Our current recommendation is not to use WebP, and we don't offer support for it.
- is often a larger file size than properly optimized JPG
- takes up additional disk space (1 webp per jpg, including thumbnails = you double your disk space needed for images)
- provides no tangible performance benefits
- does not impact pagespeed score (pointless optimization warning)
- you can pass Core Web Vitals without WebP
- introduces a number of other issues (changes DOM structure, introduces DOM nodes)
- makes no difference when images are lazyloaded (95%+ of content sites)
We will not be supporting WebP for the foreseeable future, as it provides no tangible benefits and introduces unnecessary complexity.
Our themes do not register or unregister WebP, so there are no known conflicts with our themes and WebP.
Why is it being pushed?
It's a format developed by Google that they're pushing as... self promotion is my best guess.
Their initial claims were that it produced smaller images, but real world testing by third-parties shows that this is not the case.
It's also being pushed by image optimization plugins because it introduces a new potential revenue stream for them.
Can I still use WebP?
Yes! Sites can still use WebP, but we don't support issues related to WebP, which means you'll need to manage your own Shortpixel settings and configurations, or have third-party support such as Nerdpress.