What’s the first thing you do when you land on a website that’s taking forever to load or is filled with pixelated, unattractive images? Chances are, you hit the back button. Even if the website has valuable content, you might never stick around long enough to discover it. The truth is that images are often the first thing web visitors notice on a website; hence, they go a long way in shaping a visitor’s overall online experience.
Image selection is one of the most critical aspects of website optimization, be it for SEO, user retention, or enhancing functionality. The images you choose for your website do more than add visual appeal; they play a big role in your site’s performance. Popular brands recognize this and invest in formats that provide a balance between quality and speed, from e-commerce giants and streaming platforms to even online casinos. Speaking of casinos, you can click here to access a wide range of exciting real money titles.
So, how do you identify the right image for your website? To answer that question, this article will explain the five common types of image formats and guide you on when and where to use each for the best results.
The Five Primary Image Formats
Not all images you see online are created in the same format; there’s a good reason for that. Different file formats serve different purposes, depending on how and where the image will be used. For a particular image format to be used, it has to serve its specific purpose perfectly without compromising the overall quality or performance of the website.
Below are the five primary image formats:
JPEG ( Photographic Experts Group)
JPEG is among the most commonly used image formats for web and digital image storage. One of the reasons for its popularity on websites is that you can easily compress it into smaller file sizes.
However, JPEGs use a lossy compression format, which means that while it allows you to reduce file size significantly, it does so at the expense of some image quality. So, it’s always important to strike a balance between quality and file size when compressing a JPEG image.
When to use JPEGs
- Complex images: These include photographs or images with lots of color variation. So, it’s perfect for product images and blog visuals.
- Large Images: They can be compressed to smaller sizes to improve website performance (loading time) without significantly over-compromising visual quality.
- Website Galleries: JPEGs are best for large collections of images. They won’t take up too much bandwidth because they can be made into smaller sizes.
When to avoid JPEG:
- Images with text: JPEG is not the best choice for images with sharp edges or text. The slight quality reduction that comes with compression is more noticeable with text as they’ll appear blurry or unreadable.
- Images with transparent background: JPEG is not suitable for images with transparent backgrounds like logos.
PNG (Portable Network Graphics)
Like JPEGs, PNGs can also be used for complex images with different color variations, although they contain less color data. Unlike JPEGs, PNGs use lossless compression, preserving image quality without degradation. However, this results in larger file sizes compared to JPEGs.
When to use PNGs
- Logos and graphics with transparency: PNG supports transparent backgrounds, which is why it’s ideal for logos and icons. It’s also perfect when you need graphics that blend seamlessly into different website backgrounds.
- Images with text: PNG retains quality, so it’s perfect for images with text charts. Generally, it’s preferable for images with sharp edges and fine details, like digital art and line drawings.
- High-quality visuals: When you need a very clear quality image, PNG is a reliable format.
When to avoid JPEG:
- Large images: PNG files are significantly larger than JPEGs. So, while these formats can be used for photographs or other complex images, their larger file sizes often make them impractical, as they are likely to impact website performance negatively.
- Printing: PNGs are optimized for screen display and not ideal for print.
WebP (Web Picture Format)
As the name implies, WebP is an image format created specifically for the web. This image format sufficiently goes around the limitations associated with JPEGs and PNGs in that it can be compressed to smaller sizes without noticeable quality loss. However, the only major issue with WebP is that it’s not compatible with some CMS platforms and browsers.
In other words, the WebP image format is ideal for whatever graphic or performance demands your website has. The only problem is that some CMS and browsers, especially older ones, may not fully support it.
To use WebP format regardless of this issue, make sure you implement a fallback solution (like a picture element in HTML) to ensure compatibility with all users. That is, WebP would be your site’s default image format, but it will automatically revert to JPEGs and PNGs for browsers that don’t support it.
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic)
Unlike the image formats explained earlier, SVG images do not use pixels. This makes them resolution-independent and scalable to any size without losing quality. In fact, more than PNGs and JPEGs, they provide high-quality images perfect for logos, icons, and simple illustrations.
When to use SVGs
- SVG is perfect for logos, icons, infographics, charts, and other simple graphics that need to be resized frequently without losing clarity.
- They are ideal for interactive elements on a website.
- They also work well for responsive designs that adapt seamlessly to different screen sizes.
When to avoid SVGs
- Like PNGs, SVGs are not ideal for complex images like photographs, highly detailed images with complex color gradients, or overly complex designs. Using the format can lead to significantly large file sizes, which might impact website performance.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
GIF is lossless and supports transparency but only supports 256 colors, which explains why other image formats are preferred for static images. It is, however, ideal for short animated sequences. Specifically, GIFs would be ideal for short, looping animations, such as memes, tutorials, or product demonstrations.
However, they would be unsuitable for photographs or images with complex color gradients. It is also preferable to use modern formats like WebP for an animation-heavy website.
Wrapping Up
Besides the five common image formats explored in this article, there are quite a number of other relatively newer image formats in use today. For example, AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) offers impressive compression and better image quality than JPEG. There is also HEIF (High-Efficiency Image Format), which is known to store high-quality images in a smaller file size.
