WebP Files Won't Open? How to Convert WebP to JPG or PNG

You save a picture from a website, double-click it, and your editor or document program refuses to open it. The file ends in .webp. WebP is a modern image format that many sites use to load faster, but a lot of older software, print shops, marketplaces and upload forms still do not accept it. Converting it takes seconds.

Why you get WebP

WebP was developed by Google to store pictures in smaller files than JPG at a similar look. Websites serve it to make pages load quickly, so when you right-click a picture and save it, or drag it from the browser, you often receive the WebP version. All current major browsers can display WebP, but software outside the browser may not.

Pick the right target

• JPG is the safest choice for photos. It opens everywhere and is small. It does not support transparency.
• PNG is the right choice when you need a transparent background or must keep every pixel exactly as it is. It is larger.

Use WebP to JPG for photos and WebP to PNG for logos, icons, screenshots and anything with see-through areas.

How to convert

1. Open the converter and add up to 30 WebP files.
2. For JPG, set the quality and the colour that replaces transparent areas. For PNG, there is nothing to set.
3. Convert, check the size shown for each file, and download them individually or all together as a ZIP.

Photos taken with a phone come out the right way up, and animated WebP files convert to a single still image, taken from the first frame. The conversion happens in your browser, so your pictures are not uploaded.

What to expect

• Quality. Both formats are lossy for photos, so converting WebP to JPG is a second round of compression. At 85 to 90 percent the difference is hard to see. Keep the WebP if you may need the best copy later.
• Size. A JPG of the same picture is usually somewhat larger than the WebP, often by a quarter to a half, because WebP compresses more efficiently. A PNG is larger still.
• Transparency. JPG has no transparent pixels, so the see-through areas are filled with the colour you choose, white by default. PNG keeps transparency exactly.

Which format for which situation

• Product listing on a marketplace: JPG at about 85 percent, on a plain background.
• Logo or icon with a see-through background: PNG.
• A document, slide or word processor: JPG for photographs and PNG for screenshots with text.
• A social post: JPG, or PNG for graphics with sharp text.
• Printing at a shop: JPG at high quality, or ask the shop which formats it accepts.

If the file is still too large

After converting, use the Image Compressor or a size page such as Compress Image to 200 KB when a form has a limit. To change dimensions, the Image Resizer does that.

Converting the other way

If you run a website and want the benefits of WebP, see how to convert PNG and JPG to WebP for faster pages. To choose between all three formats, read JPG vs PNG vs WebP.

Checklist

1. Decide whether you need transparency. If yes, choose PNG; if not, JPG.
2. Convert a couple of files first and look at them at full size.
3. Run the whole batch and download the ZIP.
4. Keep the originals if the picture matters.