{"id":50499,"date":"2024-11-01T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-01T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhblog.dream.press\/blog\/?p=50499"},"modified":"2025-05-21T20:41:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T03:41:51","slug":"avif-vs-webp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/avif-vs-webp\/","title":{"rendered":"AVIF vs. WebP: How To Choose the Right Modern Image Format"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If just reading the phrase \u201cimage format\u201d freaks you out \u2014hold on. Stay with us for one<\/em> second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JPEG. You know that one, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PNG. Hey, you\u2019ve heard of that, too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those are both image formats. And WebP and AVIF are just two different, slightly newer versions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why the devil were they created?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, just like when the Model T was first developed to replace horses, these modern formats aim to switch up and improve upon the status quo in terms of speed and quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, why the heck should you keep reading?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to make sure your small business website is as prepared as possible to keep up with modern technology and evolving consumer demands, you\u2019re going to want to take a page from Henry Ford\u2019s book and get inventive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luckily, today that job is a little less greasy, but probably a touch more technical. This guide can provide you with the reasoning, the tips, and the tools to understand, choose \u2014 and even implement the image format that will make your site a roaring success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"timeline<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why Care About Image Formats for My Website?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The format of the files on your website, especially images<\/a>, might seem like the last<\/em> thing you really need to think about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We urge you to think again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s exactly why the format you use for graphics is key to website experience and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Images Are Everywhere\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

No matter your business, images probably make up a significant portion of your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Web Almanac, desktop images account for over 1,000 KB<\/a> of the entire 2,315 KB of a website. That\u2019s close to 50%! For mobile, images make up almost 900 KB out of 2,020 KB total. The next most-used content type (JavaScript) doesn\u2019t even reach half of the weight of images!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Modern<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no surprise that nearly 100% of website pages<\/a> contain an image. And, that images are the most impactful component on 80% of websites viewed via desktop (for mobile, make that 70%). This is made evident by the Core Web Vitals<\/a> Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) metric that identifies the largest element found \u201cabove the fold\u201d on a website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, it\u2019s dang near impossible to overstate the presence, and importance, of images on the web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026So How They Perform Matters!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you consider how images make up the majority of a website\u2019s page weight, how they\u2019re formatted \u2014 which impacts how they perform \u2014 becomes critical to think about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different formats, such as AVIF and WebP which we\u2019ll dive into next, impact the size and weight of images. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, different formats resize and compress differently. If you can\u2019t edit an image to the ideal size or weight for your website, you’re stuck with heavy and\/or distorted graphics that ruin loading speed as well as the user experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that poor experience isn’t just a bummer for visitors. Over time, as search engines catch onto slow loading time and bounces caused by unpleasant imagery, your ranking can fall and hurt your visibility, conversions, and eventually, revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sound like it\u2019s about time to learn about optimizing images for the web<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll cover two popular and modern image formats every website owner and manager should know about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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