{"id":60546,"date":"2024-12-13T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhblog.dream.press\/blog\/?p=60546"},"modified":"2025-05-27T06:45:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T13:45:11","slug":"modern-image-formats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www-dev.dreamhost.com\/blog\/modern-image-formats\/","title":{"rendered":"Need for Speed? Meet WebP, AVIF, and Modern Image Formats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There’s still truth in the century-old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, at a time when a website may be the only connection point entrepreneurs have with their target audience, graphics may be more critical than ever to telling your story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which leads to the question: What does<\/em> your imagery say about you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does it load fast and clear, making a modern impression and pulling shoppers deeper into your conversion funnel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or is your imagery a little bit blurry or on the slow side, leading visitors to wonder about the trustworthiness of your brand \u2014and if they should click away to a competitor instead?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A small business website’s performance, success, and user experience depend heavily on modern image formats. And upgrading yours may actually be a lot easier than you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, we\u2019ll explore what those modern formats are, how to choose the one that\u2019s best for you, a WordPress plugin to make it all happen in just a few clicks, and finally \u2014 a strategy for keeping an eye on site performance to make sure you stay aligned with contemporary consumer trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding WebP Images and AVIF Images<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The WebP format hit the scene in 2010 to improve upon the JPEG image format by offering superior quality and compressibility, without increasing file size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It supports lossy compression (significant size reduction with minimal quality loss) and lossless compression (no quality loss), enabling smaller file sizes while maintaining visual clarity. WebP also handles features like transparency (like PNGs) and animations (like GIFs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to its efficiency, versatility, and compatibility with all modern browsers, WebP has become a go-to format<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) was launched in 2019 to deliver better image quality and compression than WebP. It offers even higher quality visuals with minimal file sizes, thanks to advanced image compression and the ability to produce richer colors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While AVIF files aren\u2019t yet as widely adopted as WebP due to being younger, the format\u2019s popularity is growing as more platforms begin to accept it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To summarize, <\/strong>JPEG and PNG images are older formats that result in larger file sizes and, thus, slower loading times. The WebP and AVIF formats are newer and highly compressible, making them smaller and faster to load \u2014usually without losing much, if any quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One other thing you should know<\/strong>: Modern Image Formats<\/a> is also<\/em> the name of a plugin built for WordPress.org sites to enable AVIF and WebP support for media uploads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In just a bit, we\u2019ll walk you through how to install it on your own website to take advantage of the benefits of these modern formats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Modern Formats Matter (Hint: Speed!)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Images contribute significantly to a website’s page weight<\/a>, with desktop images averaging over 1,000 KB out of a total of 2,315 KB. That\u2019s nearly 50%!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On mobile, images account for almost 900 KB out of 2,020 KB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bar<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Given that images make up the majority of a website’s page weight, their formatting becomes crucial. This is because different formats can dramatically influence the size, weight, and, ultimately, the loading time of images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you want your images to load as quickly as possible, as the impact is two-fold.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, it\u2019s critical for search engine optimization (SEO)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google uses something called Core Web Vitals<\/a>, a set of metrics it measures for each website, to gauge how user-friendly your site is based on stability, responsiveness, and, you guessed it \u2014\u00a0speed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will use your Core Web Vitals, along with other factors, to determine where your website shows up versus competitors on the search engine\u2019s result pages. (Stay tuned, we\u2019ll dive deeper into Core Web Vitals again later!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, loading speed and accuracy are huge elements of the customer experience, and as such, greatly impact your ability to convert. This is shown by the fact that conversions drop off as sites get slower<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bar<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Choosing Between AVIF or WebP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before you can dive into using WebP or AVIF on your website to boost speed, you\u2019ll want to determine which<\/em> format you prefer for which<\/em> images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is both AVIF and WebP are excellent image formats for the web, so the choice is really just all about your priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s our verdict:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AVIF for Image Quality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

AVIF is perfect for sharp, detailed images like photography portfolios, digital art, or e-commerce sites<\/a> showcasing high-end products. It delivers stunning visuals with minimal impact on loading times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WebP for Versatility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

WebP works well for most websites, handling photos, illustrations, logos, and animations<\/a> with ease. It\u2019s widely supported, making it a reliable choice for quick-loading, high-quality images on the web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We actually already wrote a detailed guide to help you make this decision, so if you want more details, don\u2019t miss AVIF vs. WebP: How To Choose the Right Modern Image Format<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"AVIF<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Upload Your Best Images With Modern Image Formats WordPress Plugin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That plugin we mentioned earlier, Modern Image Formats<\/a>? It may just be the best way for small website owners and operators to get their updated graphics online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s explore what the tool features, how to install and use it, its benefits, and how to determine if it’s the right solution for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is the Modern Image Formats Plugin for WordPress?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

WordPress just introduced AVIF support in 2024<\/a> on version 6.5, so some websites may not be set up to use this format just yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where a plugin like Modern Image Formats comes in (formerly part of the Performance Lab plugin, then separated out and known as WebP Uploads until 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Modern Image Formats plugin<\/a> was created to enable the use of WebP and AVIF image formats in WordPress. As long as your hosting server supports AVIF, it will be the default format the plugin outputs, otherwise, WebP will be used. When both are supported, you can choose your preferred output in the \u201cSettings\u201d menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quick note<\/strong>: You can only modernize the formats of new uploads using this plugin, so it won\u2019t work retroactively on the graphics you already have on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have your ideal modern file type chosen and ready to upgrade your graphics and site speed? Perfect \u2014let\u2019s dive into using the Modern Image Formats plugin!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reminder: <\/strong>Your hosting environment<\/a> must also be able to support WebP and AVIF if you want to use these file formats. If you\u2019re not sure it does, reach out to your provider!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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