Quick answer: GIF and WebP are image file formats that can display still images or short, silent animations. WebP usually produces smaller files with better color and smoother transparency, while GIF remains more compatible with older software and restrictive upload systems. Every current major browser supports WebP, but individual websites and apps can still reject the format. For most websites and short screen walkthroughs, animated WebP is the better choice; use GIF when broad compatibility matters more.
What is a GIF file?
A GIF is an image file that can contain either one still image or several frames that play as an animation.
GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. CompuServe introduced the format in 1987 as a way to share compressed color images across different computer systems. The Smithsonian’s history of the GIF explains how Steve Wilhite and his team developed it several years before the World Wide Web became publicly available.
A GIF animation displays a series of frames in order, holds each one on screen for a specified amount of time, and either stops or repeats when it reaches the end. The official GIF89a specification documents the format’s support for multiple frames, timing, transparency, and other animation controls.
GIF files have several limitations:
- Each frame can use up to 256 colors.
- Transparency is either fully on or fully off.
- GIF only supports lossless compression.
- Detailed animations can produce large files.
- GIF doesn’t support sound.
To put that color limit in perspective, WebP can display about 16.7 million colors. GIF’s 256-color palette can work well for simple icons, flat illustrations, and pixel art, but it has less room to reproduce photographs, gradients, shadows, and modern software interfaces.
When a GIF can’t reproduce a color accurately, it may substitute a nearby color or use small patterns of pixels to imitate it. This can create visible color bands, rough edges, and grainy areas.
How do you pronounce GIF?
GIF creator Steve Wilhite pronounced it with a soft G, like “Jif.” Many people pronounce it with a hard G, like “gift” without the T, partly because GIF begins with the word “graphics.”
Merriam-Webster accepts both pronunciations of GIF.
What is a WebP file?
WebP is an image format developed by Google to reduce file sizes while maintaining useful image quality.
A WebP file can contain either a still image or an animation. It also supports about 16.7 million colors, gradual transparency, and both lossy and lossless compression.
Lossless compression reduces a file’s size while preserving all of its original image data. Lossy compression removes some information to make the file smaller. Image creators can adjust the compression level based on how much visual quality they’re willing to trade for a smaller file.
GIF only supports lossless compression. WebP can use either method, giving it more flexibility for photographs, graphics, transparent images, and animations.
Can WebP be animated?
Yes, WebP supports animation.
An animated WebP contains a sequence of frames, much like a GIF. The file tells the browser how long each frame should appear and whether the complete animation should stop or repeat.
WebP’s more flexible compression can make the resulting animation much smaller than an equivalent GIF, especially when it contains detailed images, gradients, or many colors.
Animated WebP files don’t support sound. They work best for short software demonstrations, interface walkthroughs, visual instructions, and other animations that don’t need playback controls. Use a video format such as MP4 for longer recordings, full-motion footage, or anything that needs audio.
GIF vs. WebP: Key differences
GIF and WebP differ most in their color support, compression, transparency, file size, and compatibility with older software.
| Feature | GIF | WebP |
|---|---|---|
| Still images | Yes | Yes |
| Animated images | Yes | Yes |
| Colors | Up to 256 per frame | About 16.7 million |
| Transparency | Fully visible or fully transparent | Gradual transparency |
| Lossless compression | Yes | Yes |
| Lossy compression | No | Yes |
| Audio | No | No |
| Typical animation size | Often larger | Usually smaller |
| Current browser support | Yes | Yes |
| Older software support | More consistent | Less consistent |
Color and image quality
GIF’s limited color palette is usually enough for simple illustrations. It can reduce the quality of screenshots, photographs, gradients, and detailed interfaces.
WebP’s broader color range gives it more room to preserve subtle differences in shading, interface colors, photographs, and shadows. Google’s WebP format FAQ compares WebP’s 24-bit RGB color support with GIF’s 8-bit palette-based color.
For a screen walkthrough, that can mean clearer menus, smoother gradients, and more accurate interface colors.
File size and compression
WebP can create smaller animated files because it supports both lossy and lossless compression.
In a Google test of roughly 7,000 animated GIFs, lossy WebP versions were 64% smaller on average. Lossless WebP versions were 19% smaller on average.
Those results came from a specific test set and won’t apply equally to every animation. File size also depends on the image dimensions, animation length, amount of movement, number of colors, and compression settings.
A detailed screen recording may show a large difference. A small animation containing only a few colors may show very little.
Transparency
GIF transparency is binary. Each pixel is either visible or transparent.
This can create rough edges around logos, icons, cursors, and rounded graphics. It may also produce a pale or dark outline when an image created for one background appears on another.
WebP supports partial transparency. This helps preserve smooth edges, soft shadows, and other details that fall between fully visible and fully transparent.
Software and upload compatibility
GIF has broader support across older applications and publishing systems because it has been in use for decades.
WebP works in current browsers, but some apps still restrict uploads to formats such as JPG, PNG, and GIF. Others may accept a WebP file but display only the first frame instead of playing the animation.
Browser support and upload support are separate. A browser may display WebP correctly even when a website’s upload form refuses the file.
Which format should you use?
Use WebP when you want a smaller, better-looking animation and know the destination supports it. Use GIF when you need the file to work across older software or unknown platforms.
| Use case | Best choice |
|---|---|
| Website animation | WebP |
| Product documentation | WebP |
| Short software walkthrough | WebP |
| Detailed animation with gradients or shadows | WebP |
| Older content management system | GIF |
| App that specifically requests a GIF | GIF |
| File shared across several unknown platforms | GIF |
| Tutorial with sound or playback controls | Video |
Where WebP works
WebP works well on websites, blogs, landing pages, product pages, help centers, and online documentation.
The MDN guide to web image formats recommends WebP for still and animated images because it supports strong compression, higher color depth, and transparency.
Support inside third-party applications varies. A platform may accept and play an animated WebP, show only its first frame, convert it into another format, or reject the upload.
Test the file in the exact app where your audience will view it. This is especially useful for email clients, chat apps, presentation software, and documentation platforms.
Does my browser support WebP?
Yes. Every current major browser supports WebP.
That includes Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and most Chromium-based mobile and desktop browsers. Current support covers still images, animated WebP, lossless compression, and transparency.
Google lists browser support for WebP across current versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, and Opera. You can also check individual versions on the Can I Use WebP compatibility table.
Most remaining compatibility problems involve old browser versions, discontinued browsers such as Internet Explorer, outdated operating systems, or applications that don’t accept WebP uploads.
Why GIFs still persist
GIF existed before the World Wide Web, so early browsers and image-editing tools added support for a format that was already available.
As GIF became common, websites accumulated existing files and developers built it into publishing systems, editors, and upload tools. Replacing it required those systems to support a new format without breaking older content.
GIF also made animation easy to publish. A website could display one through the same image element used for a static picture. It didn’t need a separate video player, audio track, or playback controls.
The word “GIF” eventually became a common name for short, looping online animations. As the Smithsonian’s history of GIF explains, people may still call an animation a GIF even when the underlying file is technically a video.
GIPHY provides a current example of this behavior. Its developer guidance recommends MP4 for standard animations and WebP for transparent stickers, even though people still search for and share that content as “GIFs.”
How Visla supports WebP
Visla’s Screen Step Recorder captures clicks, typing, scrolling, and other on-screen actions, then organizes them into a step-by-step recording.
You can export a Step Recording as an animated WebP. This works well for short software walkthroughs, support instructions, and documentation that needs a silent animation without a full video player.
Visla also supports WebP logo uploads, along with JPG, PNG, and SVG files. You can add them through Visla’s video branding tools.
For longer tutorials or recordings that need sound, use Visla’s screen recording tools and export the result as a video.
FAQ
WebP doesn’t provide a direct ranking advantage simply because of its file extension. However, smaller image files can help pages load faster, which may improve user experience and performance measurements such as Core Web Vitals. Use WebP when it meaningfully reduces file size, but continue to optimize image dimensions, compression settings, filenames, and alt text.
You can convert a GIF to lossless WebP without introducing additional image loss, but the conversion can’t restore information the GIF already discarded. A GIF limited to 256 colors will still contain only those colors after conversion, even though WebP can support millions. Converting it may reduce the file size, but returning to the original source file will usually produce a better-looking WebP.
Add alt text or nearby copy that explains the animation’s purpose, especially when it demonstrates a task or interface. Don’t make viewers rely on motion alone to understand essential instructions, and provide written steps when the animation contains important information. Avoid rapid flashing, and consider offering a static image or reduced-motion version for people who find repeated movement distracting.
May Horiuchi
May is a Content Specialist and AI Expert for Visla. She is an in-house expert on anything Visla and loves testing out different AI tools to figure out which ones are actually helpful and useful for content creators, businesses, and organizations.