JPEG, PNG, RAW, WebP: Which is the Best Image Format for the Web?

In a world where images are everywhere, it is essential to choosing the right format to highlight your product photos online. Image formats are numerous and you can quickly get lost. That is why in this article, we offer you an overview of the most common image formats, with their advantages and disadvantages, and to discover What image format is best suited for the web and your e-commerce site.

What image format for the web: an overview of the most common image formats

The Raw image format: a special case

The RAW format is widely used in the fields of professional photography. If you are a photographer, you are necessarily familiar with this format. [caption id="attachment_112615" align="aligncenter” width="800"]

Credit Derrick Story[/caption]The RAW format is the “raw” format in which the photograph is taken, and so it keeps all the image data captured by your camera sensor, without any compression. In other words, he contains all the information required to produce a high quality image, including white balance, exposure, and saturation.You may be wondering why RAW is not used directly on the web, if it offers the best possible quality? There is in reality two reasons that make it unusable for the web:

• The first reason is related to his file size : Since the raw format stores all of the image data, it produces files that are much larger than traditional JPEG or PNG formats.
• The second reason is related to the compatibility : web browsers simply don't have the ability to read RAW files. Worse, the RAW format is simply unusable regardless of the medium, it is only intended for editing on software before being converted to another format (generally in JPEG).

For these reasons, you will necessarily have to convert your RAW files in another format to be able to use your product photos (or any other photo) on the web.

JPEG (or JPG): the most used image format on the web

[caption id="attachment_112636" align="aligncenter” width="512"]

Videoplasty.com, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons [/caption] The JPEG image format is one of the most commonly used formats for publishing photos on the web. It was created specifically for photos and offers a high data compression, making it a top choice for those looking to optimize file sizes for online use. One of the benefits of JPEG is its ability to compress images while maintaining decent image quality. This compression means that files are smaller, making them easier to store and transfer from the web, which in turn makes them easier to store and transfer from the web. makes your web pages load much faster. Additionally, JPEG supports a wide range of image quality options, allowing you to Adjust the quality according to the needs of your project. [caption id="attachment_112641" align="aligncenter” width="1000"]

An example of the different degrees of compression possible with the JPG format. Credit: JJ Harrison, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons [/caption] However, there are also disadvantages associated with using JPEGs on the web... First of all, the compression may affect image quality by making it fuzzy, granular or pixelated, if it is too advanced: it's up to you to carefully control the degree of compression you use. Another point that may be a problem: JPEG files don't support transparency, which limits their use in projects that require transparent image areas. If this is your case, you will have to turn to the PNG format, next on our list. The JPEG format is therefore a solid choice for your product photos for web use because of its high compression capacity and the decent image quality it can maintain, as long as you don't have too heavy a grip on compression, and you don't need transparency.

PNG: the ideal image format for transparency

The PNG (Portable Network Graphics) image format, is a ideal format for web use. The use of png for web images is very widespread, and for good reason, its many advantages make it a format of choice:

• The main advantage of PNG is its image quality: it uses a lossless compression technology, that is, the image does not lose quality when compressed, unlike formats that use lossy compression, such as JPEG. Thanks to this technology, PNG images are sharper, sharper, and clearer.
• With PNG, it is also possible to choose which parts of the image will be transparent, which is not possible with other image formats.

However, PNG files are larger than JPEGs. It should therefore not be abused, at the risk of slowing down the loading time of your web pages. We recommend that you only use it if you need to maintain the transparency of an image.

WebP: a new format that is even more optimized

The WebP image format is an alternative to other image formats commonly used on the web, such as JPEG and PNG. It was designed to provide high quality images while offering a smaller file size, making it an option of choice for your e-commerce site. WebP thus allows a fast loading of web pages by reducing the time it takes to load images. In fact, it allows images to be compressed more efficiently than JPEG or PNG, so that files are smaller without compromising image quality. WebP is also increasingly better supported by web browsers popular ones such as Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. WebP images can thus be displayed correctly on these browsers without the need for additional plugins or software. However, as you might expect, but its care is not yet universal. Users of less common or older browsers may not be able to see WebP images properly. It is so Recommended to offer an alternative in JPEG for these cases (many plugins on Wordpress and other CMS allow this to be done automatically).

Why choose JPEG and WebP on an e-commerce site?

If you have an e-commerce site, it is crucial to choose the right image formats. to optimize your load time and ensure a smooth user experience. Although several image formats are possible, we strongly recommend the use of JPEG and WebP.WebP will guarantee you a particularly fast website, without sacrificing the quality of your product photos. It is an image format that is going to be increasingly democratized, and it is only a matter of time before it becomes the norm for all browsers. JPEG is also to be used, as is the case with second lightest image format while offering an interesting quality (provided you keep a reasonable compression). You can use it as an alternative to WebP for users of your site who do not yet have a browser compatible with WebP... Or if you prefer the simplicity of JPEG compared to WebP. As we told you above, PNG is not really interesting For a website Only if transparency is important in your image. In all other cases, JPEG wins out because of its lightness. As you can see, the key word on the web is the fast loading of your images, and that's why the answer to the question”What image format for the web?”, our answer will always be the lightest possible image format, while maintaining good quality. JPEG and WebP will thus be your best allies. With these image formats, you can improve your user experience, increase your conversion rate, and make your e-commerce site stand out from the rest!