Understanding Website Image File Formats: Which should you use? (2024)

FAQs

Understanding Website Image File Formats: Which should you use? ›

Choosing the best image file format depends on the type of image and the end goal. Photos should use a JPG file format whereas logos and simple illustrations should use PNG or SVG files. Keep in mind, JPG and PNGs can also have the same quality and smaller file size with the lesser-known format, WebP.

Webp is the best format for web.

JPG and PNG are also good choices for the web. If your choice is between JPG or PNG, use JPG for photos and PNG for logos. That's because a JPG is better compressed and loads faster, whereas a PNG will retain more detail and allows for a transparent background.

There are three file formats for graphics used on the web: JPG, GIF, and PNG.

Regular Pictures

And while the graphics and the images with letters are usually better-looking in the . png file, with the regular photos, JPG is a better choice for the web because if the smaller size. If you decide to use PNGs only, they will slow your website which can lead to frustrated users.

Don't use a PNG when…

You're working with photos or artwork. Thanks to PNGs' high color depth, the format can easily handle high resolution photos. However, because it is a lossless web format, file sizes tend to get very large. If you're working with photos on the web, go with JPEG.

JPEG works better as a finalized image ready for export, like when you need to email a client or post a picture to your website. Compared to TIFFs, JPEGs don't store as much image data, which means they don't offer as much flexibility in the editing process.

Common image formats used on the web: JPEG, PNG, WebP, SVG and GIF.

What's the difference between WebP and JPEG files? Both file types compress images to make them easier to share and store. However, a WebP file is generally much smaller than a traditional JPEG. Google's developers suggest that a WebP image with lossy compression could be 25% to 34% smaller than a comparable JPEG file.

Best image size for websites

Pixel width: 2500 pixels is perfect for stretching full-screen across a browser in most cases. Any image smaller than that might get cut off or appear blurry if it needs to fill the browser width.

This is the largest and most detailed photo ever taken of a work of art. It is 717 gigapixels, or 717,000,000,000 pixels, in size. The distance between two pixels is 5 micrometres (0.005 millimetre), which means that one pixel is smaller than a human red blood cell.

Is PNG better than JPEG for SEO? ›

Choose The Right Format

PNG: Produces better quality images, but comes with a larger file size. JPEG: You may lose image quality, but you can adjust the quality level to find a good balance. WebP: Choose lossless or lossy compression using this, the only image format supported by both Chrome and Firefox.

The optimal file size for images on a website is no more than 200 KB, and for full-screen background images, between 1500 pixels to 2500 pixels wide, and for most other images a max-width of 800 pixels. Keeping images between these perimeters will ensure they load properly on computers and mobile screens.

The biggest advantage of PNG over JPEG is that the compression is lossless, meaning there is no loss in quality each time it is opened and saved again. PNG also handles detailed, high-contrast images well.

Both PNGs and TIFFs are excellent choices for displaying complex images. But PNGs tend to be smaller in size, so are potentially better suited for websites. TIFFs, on the other hand, are often the best choice for professional use, scanning and print options.

TIFFs are not typically supported by web browsers

Web browsers do not typically support the TIFF file format. In order to view a TIFF file in a web browser, it must first be converted to another file format, such as JPEG or PNG.

File Format JPEG or PNG – Optimize Images for WordPress

The best formats for websites are JPEG and PNG. Use a JPEG for photographs as they have a high color count. This format uses special compression to reduce file size while not affecting the clarity of the image.

A PNG is an image file type that allows you to have no background color. Most images cover a certain number of pixels and have color in all of those pixels, even if that color is white. A transparent background has nothing in the background pixels, allowing what's behind it to show through.

Using WebP, webmasters and web developers can create smaller, richer images that make the web faster. WebP lossless images are 26% smaller in size compared to PNGs. WebP lossy images are 25-34% smaller than comparable JPEG images at equivalent SSIM quality index.

WebP is a broadly supported compressed image format that is becoming more common across the web. Storing your images as `webp` can reduce the size of your web pages, while still maintaining the image quality you need. The image size savings can be pretty significant, meaning your pages will load a lot faster.

Should I convert WebP to JPG? ›

Converting WebP images to JPG files means you can take your high-res website photos, download them for offline use, and ensure you won't lose quality and that they're compatible with other devices.

JPEG (.

JPEG files are very common on the Internet and JPEG is a popular format for digital cameras - making it ideal for web use and non-professional prints.

Design for desktop displays from 1280×720 through 1920×1080. Design for mobile displays from 360×640 through 414×896. Design for tablet displays from 601×962 through 1280×800. Check Google Analytics and optimise for your target audience's most common resolution sizes.

Anything 300 PPI or over is usually considered to be high resolution. DPI –Dots Per Inch, is a measurement to determine the resolution of an image for printing. High resolution values for DPI are also generally considered to be 300 DPI or over.

JPEG is a compressed photo format that can make photos smaller for sharing. Saving as JPEG merges adjustment layers and other edits into a single layer and does not retain transparency. PNG is another format that can be posted online. Save as PNG to retain areas that are transparent, like a background you removed.

Best lossless image formats.

The best lossless image formats include GIF, PNG, TIFF, and BMP. These file types can be edited or compressed without impacting your image quality, although they may have lower resolutions.

Use supported image formats

Google Images supports images in the following formats: BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WebP, and SVG. It's also a good idea to have the extension of your filename match with the file type.

Image format

WebP is usually the most efficient of all web image formats. File size is typically 25-50% smaller than JPEG while keeping the same quality. It supports transparency and alpha too, so is a great alternative to PNG for faster image loading.

What's the ideal image file size? A file size below 70 kb is what you should be targeting. In case of heavy files closer to 300 kb, the best you can achieve is a 100 kb file size.

Should I use PNG 8 or 24 for web? ›

PNG-8 refers to palette variant, which supports only 256 colors, but is usually smaller in size. PNG-8 can be a GIF substitute. PNG-24 refers to true color variant, which supports more colors, but might be bigger. PNG-24 can be used instead of JPEG, if lossless image format is needed.

For most images, PNG 24 is a better format to choose than PNG 8. But there are some situations in which PNG 8 is more useful than PNG 24, such as for images that need to be displayed on the Internet where file size is an issue.

Portable Network Graphics (PNGs) are just as popular as JPEGs for display on websites. They also support millions of colors, although you're much better off using PNGs for images that contain less color data.

Portable Network Graphics files (PNGs) are compressible and like JPEGS, can handle 16 million colors. They're mostly used for web graphics, logos, charts, and illustrations, rather than high-quality photographs, because they take up more storage space than JPEGs.

PNG files are in nature lossless which means the quality of the image stays almost unalterable when the file is compressed. JPG files are of lossy compression- in other words, when you compress a JPG file it loses quality which cannot be restored.

The general rule is to use JPGs for photographs, images that don't have a transparent background, and other memory intensive files. And to choose PNGs for graphics, files with transparent backgrounds, and other images where clarity and color vibrancy are important.

The short answer is No, you cannot use pictures that you find on Google on your blog or website. There are a couple of different options for finding pictures for your posts online. If you do search on Google for images, it's important to ask for permission before using them in a post.

Photos that are in the public domain are not protected by copyright, have no limitations on use, and no fees for any type of usage. Images in the public domain include most photographs that are more than 100 years old, and any photo produced by a government or government agency.

Photographs, illustrations and other images will generally be protected by copyright as artistic works. This means that a user will usually need the permission of the copyright owner(s) if they want to perform certain acts, such as copying the image or sharing it on the internet.

There are three file formats for graphics used on the web: JPG, GIF, and PNG.

How do I optimize a JPEG for my website? ›

Optimize as JPEG

JPEG is the standard format for compressing photographs. Open an image and choose File > Save For Web. Choose JPEG from the optimization format menu. To optimize to a specific file size, click the arrow to the right of the Preset menu, and then click Optimize To File Size.

The biggest advantage of PNG over JPEG is that the compression is lossless, meaning there is no loss in quality each time it is opened and saved again. PNG also handles detailed, high-contrast images well.

What is a PNG file? Portable Network Graphics files (PNGs) are compressible and like JPEGS, can handle 16 million colors. They're mostly used for web graphics, logos, charts, and illustrations, rather than high-quality photographs, because they take up more storage space than JPEGs.

Usually, the JPG format is the preferred one for Instagram since it supports high resolutions while remaining a relatively small file size. However, if you need to apply transparency to your picture or logo, a PNG may be the better option.

RAW files are the highest quality image format. They are loved by photographers as RAW format records all data from the sensor of the camera. Since RAW is an uncompressed format, it gives immense creative liberty to the photographers during post-processing.

Are PNG or TIFF files better for photos? TIFF files are better for print photography while PNGs work best for screens. Neither option, however, is ideal for web use due to their large file size. 4.

Because of their different compression processes, JPEGs contain less data than PNGs — and therefore, are usually smaller in size. Unlike JPEGs, PNGs support transparent backgrounds, making them preferred for graphic design.

The disadvantages of the PNG format include: Bigger file size -- compresses digital images at a larger file size. Not ideal for professional-quality print graphics -- doesn't support non-RGB color spaces such as CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black).

But, animations are not supported by the PNG file format. Unlike RAW format images, PNG files allow for lossless picture compression, so the format is well-liked by its users. PNG has become one of the most frequently used image file types over time. The PNG format's primary features are listed below.

JPG format is best used in the case of complex images with no text. By its nature, . JPG reduces loading times by selectively deleting elements of a photo. This is great for large detailed photographs that would otherwise take very long to load.

When should I use PNG vs JPEG? ›

The general rule is to use JPGs for photographs, images that don't have a transparent background, and other memory intensive files. And to choose PNGs for graphics, files with transparent backgrounds, and other images where clarity and color vibrancy are important.

Both PNG and JPEG formats are widely used on websites and social media platforms. As mentioned earlier, PNG is great for logos, banners, and illustrations that need a transparent background. However, JPEG is a good format to use for all sorts of images on social media platforms or websites.

In contrast, PNG files benefit from lossless compression. This means no data is lost when the image is compressed — the quality stays the same no matter how many times you edit and save the file. The image won't become blurry or distorted, making PNGs ideal for sharp logos and graphs containing lots of figures.