Why Old Formats Slow Your Site
PNG and JPG shaped the early web. They also slow your site today. They inflate page weight, reduce Core Web Vitals scores and raise hosting costs. They limit responsive design because they scale poorly and rely on heavy compression.
Slow images affect visitors. They also affect how AI models understand your site. Heavy assets reduce clarity and signal lower usefulness.
Why WebP Delivers Better Results
WebP suits modern websites. It reduces file size without visible quality loss on any device.
Key strengths
• Smaller files. WebP often cuts image weight by 25 to 40 percent.
• Faster loads. LCP improves because hero images shrink in size.
• Transparency support for UI elements.
• Animation support for lightweight sequences.
• Full browser support.
• Cleaner responsive setups with picture tags and srcset.
Real gains you get
• A 400 KB PNG often drops to 100 to 180 KB as WebP.
• A 1.2 MB JPG often drops to 350 to 500 KB as WebP.
• CDN bandwidth falls.
• PageSpeed results rise without design changes.
Lossless WebP helps when you need perfect pixel detail for UI assets.
Why SVG Outperforms Raster Graphics
SVGs behave like code. They scale to any size without distortion and support styling, interaction and animation.
Key advantages
• No pixelation at any resolution.
• Tiny file sizes for icons, logos and brand assets.
• Accessible with title and desc tags.
• Recolour with CSS.
• Ideal for light mode and dark mode.
• Sharp on retina displays.
• Better for AI visibility because crawlers read the vector markup.
SVGs reduce your media library size because one asset can serve multiple roles. They also remove the need for separate PNG versions for different themes.
When to Use WebP vs SVG
Use WebP for
• Photos of people or products.
• Hero images.
• Backgrounds.
• Marketing visuals with gradients or textures.
• Decor elements.
Use SVG for
• Logos.
• Icons.
• Buttons and UI controls.
• Simple illustrations.
• Infographics made from lines and shapes.
• Small animations.
Impact on Performance and AI Visibility
Next gen formats raise performance and improve how AI models interpret site quality.
Performance gains
• Faster LCP.
• Fewer bytes on mobile networks.
• Better interaction readiness.
• Higher Lighthouse, PageSpeed and Webscore results.
AI visibility gains
• AI crawlers parse smaller pages faster.
• Clean images improve AI summaries and link previews.
• SVG markup gives the crawler more context.
How To Migrate Without Risk
You strengthen performance without disrupting your brand.
Steps that work
• Convert PNG and JPG files to WebP with Squoosh or WebP Cloud API.
• Replace icon packs with SVG sets from Iconoir or Tabler.
• Update picture tags to load WebP first with fallback formats.
• Serve images through a CDN that supports content negotiation.
• Add responsive widths to prevent oversized assets.
• Keep vector masters in Figma or Adobe.
Why This Matters for Growth
Users expect fast page loads. Heavy media increases bounce rates and weakens conversions. Lighter formats improve clarity, speed and consistency across every device. SaaS brands and B2B teams benefit because they use many screenshots and UI elements that respond well to WebP and SVG.
How Websi Implements This for Clients
Websi uses strict image standards in every build and redesign.
Our process
• Audit your image library.
• Replace unnecessary PNG and JPG files.
• Add SVG icon systems.
• Optimise responsive widths.
• Configure CDNs for next gen delivery.
• Use AI visibility checks to measure improvement.
