Convert WebP to JPG

When a JPG is genuinely necessary

WebP is supported in every current browser, so a website has no reason to convert. The reasons to convert are all about destinations you do not control: an email client that renders WebP badly or not at all, a print supplier that will not open it, an older design or publishing tool, a CMS upload field that validates extensions, or a shared drive used by people with old software. In those cases JPG is the format that will actually open everywhere.

A second lossy step, and why it usually does not matter

Both formats are lossy, so this conversion re-encodes an image that has already been reconstructed once. A little more detail goes, and a second pass is slightly softer than the first. In practice that is not a problem, because the destination is usually somewhere the image will be viewed small or printed small, where the difference is invisible. It becomes a problem only if the result is then re-edited repeatedly, which is a good reason to keep the WebP as the working master rather than treating the JPG as an upgrade.

• One conversion is normally invisible at typical viewing size.
• Keep the WebP as the master. The JPG is a delivery copy.
• Do not convert repeatedly between the two.
• If quality is critical, export from the original source file again instead.

NoteConverting does not improve the image. It changes the container so a restricted destination can accept it.

What is lost and what is not

Transparency is the one thing that cannot be recovered. A WebP can carry a real alpha channel, and JPG has none, so converting flattens the image against a background colour, usually white. That is invisible on a photo and a visible box around a logo on a dark page. If the source has transparency and it matters, keep the WebP or use PNG instead, because no amount of quality setting will bring the alpha channel back.

• Transparency is removed and replaced with a solid fill. This is irreversible.
• Choose the fill colour deliberately. White on a dark page shows a box.
• If transparency matters, keep the WebP or use PNG instead.
• Colour and the visible image are otherwise preserved as closely as JPG allows.

Choosing the quality setting

Because the source is already compressed, the quality slider matters more than on a first export. Setting it low compounds the two lossy steps and produces obvious artefacts, usually blocking and fringing. A balanced or high setting is the sensible choice, and the check that matters is a 100 percent view of the edges, where JPG artefacts are most visible. If the file is for email or a small print, the result will be more than good enough at moderate quality.

• Use balanced or high. Going very low compounds two lossy steps.
• Inspect edges at 100 percent, where artefacts are most obvious.
• For small displays or prints, moderate quality is more than sufficient.
• If the result is disappointing, re-export from the original rather than lowering the slider again.