WebP is a new image format developed by Google in 2010 to reduce the size of
each file without sacrificing image quality. Therefore, loading JPEG or PNG
images will spend more time than loading WebP images on the web site.
This article describes advantages and disadvanges of WebP images.
Advantages of WebP Images
Compared to PNG images, WebP images have the following features.
- WebP images are smaller in size compared to other formats but having the same image quality.
- WebP images support Alpha channel and 24-bit color.
- Web images occupy less storage space than PNG images, that makes the web faster.
Disadvantages of WebP Images
Encoding WebP images spend more time than JPEG images. Hence, the production of WebP tiles needs more time.
WebP Performance
SuperMap supports generating map tiles in Webp format to reduce the size of tile data without the loss of tile quality. Webp tiles apply to mobile and web sides to speed up the loading and rendering of maps without considering compatibility.
We created JPG_PNG tiles and WebP tiles from the same map using the same parameters to contrast the performance of WebP tiles.
We got the following conclusion:
- Time-consuming : iDesktop spent more time to generate WebP tiles than JPGPNG tiles. The cost time of WebP tiles is 117.86% of the JPGPNG tiles.
- File size : The WebP tiles are 62.74% of JPG_PNG tiles in size.
- Loading time : loading one WebP image is faster than loading a JPGPNG image. The product takes 1.1 seconds to read 1000 WebP images while 1.8 seconds to read 1000 JPGPNG images. The speed of loading 1000 WebP images is 39% of the speed of loading 1000 JPGPNG images. Reading 10000 JPGPNG images spent 19 seconds, while for 10000 WebP images, the product takes 10 seconds that is 47% faster than the JPG_PNG images.
SuperMap iDesktop supports opening WebP tiles directly. Besides, you are allowed to publish WebP tiles as iServer services and browse them with iServer. The following pictures show the contrast between WebP and PNG tiles after publishing them as iServer services. On the same map scale, all PNG tiles are 751.91KB in size, while all WebP tiles are 137.3KB that is 80% of PNG tiles.
Although WebP tiles need more time to generate, WebP tiles are small in size. Therefore, the web site loads WebP images faster than PNG images, that improves the browse performance without the loss of quality.
Note : WebP tiles can be browsed on Google browser only.
