JPG vs PNG. Best File Format To Use For Your Wordpress Site

Choosing the right file extension (JPG vs PNG) for your WordPress website can help you reduce large file sizes. Reducing the size will make your page load faster, so your visitors will not miss the images while scrolling down because they take too long to appear. You want to maintain the quality of the images while saving space, so this is the most frequently asked question:

JPG vs PNG. Which file format is the best for WordPress?

Each format is the best in specific situations which we will walk through together. When determining when to use a JPG or a PNG file for your images, here’s what you need to know.

What is JPG and when to use this image format on WordPress?

JPG is an image format type saved using the lossy compression method. With lossy compression, in most cases, we notice dramatic reductions in file size and often insignificant changes in image quality. That means JPG is ideal for photographs and specific images published on a website.

The JPG format should be used for:

• Photographs.
• Vibrant images burst with colors, gradients, shadows, and various textures. (see fig 1 below)

What is PNG and when to use this image format?

PNG is a file type used for lossless compression, meaning the images retain plenty of detail. PNG files also retain transparency, an essential component when you want, for example, to display an image on top of a specific element or another graphic – making them a popular choice for various digital graphics.

The PNG format can be used for:

• Images with transparent background.
• Line art, illustrations, drawings, and comics, in order to retain the complex details these images come with.
• Typical website graphics, such as logos, graphs, and icons.
• Screenshots.

Transparency

One of the most notable differences between PNG and JPG files is their ability to retain transparency in images.

JPG files do not support transparent backgrounds. As a direct result, logos and various digital graphics that require transparency are unlikely to work well in this format.

On the other hand, PNG files support transparency, meaning that this file format integrates best with different background colors, making the text easier to read.

How to convert PNG to JPG on WordPress?

If you have images such as photographs on your WordPress site that you wish to convert from PNG to JPG, but you already uploaded the images and they are used across the website, you have an easy solution at hand.

Instead of doing the conversion manually, which would take a lot of time and effort, especially if you have a lot of files to convert, you can use a plugin like ShortPixel Image Optimizer that has a PNG to JPG conversion feature available. Besides the conversion, you will also have optimized images.

Considerations regarding image compression and WebP

Regardless of whether you upload JPG or PNG files, image compression is an essential factor to consider if you want to improve your website’s performance.

In this article, we explained the benefits of image compression and how you can compress the images on your WordPress website (including existing images and new uploads) without losing quality to improve the performance of your WordPress website.

Another aspect you should consider is WebP images. A WebP file can be up to 26% smaller than its PNG counterpart and 25-34% smaller than comparable JPG images with the same quality index, which means you can achieve significantly smaller file sizes for the same quality.

Conclusion

Once you have determined what the image will be used for, choosing between JPG and PNG image formats has never been easier! Photos work best as JPGs, while certain digital graphics and images that typically require a transparent background, such as logos, icons, and illustrations, are best used as PNGs.

In any case, you should consider using a plugin such as ShortPixel Image Optimizer to compress and optimize these file formats to improve your website’s performance. Depending on your needs, you can also consider WebP files to achieve better compression results with the same quality.