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PNG, JPEG, WebP — when to use which
Choosing the wrong format is one of the most common causes of unnecessarily large web pages. Here's the decision table:| Situation | Recommended Format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Photograph / complex scene | JPEG or WebP | Lossy compression works well on continuous tones |
| Logo / icon / UI screenshot | PNG or WebP | Lossless — sharp edges and text stay crisp |
| Transparent image (e.g., sticker) | PNG or WebP | JPEG has no alpha channel |
| Web page asset (fast loading) | WebP | 25–35% smaller than JPEG at equivalent quality |
| Print or archival | PNG | Lossless, no generation loss on re-save |
How the conversion works
Format conversion runs entirely via the browser's native Canvas API: your image is decoded into a raw pixel buffer, then re-encoded by the browser's built-in codec:- JPEG → browser uses its libjpeg-turbo implementation
- WebP → browser uses libwebp
- PNG → browser uses libpng
Important format-specific notes
Converting to JPEG from a transparent PNG: JPEG has no alpha channel. The tool fills transparent areas with solid white before encoding. If you need the transparency preserved, choose WebP instead.Converting to WebP: WebP supports both lossy and lossless modes. The tool exports lossy WebP by default (best file size for photos). Transparent PNGs are exported as lossless WebP to preserve the alpha channel.
Re-converting a JPEG: Each JPEG encode/decode cycle introduces a small amount of additional quantisation noise ("generation loss"). For archival purposes, always keep the original and only generate the converted version as a derivative.
How to use the Format Converter
- Upload — Drag and drop any PNG, JPEG, or WebP file.
- Choose format — Select your target from the dropdown.
- Convert and download — Completes in under 2 seconds.