The WebP Compatibility Problem
WebP was created by Google in 2010 to make web images smaller. It succeeded — WebP files are 25–35% smaller than equivalent PNGs. Browsers adopted it, and websites started serving images exclusively in WebP.
The problem: the rest of the software world has not caught up. When you download a WebP image from a website and try to use it outside a browser, you frequently hit a wall. The image will not open, insert, attach, upload, or print. Converting to PNG solves every one of these problems because PNG is the most universally supported image format in existence.
Software Compatibility Matrix
Here is the current state of WebP support across common software:
| Software | WebP Support | PNG Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Photoshop | v23.2+ (2022) | All versions | Older Photoshop needs plugin |
| Adobe Illustrator | v27+ (2023) | All versions | No WebP import in older versions |
| GIMP | v2.10+ | All versions | Full support |
| Figma | Yes | Yes | Full support |
| Canva | No | Yes | Cannot upload WebP |
| Microsoft Word | Office 365 (2023+) | All versions | Office 2019 and earlier: no |
| Microsoft PowerPoint | Office 365 (2023+) | All versions | Office 2019 and earlier: no |
| Google Docs/Slides | Yes | Yes | Full support |
| Apple Keynote | macOS 14+ | All versions | Older macOS: no WebP |
| WordPress | v5.8+ (2021) | All versions | Older WP needs plugin |
| Squarespace | Yes | Yes | Auto-converts to WebP |
| Wix | Upload: no | Yes | Wix serves WebP but won’t accept uploads |
| Gmail | Inline: yes | Yes | Attachment preview works |
| Outlook | No | Yes | Shows broken image icon |
| Apple Mail | macOS 14+ | All versions | Older macOS: no preview |
| Print services | Almost none | Universal | Vistaprint, Shutterfly, etc. |
| Social media uploads | Varies | Universal | Some platforms reject WebP |
7 Reasons to Convert WebP to PNG
1. Printing
Print-on-demand services (Vistaprint, Shutterfly, MOO), local print shops, and professional printing workflows almost universally require PNG, TIFF, or PDF. WebP is a web-only format — the printing industry has not adopted it and likely never will. If you need to print an image you found online, convert it to PNG first.
2. Email attachments
Outlook desktop does not display WebP images — recipients see a broken image icon or a generic file attachment. Many corporate email systems strip WebP attachments entirely. PNG is universally supported in every email client on every platform.
3. Office documents
If you need to insert an image into a Word document, PowerPoint presentation, or Excel spreadsheet, and anyone in your audience might use Office 2019 or earlier, use PNG. WebP support was only added to Office 365 in 2023. Using PNG guarantees the image displays correctly for everyone.
4. Image editing
Many image editors either cannot open WebP or have limited WebP support. Even when an editor can open WebP, saving/exporting options may be restricted. PNG is the universal interchange format for image editing — every editor supports it fully.
5. CMS and website builders
Not all website platforms accept WebP uploads. Wix, some older WordPress installations, and custom CMS platforms may reject WebP. Converting to PNG ensures you can upload the image anywhere.
6. Sharing with non-technical users
If you send a WebP file to someone who is not tech-savvy, they may not know how to open it. Their default image viewer might not support it. PNG opens everywhere — Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android. Zero friction.
7. Archival and future-proofing
PNG has been a web standard since 1996 and is an ISO standard (ISO/IEC 15948). It will be readable decades from now. WebP is proprietary to Google and only 15 years old. For long-term image storage, PNG is the safer choice.
The Quality Tradeoff
Converting WebP to PNG involves an important tradeoff:
- No additional quality loss: PNG is lossless, so the conversion preserves every pixel exactly as decoded from the WebP. No further degradation occurs.
- Cannot recover lost quality: if the WebP was lossy (most are), compression artifacts are baked into the pixel data. Converting to PNG preserves those artifacts — it does not remove them.
- Larger file size: the PNG file will typically be 3–5x larger than the WebP. This is because PNG stores every pixel losslessly, while WebP lossy compression discarded data to achieve smaller files.
Bottom line: WebP to PNG conversion preserves quality but increases file size. This is the correct tradeoff when you need compatibility over compression.
Why Websites Use WebP
If WebP causes compatibility problems, why do websites use it? The answer is performance:
- 25–35% smaller than PNG for the same visual quality
- Faster page loads = better user experience and higher Google rankings
- Lower bandwidth costs for high-traffic sites
- Browser support is 97%+ — sufficient for web delivery
Websites serve WebP because browsers support it and the compression savings are significant. The compatibility issues only surface when images leave the browser — downloaded, emailed, printed, or edited.
How to Save Website Images as PNG Instead of WebP
When you right-click and “Save Image As” from a website, the browser saves the WebP version. Here are workarounds:
- Convert after saving: save the WebP, then convert it to PNG using our converter. This is the simplest and most reliable method.
- Browser extension: extensions like “Save Image as PNG” intercept the save dialog and convert automatically. Available for Chrome and Firefox.
- Screenshot method: take a screenshot and crop the image. This works but may reduce quality due to screen resolution limitations.
- View page source: some sites serve JPG/PNG originals with WebP as an optimization layer. Check the page source for alternate image URLs.