There are a few reasons GLB has become the go-to format for web-based augmented reality:

• Single file, zero dependencies. Everything your model needs is packed inside one .glb file. No missing textures, no broken paths — just drag, drop, and it works.
• Optimized for the web. GLB files are compact by design. The binary format keeps file sizes down, which translates directly into faster loading times for your AR experiences. This matters a lot on mobile networks.
• Consistent rendering across platforms. GLB uses a standardized PBR (Physically-Based Rendering) material model, which means your model will look predictable and accurate whether it's viewed on an iPhone, an Android device, or a desktop browser.

Before hitting the export button, take a few minutes to clean up your scene:

 Remove empty objects. Leftover empties, cameras, lights, and helper objects that aren't part of your model add unnecessary data to the file.
  Merge meshes that share the same material. If you have 15 separate objects all using the same wood texture, merging them into a single mesh reduces draw calls and improves rendering performance.
  Apply all modifiers. Subdivision surfaces, mirrors, booleans — if you're using modifiers in Blender or similar tools, make sure to apply them before export. Unapplied modifiers may not translate correctly into the GLB format.
  Delete hidden geometry. Faces that will never be visible (like the underside of a table that sits on a surface) are still rendered by the engine. Removing them reduces triangle count for free.

The key texture maps in this workflow are:

  Base Color (Albedo) — the main color/diffuse texture of your surface.
  Metallic — defines which parts of the surface are metallic (white) and which are non-metallic (black).
  Roughness — controls how smooth or rough the surface appears. Black is mirror-smooth, white is fully rough.
  Normal Map — adds surface detail (bumps, scratches, fabric weave) without adding actual geometry.
  Occlusion — simulates soft shadows in crevices and corners.
  Emissive — makes parts of the surface glow or appear self-lit.

Use JPG for Base Color maps when your model doesn't require transparency. JPG compresses much better than PNG, which keeps your GLB file size down.
Use PNG only when you need an alpha channel — for example, if your model has transparent or cut-out parts (glass, leaves, decals).
Use texture atlases when possible. Instead of assigning separate textures to every material, combine multiple textures into a single image and adjust UV coordinates accordingly. Fewer textures means fewer draw calls and better performance.

Transform animations — position, rotation, and scale changes over time. This is the simplest type and covers most motion needs: spinning objects, floating effects, sliding elements, and so on.
Skeletal animations — bone-based deformation, commonly used for characters, animals, or any organic motion. Your model needs an armature (skeleton) with properly weighted vertices.
Blend shapes (morph targets) — vertex-level deformations stored as shape keys. Useful for facial expressions, product variations, or any animation where you need to smoothly interpolate between predefined shapes.

Getting animations to export correctly can be tricky if you skip a few important steps:

  Always enable "Bake Animation" during export. Baking converts any procedural or constraint-driven animation into simple keyframe data that the glTF format can reliably store. Without baking, animations driven by physics simulations, IK constraints, or expressions may not export at all — or may export incorrectly.
  Avoid complex animation dependencies. Drivers, constraints, and procedural setups that work beautifully inside Blender often don't translate to glTF. Keep your animation logic as straightforward as possible — direct keyframes on transforms and bones.
  Merge animation actions when exporting multiple animated objects. If your scene contains several objects with separate animation actions, consolidate them before export to avoid conflicts and ensure everything plays back in sync.
  Test the animation in MyWebAR after export. Don't assume that what plays correctly in Blender will behave identically in the browser. Do a quick test upload to catch any issues early.

Before uploading your GLB to MyWebAR, run through this quick checklist:

1. Triangle count is under 100,000 (ideally under 50,000)
2. All empty objects, unused cameras, and lights are removed
3. Meshes sharing the same material are merged
4. All modifiers are applied
5. Materials use the PBR Metalness/Roughness workflow
6. Textures are 1024×1024 or 2048×2048 (no larger than needed)
7. JPG is used for Base Color where transparency isn't required
8. "Embed Textures" is enabled in export settings
9. Y-Up axis orientation is enabled
10. No lights are included in the scene
11. Animations are baked before export
12. The exported GLB has been tested in MyWebAR

Model appears rotated or upside down. Your axis orientation was likely set to Z-Up instead of Y-Up during export. Re-export with Y-Up enabled.
 
Textures are missing or appear black. You probably didn't enable "Embed Textures" in the export settings. Re-export with this option turned on.
 
Model loads slowly or causes frame drops. Your triangle count is too high, your textures are too large, or both. Reduce geometry complexity and consider using 1024×1024 textures instead of 2048×2048.
 
Lighting looks different from what you see in Blender. Remove any embedded lights from your scene and configure lighting inside the MyWebAR editor instead.
 
Animation doesn't play or plays incorrectly. Make sure "Bake Animation" was enabled during export. Check that your animation doesn't rely on constraints, drivers, or other procedural setups that can't be baked into simple keyframes.
 Parts of the model are invisible. Check for flipped normals — faces whose normals point inward will be invisible in most real-time renderers. In Blender, you can visualize normals in the Viewport Overlays menu and recalculate them with Mesh → Normals → Recalculate Outside.