Impact of WebP Images on SEO in Magento 2: What You Need to Know

When it comes to optimising your website for the search engines, it is not just about keyword placement or quality backlinks. Instead, website speed and performance are equally important. You may have noticed that despite having a super-fast internet connection, your favourite online store takes a while to load. The reason is that the images are not optimised properly.

Most merchants upload images in JPEG and PNG, which are quite outdated formats. Nowadays, you need to upload images in the WebP format. Although it was developed back in 2010, it has gained considerably prominence in the past few years. This article discusses the impact of Magento 2WebP Images on a store’s search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy.

Before we start, let’s develop a comprehensive understanding of the WebP format.

What are Magento 2 WebP Images?

Google introduced this format to improve website performance by reducing image size while retaining the image quality. Compared to other image formats, WebP supports lossless and lossy compression techniques. In lossy compression, the size is reduced significantly with only a minor change in quality. In lossless compression, the only difference is that the quality remains unchanged. The only drawback to WebP images is that older web browsers do not support it.

Benefits of WebP Images on SEO

1.     Faster Loading Speed

Google itself confirms that WebP images are 26% smaller compared to PNG images and 25-34% smaller than JPEG. We know that eCommerce stores are filled with images, thereby taking a significant time to load despite having high-speed internet connectivity. By reducing the size for each image, the website’s loading speeds will improve significantly.

We can safely assume that if a website takes 6 seconds to load before image optimisation, it will only take 3-4 seconds afterwards. Google and every other search engine consider the loading speed as a critical factor in their search algorithm. In simpler words, fast-loading websites rank higher in the search rankings compared to slow-loading websites.

2.     Improved User Experience

Another benefit of WebP images is that it enhances the user experience. According to 2024 Website Statistics, a staggering 47% users will leave a website if takes longer than 2 seconds to load. If the loading time is longer than 3 seconds, 40% users will leave. So, we can conclude that websites which take longer than 3 seconds to load, they’ll lose 87% of traffic to competitors.

Let’s put this statistic into perspective. Suppose your store gets 100 visitors daily. 87 out of 100 will simply shift to another website because the website took too long to load. Out of the 13, how many do you expect to reasonably convert? Even if all of them convert, would they be enough to ensure your store’s financial viability? In most cases, the answer is no.

At the same time, if 87% of users leave a website without even interacting with it, this will contribute to a high bounce rate. Again, Google and other search engines use the bounce rate as an indicator of website quality. Websites with high bounce rates are automatically demoted in search rankings. In comparison, websites with low bounce rates appear significantly higher in the rankings.

3.     Better Mobile Optimization

Google has a mobile-first indexing approach. It means that it uses a website’s mobile version for indexing purposes. JPEG and PNG image formats are larger in size. Thus, the websites take longer to load. The problem is that mobile users often have low speed internet. The reason is that mobile internet is not the same everywhere. On top of it, the data plans are limited.

Hence, mobile versions may take longer to load. If that’s the case, Google’s mobile-first indexing approach will automatically consider the website’s performance to be subpar. Therefore, it will go down in the rankings. By using WebP images in place of JPEG or PNG, Magento 2 store owners can easily improve the mobile user experience and their rankings simultaneously.

4.     Boosts Core Web Vitals

Google has provided several tools to monitor website performance. One such tool is the Core Web Vitals which is a combination of metrics. The vitals focus on three aspects as shown below:

Source: web.dev

You can see the best score for each category. Google uses the Core Web Vitals score to assess a website’s performance. Thus, the higher the score, the better the performance. In turn, this will lead to a higher position in search rankings. WebP images can reduce the LCP significantly and prevent layout shifts caused by late-loading images.

5.     Lower Bandwidth Costs

While WebP images have significant benefits for SEO, they have numerous other advantages, including reduction in hosting and bandwidth costs. The reduced image size lowers the amount of data transferred between the user and server. The lower bandwidth consumption lowers infrastructure costs. At the same time, it allows the website to easily cater to seasonal peaks in traffic, preventing 503 (server overload), slow loading times, and timeout errors, improving search rankings.

Challenges of Implementing WebP in Magento 2

The above discussion confirms that WebP images have numerous benefits for SEO and overall user experience. Nevertheless, there are various challenges in implementing Magento 2 WebP Images. They include:

Browser Compatibility

As mentioned earlier, older web browsers do not support the WebP format. However, the good news is that almost every other browser, including Chrome, Safari, and Edge support WebP images.

Source: Statista

According to the above image, Chrome, Safari, and Edge have the greatest market share. Thus, merchants don’t have to worry too much about lack of support.

Although WebP is supported by most modern browsers, some older browsers, such as Internet Explorer, do not support the format. This can lead to compatibility issues if fallback solutions (like JPEG or PNG) aren’t implemented properly. Magento 2 store owners must ensure their sites provide alternative image formats for unsupported browsers.

Magento 2 Native Support

Another challenge is that Magento 2 lacks native support for WebP images. Therefore, merchants have no option but to use a third-party Magento 2 WebP Image extension if they want to benefit from WebP images. The alternative is to use an online tool. The problem is that these tools may not be highly effective.

Best Practices for SEO-Friendly WebP Implementation in Magento 2

When uploading images in the WebP format, ensure the following:

1- Keyword-rich image Alt Text and Metadata

Just because you upload images in the WebP format doesn’t guarantee higher rankings and improved performance. You need to optimise the image’s alt text and metadata. This helps web crawlers understand the image’s purpose. This contributes to the store’s search visibility.

2- Test Browser Compatibility

As mentioned earlier, not every browser supports WebP format. Therefore, it is imperative for store owners to have a fallback format. Thus, when a user from a non-supported browser visits the website, they are served images in compatible formats rather than WebP.

3- Automate Conversion

There is no point in manually converting images to WebP. Instead, use a top-rated Magento 2 WebP Images extension to automate this process. This ensures consistency and removes manual work.

Conclusion

This concludes our article on Magento 2 WebP images and how they enhance a store’s SEO performance. Undoubtedly, there are a few challenges associated with WebP images in Magento 2, but they can be overcome through an extension. moreover, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. Thus, merchants must consider WebP as a necessity rather than a choice.