WebP Images OpenCart Converter

The WebP Image Converter module for OpenCart automatically prepares and serves images in the modern WebP format where possible. As a result, your store loads faster, your pages become lighter, and your customers see the same content—just without the extra kilobytes.

Why do you need a module?

WebP is typically smaller than JPG/PNG images with comparable quality. The module integrates into the standard image resizing logic and replaces the resulting file with a.webp file if the visitor's browser supports the format and the module is enabled.

Important: Conversion only works if WebP is supported in the GD library on the server. If it isn't, the module simply won't replace the images.

Main functions

• Automatic WebP generation for resized images and caching of the result.
• Browser support checkHTTP_ACCEPT header (webp presence) and User-Agent (including Firefox ) are taken into account.
• Setting WebP quality (1–100) in the admin panel.
• GIF Exception GIF files are not converted.
• Auto-refresh If the original resize cache is newer, WebP is rebuilt.
• The "Refresh WebP Cache" button clears the WebP cache directory with one click.

What data and formats does it work with?

• Sources/resize cache: JPG/JPEG, PNG.
• Output format: WebP.
• Exceptions: GIF (not converted).
• Cache path: image/cache/webp/… (generated automatically with the creation of folders).

How it works "under the hood"

When calling the resize module:

1. Checks if the module is enabled and if the server supports WebP (via gd_info() ).
2. Determines whether the browser can accept WebP.
3. If everything matches, it creates a .webp file with the specified quality and places it in a separate cache.
4. If WebP already exists and is up to date, it simply reuses it.

Recommendations for use

To get the most out of your images, start with quality level 80 (the default) and evaluate the results on real pages: homepage, categories, and product pages. If the images are too compressed, increase the quality to 85–90; if you want even less weight, try 70–75.

After changing the quality or bulk updating images, use the "Refresh WebP cache" button to force re-creation of files and not keep old versions in the cache.

Sample script

You've added new banners (PNG) and noticed that the main page has become heavier. Enable the module, set the quality to 80–85, clear the WebP cache, and visitors with supported browsers will see the same banners, but in WebP, noticeably faster.