PrestaShop 8 & 9 WebP Support: What Merchants Need to Know

WebP has become the modern standard for ecommerce images. PrestaShop 8.2 introduces it, while PrestaShop 9 makes it first-class.

WebP in PrestaShop 8.2: Partial & Experimental

Starting with PrestaShop 8.2, there’s a native WebP toggle—but it’s still considered experimental.

  • Find it under: Advanced Parameters → New & Experimental Features → “Enable WebP format” (naming can vary slightly).
  • Once enabled, go to Design → Image Settings → Regenerate thumbnails to create .webp variants.

How it behaves in 8.2

  • Images may still show .jpg or .png in URLs, but supported browsers receive a WebP MIME type.
  • Most thumbnails regenerate to WebP correctly; some originals may remain JPG/PNG.
  • If the server’s gd or imagick lacks WebP support, PrestaShop silently falls back to JPG/PNG.

Quick Start: Toggle & Regenerate (8.2)

  1. Enable WebP under Advanced Parameters → New & Experimental Features.
  2. Go to Design → Image Settings → Regenerate thumbnails (All images recommended).
  3. Open your shop in Chrome/Edge.
  4. Right-click a product image → Inspect → Network → click the image → check Content-Type:
    • image/webp → WebP is being served.
    • image/jpeg or image/png → server likely missing WebP support or image wasn’t regenerated.

Optional terminal check:

curl -I "https://yourshop.com/img/p/1/2/12-large_default.jpg" | grep -i "content-type"

What Works / What Doesn’t in 8.2

Works

  • Most regenerated thumbnails.
  • Front-office delivery of WebP to supported browsers.

Limitations

  • No AVIF in 8.2 (arrives in PS 9).
  • File naming can be confusing (URL shows .jpg while WebP is served).
  • Some themes/modules don’t handle the MIME swap gracefully.
  • Many merchants still rely on image optimization modules (e.g., WebP Generator, TinyIMG) for consistency and fallbacks.

Contrast with PrestaShop 9

  • WebP becomes first-class (not “experimental”).
  • AVIF added alongside WebP.
  • Better consistency across all image types.
  • Cleaner handling—less “.jpg name, WebP content” confusion.

Bottom Line

If you’re on PrestaShop 8.2, you can enable WebP now, but expect partial coverage. For full WebP/AVIF integration and cleaner consistency, PrestaShop 9.0 is the smoother path. If you need guaranteed conversion and strict fallbacks today, consider a dedicated image optimization module until you upgrade.

FAQ

Do I need to regenerate after toggling WebP?

Yes. Toggling doesn’t retro-convert existing images—use Design → Image Settings → Regenerate thumbnails.

My URLs still end in .jpg—is WebP working?

Likely yes. Check the Content-Type in DevTools or with curl -I.

What if my server lacks WebP support?

PrestaShop will fall back to JPG/PNG. Ask your host to enable gd/imagick with WebP, or use a third-party optimizer that handles conversion server-side.

Contact us if you want help enabling WebP/AVIF the right way.