How to create a .webp image in PHP

Question

How do you create .webp images using PHP?

Modern versions of PHP (>= 5.5.0) can be compiled with WebP support but from I've seen this isn't common on many web hosts. If compiled with WebP support you can use the built-in imagewebp() function to create .webp images.

What are the alternatives for creating .webp images using PHP? Libraries, APIs other methods?

Answer 1

The options currently available are: gd (extension), imagick (extension), imagick (exec-call), gmagick (extension), gmagick (exec-call), cwebp (exec-call), gmagick (exec call) or calling a cloud service. I have created a library 'webp-convert' on github which tries all methods. The readme-file describes the pros and cons of each method. Its available here: https://github.com/rosell-dk/webp-convert.

For reasons unknown to me, the imagick/gmagick extensions produces no better quality than the original files. This is only a problem with the extensions, not the exec calls.

Answer 2

webp images creating process:

you can use following php commands,to get the webp images

$imgName    =   "codingslover.jpg";
$webPName   =   "codingslover.webp";

Syntax:

 cwebp [quality qualitypercentage] [source image] -o [destination]

exec("cwebp -q 0 ".$imgName." -o ".$webPName." ");

Anthor Method:

exec("convert -colorspace RGB ".$imgName." ".$webPName . " ");

Exec : executes the given command in php

http://php.net/manual/en/function.exec.php

Answer 3

You can go right to Google and build the WebP libraries from source. Use this link to get the appropriate archive for your operating system:

https://developers.google.com/speed/webp/docs/compiling#building

Then you can use the following command within a php system() function to convert the images:

Syntax:

  cwebp [quality 
 qualitypercentage] [source 
 image] -o [destination]`

 cwebp -q 80 source.png -o 
 destination.webp

I would recommend reading the above link to get your libraries compiled, then go here to get more information about using the libraries.

Best of luck with the project!

Answer 4

There are now several npm packages to create .webp images from PNG, JPEG and TIFF formats.

Here's one Gulp plugin as an example - gulp-webp.