The Magento 2 WebP Image Converter Extension is designed to automatically optimize storefront product images by converting standard formats such as JPEG and PNG into modern WebP format. It integrates seamlessly with Magento’s architecture using plugins, ensuring upgrade safety and stability. The extension detects browser support through the HTTP_ACCEPT header and intelligently serves WebP images to compatible browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera, while delivering original images to unsupported browsers, ensuring full compatibility across all user environments.

The Magento 2 WebP Image Converter Extension supports both on-the-fly (lazy) conversion and optional CLI bulk processing, allowing flexibility based on server capacity and project requirements. All image conversions are handled locally on the server, eliminating the need for third-party services or additional costs. Converted images are stored separately while preserving the original files, enabling a reliable fallback mechanism. Admin users can configure key settings such as enabling/disabling conversion, adjusting image quality, selecting the processing method, and controlling image quality directly from the Magento backend.

Key features include automatic product image WebP generation, smart browser-based delivery, configurable image quality, transparency support for PNG images, and compatibility with Magento caching systems like Full Page Cache and Varnish. The extension is lightweight and efficient, converting images only when needed to reduce unnecessary server load. Optional CLI commands can be used to pre-generate WebP images in bulk, making it suitable for large catalogs and high-traffic stores.

As a result, the extension significantly reduces image sizes—typically by 25% to 70%— leading to faster page load times, improved Core Web Vitals (especially Largest Contentful Paint), and better overall user experience. These performance improvements contribute directly to higher SEO rankings and lower bandwidth usage. By automating image optimization without requiring manual intervention, the extension provides a cost-effective and scalable solution for enhancing Magento store performance.

Navigate to Admin > Stores > Configuration > Pits Extensions > WebP Converter.

Figure 1 – WebP Converter Settings – General Configuration

Figure 1 displays the admin general configuration of the extension

Enable Module

Enables or disables the WebP Image Converter extension for the selected store view. When set to Yes, the extension will start converting and serving WebP images based on the configured settings. Set to No to completely disable all WebP functionality without uninstalling the module.

Image Quality (1–100)

Defines the compression quality of generated WebP images. Lower values reduce file size but may affect image clarity, while higher values preserve better quality with slightly larger file sizes. A recommended range of 75-85 provides an optimal balance between performance and visual quality.

WebP Delivery Method

The Server Rewrite Method allows WebP images to be served directly by the web server (Apache) using .htaccess rules. This approach improves performance by bypassing Magento’s PHP processing and delivering WebP images faster to supported browsers. It works by detecting if the browser supports WebP and automatically rewriting image requests to corresponding .webp files when available.

Requirements

Sample .htaccess Configuration

Add the following rules to your media directory .htaccess file:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>

RewriteEngine On

# Check if browser supports WebP

RewriteCond %{HTTP_ACCEPT} image/webp

# Check if WebP version of the image exists

RewriteCond %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/pub/media/catalog/product/webp/$1.webp -f

# Rewrite JPG/JPEG/PNG requests to WebP

RewriteRule ^catalog/product/cache/[^/]+/(.*)\.(jpg|jpeg|png)$

catalog/product/webp/$1.webp [T=image/webp,E=accept:1,L]

</IfModule>

<IfModule mod_headers.c>

# Serve correct content type for WebP

Header append Vary Accept env=REDIRECT_accept

</IfModule>

How It Works

The extension provides a CLI command to generate WebP images in bulk for all existing product and media images. This is especially useful for large catalogs where you want to avoid on-the-fly conversion and ensure all images are pre-optimized.

Prerequisites

If you have questions, use our contact form at webshopextension.com or email at support@webshopextension.com