For online retailers and businesses, creating a fast, efficient, and user-friendly website is essential to staying competitive in an online marketplace where everything counts.
You need to be doing everything you can to outsmart your rivals and converting images to the WebP format with a tool like our WebP image converter could give you the edge.
Converting images to save file size and load time is often overlooked and if you have a website with a lot of images, using the best format can make a real difference.
Why is Converting to the WebP Format Important?
When someone lands on your website, how quickly the content appears for them makes a huge difference in whether they stick around or leave.
A study by Hobo Web in April 2024 highlighted that 53% of people will abandon a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. For online retailers, a slow-loading site means lost sales and frustrated customers. The more images your site has, the more likely it is to slow down, which is why using the WebP image format is so important.
So let's get into the benefits, don't forget you can use our free online image converter to change your images to WebP.
Benefits of WebP for Online Retailers and Businesses
1. Faster Website Load Times
One of the biggest benefits of using WebP is that it helps your website load faster. Because WebP images are smaller in file size (the bit measured in kb or mb), they require less time to download, especially on mobile devices or slower internet connections. For businesses, this can directly impact sales.
Imagine you run an online clothing store where each product page might have several images showing different angles, colours, and styles. If these images take too long to load, customers may get frustrated and leave before making a purchase.
By converting these images to WebP, they’ll load much quicker, providing a faster experience for your customers, which keeps them on your site longer and more likely to buy.
Result!
2. Improved Mobile Experience
More people are shopping on their phones than ever before, with mobile sales now accounts for around two thirds of ecommerce sales according to a study by Statista in 2022. You might think that this doesn't affect you if you work in a B2B business, but remember that people often bring their personal browsing to their work tasks.
However, mobile users often experience slower internet speeds than those browsing on desktops, so it’s important that your website loads quickly and smoothly on all devices.
WebP is particularly effective for mobile users, your images will load quickly, even on mobile networks, giving users the convenience they expect.
3. Better Search Engine Rankings (SEO)
Search engines like Google prioritise websites that offer a good user experience, and one of the key factors they consider is page speed (also known as Core Web Vitals). Faster websites are ranked higher in search results, making them more visible to potential customers. It's as simple as that.
By using WebP images, you can improve your website’s loading speed, which in turn can boost your rankings on search engines. This means more potential customers are likely to find your business when they search for products or services online, giving you an edge over slower competitors.
4. High-Quality Images at a Lower Cost
You know how important it is to showcase your products with high-quality images. Blurry or low-resolution photos can turn customers away as they can't really see what they're buying. However, high-quality images often come with a trade-off in that they’re larger in size, which can slow down your website.
WebP solves this problem by compressing images without compromising quality. This means your customers can enjoy clear, detailed images of your products without experiencing delays. Whether you’re showing off a new dress, a piece of furniture, or any other product, WebP ensures your images look sharp and load quickly.
5. Saving Bandwidth and Hosting Costs
For businesses with a lot of traffic or a large inventory of products, managing website data can be expensive.
Hosting services often charge based on how much data your website uses, and large image files can quickly add to these costs. WebP’s smaller file sizes reduce the amount of data your website uses, which can lower your hosting costs, especially if you’re running a high-traffic eCommerce site.
Similarly, the WebP filetype reduces the bandwidth required for your site to load images, meaning visitors who are browsing your website on limited data plans will use less of their data allowance, giving them another reason to stay on your site for longer.
6. Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Reducing file sizes and speeding up your website doesn’t just benefit your business and customers, it also has environmental advantages.
A faster, lighter website uses less energy, both on your server and the devices used by your customers. This can help reduce your digital carbon footprint, a growing concern for many businesses today.
7. How to Implement WebP on Your Website
Converting your website’s images to WebP format may sound technical, but in reality, it’s a relatively simple process. You can use our image converter to update your images to WebP from other formats such as JPG or PNG.
So Why Bother Converting to WebP?
In the competitive world of online retail, every second counts.
Converting your website’s images to the WebP format offers numerous benefits, from faster loading times and improved mobile experiences to better search engine rankings and reduced hosting costs.
For online retailers and businesses looking to provide a seamless, enjoyable experience for their customers, WebP is a simple yet powerful tool to help optimise your website and keep you ahead of the competition.
By converting images to WebP, you’re not just improving your website’s performance, you’re also setting the stage for higher conversions, better customer satisfaction, and long-term business success.
