Choosing the wrong image format can make your website slow, your prints blurry, or your files unnecessarily large. With formats like WebP and AVIF joining the traditional JPEG, PNG, and SVG, making the right choice has never been more critical—or confusing.
30-Second Format Selector
The Complete Format Breakdown
Compression
Lossy
Transparency
✗ No
Animation
✗ No
Max Colors
16.7 million
Best for: Photographs
Compression
Lossless
Transparency
✓ Yes
Animation
✗ No
Max Colors
16.7 million + alpha
Best for: Graphics with transparency
Compression
Text-based
Transparency
✓ Yes
Animation
✓ Yes
Max Colors
Unlimited
Best for: Logos, icons, illustrations
Compression
Both
Transparency
✓ Yes
Animation
✓ Yes
Max Colors
16.7 million + alpha
Best for: Web images
Compression
Both
Transparency
✓ Yes
Animation
✓ Yes
Max Colors
HDR support
Best for: Next-gen web images
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | JPEG | PNG | SVG | WebP | AVIF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File Size (1920x1080 photo) | ~200 KB | ~2 MB | N/A | ~140 KB | ~100 KB |
| Browser Support | 100% | 100% | 99% | 95% | 88% |
| Quality at High Compression | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Loading Speed |
Interactive File Size Calculator
Estimated File Sizes:
When to Use Each Format
SVG for:
- • Logos and brand assets
- • Icons and UI elements
- • Simple illustrations and diagrams
- • Anything that needs to scale responsively
JPEG/WebP for:
- • Hero images and photographs
- • Product photos
- • Blog post featured images
- • Background images (non-transparent)
PNG for:
- • Complex graphics with transparency
- • Screenshots and diagrams with text
- • Images requiring pixel-perfect quality
- • Fallback for WebP
Modern Formats: WebP & AVIF
Supported everywhere except older Safari
File Size Savings:
- • 25-35% smaller than JPEG
- • 26% smaller than PNG (lossless)
Chrome, Firefox, Safari 16.4+
File Size Savings:
- • 50% smaller than JPEG
- • 20-30% smaller than WebP
Implementation Strategy for 2024
<picture> <source srcset="image.avif" type="image/avif"> <source srcset="image.webp" type="image/webp"> <img src="image.jpg" alt="Fallback to JPEG"> </picture>
This ensures maximum compression with universal compatibility.
Optimization Best Practices
- Compress JPEGs to 85% quality (invisible difference)
- Use lazy loading for below-fold images
- Serve responsive images with srcset
- Convert logos and icons to SVG
- Using PNG for photos (10x larger!)
- Not providing 2x images for retina
- Using JPEG for logos (blurry scaling)
- Ignoring modern formats completely
Using PNG for a gallery of 20 photos:
20 photos × 2MB = 40MB total
Load time on 3G: ~2 minutes
Using optimized JPEG/WebP:
20 photos × 150KB = 3MB total
Load time on 3G: ~9 seconds
The Ultimate Decision Tree
Format Selection Flowchart
Answer these questions in order:
1️⃣ Is it a photograph?
YES → Use JPEG (or WebP/AVIF for web)
NO → Continue to #2
2️⃣ Is it a logo, icon, or simple graphic?
YES → Use SVG
NO → Continue to #3
3️⃣ Does it need transparency?
YES → Use PNG (or WebP with alpha)
NO → Continue to #4
4️⃣ Is file size critical?
YES → Use WebP or AVIF with fallbacks
NO → Use PNG for quality, JPEG for compatibility
About the Author
Marcus Chen
Web Developer & SVG Performance Expert
Marcus Chen is a full-stack developer and SVG optimization specialist with 8+ years of experience building high-performance web applications. He has worked with startups and Fortune 500 companies to optimize image assets, reduce page load times, and implement scalable graphics solutions. Marcus is passionate about web performance, accessibility, and helping developers understand the technical side of vector graphics. He holds a BS in Computer Science from UC Berkeley and regularly contributes to open-source SVG tooling.
Areas of Expertise:
Credentials:
- • BS Computer Science, UC Berkeley
- • Google Certified Web Performance Expert
- • 8+ years web development experience
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