Why We Enabled WebP on Dirigible Sites.
Faster Loading Web Pages FTW
WebP Files increase your site speed
WebP files reduce page load time because they are much smaller than JPEGs, PNGs or GIFs. With WebP files, your browser isn’t trying to deliver giant payloads. Since images are by far the largest part of a web page, reducing their weight makes pages load faster.
Smaller images = faster loading images = faster loading pages
Quickly loading sites lead to better search engine 0ptimization results
So other than ease of use, why is it important for your pages to load quickly? Search engine optimization (SEO). SEO refers to the steps you can take to encourage search engines to rank your content higher or lower than your competitors.
So, for example, when you Google something, Google uses an algorythm to determine which results pop up first. The algorithm looks at a variety of signals—including speed, the usefulness of the content, and accessibility, to name a few.
Not only that but when your site loads quickly, people will be more likely to stay on your site and see what your business or brand has to offer! Leading to more conversions (or actions) by your audience.
WebPs are the best of both worlds
Because WebPs have an alpha layer (unlike JPEGs), they can support transparency in an image. So if you need to support transparency in an image, you no longer need to use giant PNG images! WebPs have got your back.
Double the power with source sets!
Another approach to reducing the weight of pages is by using source sets. A source set is an HTML feature that allows you to define multiple sizes for each image, and then let the browser choose which size image to use, depending on the situation. So, if you’re visiting a site on your phone, your browser will pick a smaller size, as opposed to desktop, where it might pick the largest size.
Source sets combined with WebPs are way more powerful than using them separately.
Interested in faster loading pages and more image capabilities?