Images are an important part of web design, but are often also the main reason for poor loading times. Until now, only the familiar JPEG and PNG image formats were used, as they were known for their good quality and compatibility. However, there are now two new image formats that are gaining ground and have the potential to shape the future of web design: WebP and AVIF.
WebP and AVIF replace old image formats
WebP was developed by Google and is an image format that has been specially optimised for the web. It offers higher compression than JPEG files and better quality than PNG files. This means that images in WebP format load faster and require less storage space without affecting the image quality. WebP files generally have 26% better compression than PNG files and 25-34% better compression than JPEG files. In addition, WebP is supported by all major browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge.
AVIF is a new image format that is even more advanced than WebP. It offers the best quality and compression compared to other image formats. It utilises the latest video codecs and technologies to store images in high quality. AVIF has the potential to become the leading image format in the future as it offers higher quality at a smaller size than all other image formats. AVIF is currently supported by the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox and Edge browsers, but older versions unfortunately do not yet support the format. So if you decide to use AVIF, use a fallback option so that older browsers are delivered JPG or PNG files.
The advantages of the new image formats
The use of WebP and AVIF formats offers numerous advantages for web design. The biggest advantages are improved quality and better compression. By reducing the file size, websites can load faster, resulting in a better user experience. In addition, these formats allow more images to be used on a website without impacting loading times too much. This is particularly important for websites that contain many images, such as online shops or news portals.
Another advantage of WebP and AVIF is that they offer better support for transparencies than JPEG or PNG files. With these formats, images can be created with transparent backgrounds, which leads to a better integration of images into the web design. In addition, WebP even supports animated images and can be used as an alternative to GIF files.
Competitive advantage through the use of new image formats
Despite the many advantages, most web designers and website operators have not yet switched to the new image formats. This can lead to a competitive advantage for those already using this technology. By using WebP and AVIF, websites can load faster, which can lead to more conversions and higher customer satisfaction. Search engine rankings are also positively impacted. Especially on mobile devices, where internet speeds are often slower, websites that use these new image formats can capitalise on their advantages.