Web Sharp Pro review: fast, easy … genius – 10 out of 10

What is Web Sharp Pro?

Web Sharp Pro is a plugin for the subscription-model Photoshop CC. It sharpens (of course) and much more:

• sharpen
• protect sky when sharpening (to avoid crunchy skies)
• resize
• add borders
• add grain
• resize
• crop
• convert to sRGB and embed that colour profile
• convert to various file formats, including WEBP and AVIF
• output to specified folders
• remove sensitive metadata
• add copyright metadata
• add watermark
• HDR image support
• save and load presets
• batch processing

You can use all, some, or none of those options. Personally I use the resizing, sharpening with sky protection, borders, saving to JPG, WEBP, and AVIF as 8bit sRGB, adding copyright and borders.

After you’ve created presets, you can save for Web with just two clicks. No kidding, just two clicks. You can click more if you want, it’s flexible.

Here’s my pros and cons – but the “cons” are just possible enhancements not faults:

Pros	Cons
Streamlined export: you can compress entire workflows into just a few clicks No programming required, configuration options all taken care of in settings As many presets as you want for different scenarios Process images one-by-one or in batches Great support: Greg Benz really cares about his plugins Inexpensive compared to the time and effort it saves Free lifetime updates (at least as of 2023)	Easy to miss much of the functionality: interface is a bit too streamlined for my taste (but that’s totally subjective) Needs configuration before use (not a bad thing, just a warning)

Web Sharp Pro works perfectly for me, so I give it a 10 out of 10.

(If you’re new to the subject of sharpening and you’d like a quick overview of what it is and why it’s necessary, jump down to a brief explanation here.)

Installing Web Sharp Pro

Adobe Exchange takes care of installing Web Sharp Pro as a Photoshop plugin. You buy it on Adobe Exchange, and follow the prompts to install it.

Once installed, you’ll find it in the Photoshop Plugins menu:

When you click on Web Sharp Pro in the menu, the Web Sharp Pro panel appears, floating:

Like with any panel in Photoshop, you can drag it to a toolbar and dock it wherever you like:

Using Web Sharp Pro

Before you start

You can of course just click the Sharpen button to see what it does with default settings. I don’t recommend that because there’s so much more functionality available to you behind the Settings button. You should explore that first before getting started. I found myself seriously lost until I clicked the Settings button and explored it carefully.

Start with Settings

You might be tempted to start with the Tutorials button, but that takes you out of Photoshop over to Greg Benz’s Web Sharp Pro tutorials webpage. If you’re the kind of person who wants to learn first before they try, go right ahead. On the other hand, if you’re like me and you prefer to learn by doing, then leave the tutorials for another day and click the Settings button. I use the tutorials when I want more information about a particular function as I’m working.

In the Settings dialog you can adjust all the options available to you, and either save them as a preset or apply them to the active image immediately: there’s a Sharpen button in the Settings panel.

Let’s take a look at each of the tabs in the Settings dialog:

Quick Export: resize, cropping, resolution, how to handle any cropping, and borders.

Sharp/Grain: sharpening amount in %, protect sky from sharpening, add grain.

File: saving options including file type, compression, colour space, proofing, HDR (high dynamic range) options for HDR images, and how to handle output files.

That option to convert to the sRGB colour space is super important when saving for the Web. It makes sure your image will look the same when displayed in browsers as it does in Photoshop.

Both Web Sharp Pro and the free version will warn you if you don’t have a colour profile assigned to an image and let you decide to convert it individually or for every image. You can encounter this warning if you’re editing a PNG and haven’t saved it as a TIFF, PSD, or some other more appropriate file type for editing. Warning you and fixing it for you is just one example of Greg Benz’s thoughtful approach to his software.

Watermark: position, size, blending for watermarks. I don’t use watermarks but for people who do, this panel could be really helpful.

Crop Overlays: apparently this is a redundant group of settings that have been replaced by Quick Exports and Save Settings. Flagged as an advanced option, Greg’s tutorial on the subject says:

Note: As of v5.2, Web Sharp Pro users can use a combination of Quick Exports and Saved Settings to accomplish nearly anything the crop overlays offer. The Quick Exports are simpler to use and generally recommended. The Crop Overlays still offer a few unique advantages including: the ability to slice the image into rows & columns, the ability to add a visual overlay (which is not part of the image, such as safe zones to guide cropping), as well as compatibility with existing crop overlays you may have created with older versions of the panel.

Web Sharp Pro online tutorial for Crop Overlays

Web Sharp Pro in action

Here’s a screen recording showing how Web Sharp Pro works. In this scenario I have default settings that sharpen, add a border, and save as WEBP. I can do all that with two clicks – Sharpen and Save:

Of course that requires configuring settings beforehand. But if you save them as a preset, you reduce the amount of work and time spent by orders of magnitude. This process took less than 30 seconds; doing it by hand would take several minutes and lots of clicking. Just the ability to save to WEBP alone saves 6 steps/clicks in Photoshop natively: File > Save a Copy > Save as type > WEBP > Save button > OK in WebP Options dialog.

Here’s the exported image as WEBP:

See that black border inside the white border? That’s a secondary border that Web Sharp Pro added automatically because I ticked the box for a secondary border:

I’ve never used that effect before because it would have been too much work: lots of clicks and fussing around with layers. But I like the effect and now I have a one click preset that does it for me. Just playing around with Web Sharp Pro led me to a new way of presenting my photos on the Web.

See that shadow around the inner black border? Web Sharp Pro added that effect with a tick in the drop shadow box:

Sure, I could have created actions to do all of that. But creating those actions would have taken a lot of time and I would have ended up with a much less flexible automation. With Web Sharp Pro, I can create various presets with different border settings, or even just create a one-off by adjusting those settings and clicking the Sharpen button on the Settings dialog – a neat example the flexibility built into Web Sharp Pro.

You can even add up to 3 presets to the default Web Sharp Pro panel, to switch among your most-used configurations with a click. In this screenshot, I’ve added my top 3 workflows as preset buttons on the panel (save as WEBP no border, save as PNG no border, save as WEBP with border);

That was just an example of the kinds of workflows you can create and use in Web Sharp Pro. Given all the options available, you can create your own automated workflows as often and as many as you want.

Side note: it’s puzzling that Adobe omits WEBP and AVIF as export file type options in their Photoshop Export dialog. WEBP is rapidly supplanting JPG as the preferred Web file type. And Photoshop natively doesn’t support saving the newer AVIF format even though Adobe Camera Raw does support it for importing. AVIF will likely take over, now that Microsoft Edge supports it (all other browsers already support AVIF for some time). Right now (May 2024) if you want to save as AVIF in Photoshop, you can add support for AVIF to Photoshop with a plugin that Web Sharp Pro makes it easy to install.

Thoughtful, responsive developer

Web Sharp Pro demonstrates a lot of thought about the various ways photographers sharpen and save files for the Web. It helps that Greg Benz is a photographer himself, and takes feedback from others to continually enhance his software.

I’ve used his Lumenzia luminosity masking plugin for Photoshop for years now. Greg regularly adds new functionality and eliminates bugs, at no extra cost. As a former software product manager and consultant, I really appreciate how Greg nurtures and manages his plugins.

This is important because it gives me faith that my investment in Web Sharp Pro will continue to deliver benefits as both Photoshop and the plugin evolve over time.

What about problems and support?

Greg Benz has a stellar track record supporting his customers. He makes it easy to suggest enhancements and report errors. I’ve seen a couple of error messages that display the error, allow you to copy the error, and email support, all within that error dialog. That’s very thoughtful, and shows a commitment to investigating and fixing any problems.

Update: I’ve written an article about my experiences with Greg’s support for Web Sharp Pro. Read all about it here.

Wish list

Just a couple of things could improve the experience and functionality:

1. I think the default panel is too minimalistic. I understand that Greg wants to keep things simple. For me, though, the simplicity and layout are too compressed. Breaking some of the configurations out of the Settings panel and landing them on the main panel could help people orient and navigate better. Or adding an option to show the full Settings panel rather than the stripped down default panel might work better for some users. But this is a personal preference and not at all a problem.
2. The preset buttons added to the default panel are teeny tiny with cryptic labels. Giving the panel more breathing room so they can appear full size with meaningful labels would help. You can turn on tooltips that display when you hover. Again, not a problem, just a preference.

Both of those points are really nit picky and easy to get used to or work around. Web Sharp Pro is pretty darn fantastic as it is. I only bring them up because I don’t want to sound like a completely uncritical fanboy.

Pricing and cost/benefit

If you export images from Photoshop to post them on the Internet, Web Sharp Pro will save massive time and effort. The range of features more than justifies the really low price. And that’s a one-time payment: Greg Benz updates his software for free, forever, at least for now. (He’s a really great guy.)

Greg offers a free version – just called Web Sharp. It sharpens the same way as the pro version. The free version doesn’t include sky protection. In the free version you can mask out sharpening on skies or anything else, but that’s extra work. The pro version protects skies for you with its “sky protection” setting, making it easier not to oversharpen skies. And it doesn’t include other features that simplify my workflow, like creating different presets that add borders or not, save as different file types, etc. The free version is a good alternative if you’re low on cash.

The pro version automates every step of my export-for-Web workflows. It more than justifies the cost with just a few uses. I highly recommend it to any photographer who uploads photos to their own website or social media.

Conclusion

Web Sharp Pro streamlines and accelerates my image export processes. Just for this blog post, I estimate I saved at least an hour just clicking around to process, add borders, sharpen, and save. And at just USD29.00, it makes for a great bargain.

Totally highly recommended for any photographer who saves images to the Web, for any reason.

Why and when and how to sharpen images for the web in Photoshop: in brief

(Skip this section if you already know this stuff.)

When you sharpen depends on what you’re doing

You may need to overall sharpen a soft or out of focus image before you start editing.

There may be times during your edits when you want to sharpen specific portions of an image for artistic or editorial effect.

Toward the end of processing an image, you should think about any areas you want to highlight with a sharpening boost. Pictures of people often benefit from gently sharpening eyes, eyebrows, and lips.

Final overall sharpening usually helps whenever exporting images for printing or sharing online.

That last scenario is where Web Sharp Pro comes in: overall sharpening as a final step.

…sharpening should be done according to whatever you want the size of the final image to be. For example, you would sharpen a full-sized print differently than you would an 800-pixel wide version for the web. So if you’re exporting several different sizes, be sure to sharpen them all separately after you’ve cropped and resized. It takes more time but will make a significant difference in the quality and impact of the sharpening.

Aaron Nace, Phlearn

Why sharpen on export?

Sharpening means enhancing the edges in an image. Whenever you export an image from Photoshop, you need to sharpen it. Whether exporting for print or the Internet, what you see in Photoshop isn’t necessarily what looks best in different media, like on paper or on a screen.

For example, the texture and colour of paper as well as the kind ink soften the lines in an image during printing. So for the image to appear as sharp as it looks on screen, you have to add sharpness before printing so when the image inevitably softens during the printing process, it’ll look as sharp (or as close to) as it did onscreen.

When any device displays an electronic image, image dimensions, export file type, screen resolution, and screen brightness will affect how the image appears to a viewer. So you need to sharpen intelligently, depending on all those variables so you get as close as you can to whatever’s acceptable to you.

Different images and scenarios require various levels and kinds of sharpening. So you need a process and software that adapts to your requirements at different times with different images.

How to sharpen images, in brief

There are countless methods for sharpening images in Photoshop:

• You can use basic sharpening features natively in Photoshop (Filter > Sharpen).
• Photoshop actions can automate various sharpening types and amounts. You can find downloads for sharpening actions all over the Internet. Occasionally I’ve used actions I downloaded from Phlearn.
• Dedicated commercial applications either include or specialise in sharpening. I use Topaz Sharpen AI when I want to sharpen manually.

And then there’s Web Sharp Pro, which is now my go-to method when exporting for Web and what this review is all about (go back up to the review).

FAQ

What is Web Sharp Pro?

The Web Sharp Pro panel is a Photoshop plugin that automates the process of exporting images from Photoshop for use on the Web, whether on a website or social media. It includes features like sharpening control, metadata management, optional cropping and borders, file formats to save in, presets, and much more.

Who develops and sells Web Sharp Pro?

Greg Benz created and develops Web Sharp Pro. Greg is a photographer, blogger, and developer behind the Lumenzia luminosity masking plugins for Photoshop as well as Web Sharp Pro. He has a YouTube channel with lots of tutorials. He also hangs out at Facebook, 500px, G+, Instagram, and Flickr.

Where can I purchase Web Sharp Pro?

Web Sharp Pro is available for purchase on Adobe Exchange. You’ll need an Adobe account, and a Photoshop subscription.

Is there a free version of Web Sharp Pro?

There is a free version, just called Web Sharp. You can get it on Adobe Exchange. You’ll need an Adobe account and a Photoshop subscription. It’s pretty basic but if you can’t pay for the full pro version, it’s a practical if limited alternative.

What do you think?

Do you have any questions or thoughts you want to share? Comment below!