. WebP is great to ensure your image is optimized to the fullest, but I'm not sure too many people really care about the few extra KB a JPG might have. The only time it may matter is when you have a GIF and WebP can reduce it by several MB.