What is the best image format for a website?
The right format depends on what the image actually contains — a photo compresses very differently to a logo or screenshot.
The short version
- Photos — WebP where supported, otherwise JPG.
- Logos, icons, screenshots with text — PNG, since it keeps sharp edges crisp.
- Anything needing a transparent background — PNG or WebP.
Why format choice matters for websites
Images are usually the heaviest part of any web page. Choosing an efficient format for each type of image — rather than using PNG for everything "to be safe" — is one of the simplest ways to make a page load faster.
Preparing images for your site
Resize to the size actually displayed (not the camera's full resolution) with the Image Editor, then compress with Image Compress, choosing WebP or JPG as the output format.
Making the switch on an existing site
If your website currently uses PNG for photographic images, converting the existing ones to WebP or JPG with Image Compress is usually the single biggest, fastest improvement available for page loading speed — often more impactful than any other single change.
Checking the result
After converting and resizing images for your site, test the page on a mobile connection rather than just a fast office Wi-Fi connection, since that is closer to how most real visitors will experience it.
Testing the real-world impact
After switching a site's images to a more efficient format, checking page load speed with a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights confirms the actual improvement rather than assuming it based on file size alone — the same file size reduction can have different real-world speed impact depending on other factors on the page.
