the best image format for websites in 2026

why image format choice matters more than you think

images are almost always the largest files on any webpage. in a typical site, images account for 50 to 80 percent of total page weight. choosing the wrong format can silently double your load times without you realizing it.

this matters for a few real reasons. google's core web vitals, which directly affect your search rankings, measure page performance, and image optimization is one of the highest-impact changes you can make. on mobile connections, slow image loads are felt immediately. and faster pages genuinely convert better, studies consistently show even a one-second delay can reduce conversions by several percent.

the good news is that switching to a better format is one of the easiest optimizations available. it requires no backend changes, no infrastructure work, just converting your images before uploading.

a quick rundown of every format

webp: the default choice for most web images in 2026

for most images on a website today, webp is the right answer. browser support is now essentially universal: chrome, firefox, safari (since 2020), edge, opera, and samsung internet all support it. unless you're specifically targeting very old browsers, you can safely use webp for everything.

the file size savings are real. a photograph that's 500kb as a jpg might be 320kb as a webp at the same visual quality. multiply that across 20 images on a page and you've saved 3.6mb without the user noticing any difference at all.

webp also handles both photos and graphics well, unlike jpg which struggles with sharp edges and text. it's genuinely a better format in almost every way compared to the older standards.

when jpg is still the right call

email campaigns. email clients are notoriously inconsistent with image format support. jpg is the safe universal choice because you can't guarantee what client your recipients are using.

legacy system compatibility. some older cms platforms, digital asset managers, or third-party integrations don't handle webp correctly. when in doubt, jpg is always accepted.

very old browser support. if your analytics show a meaningful percentage of users on browsers that don't support webp, jpg remains the fallback.

when to use png

logos and brand assets. lossless compression means no artifacts, no color shifts. for brand assets where pixel accuracy matters, png (or svg for scalable graphics) is reliable.

screenshots with text. lossy formats introduce subtle artifacts around high-contrast edges, especially text. screenshots as png will always look sharp.

source files you'll edit later. if you're saving a working file to open and edit again, png's lossless compression means no quality degradation. jpg files degrade slightly every time you re-save them.

quality settings: the sweet spot

for lossy formats, the quality setting controls file size vs. visual fidelity. most people default to 100%, which is almost always unnecessary.

85% webp is a solid default for almost everything.

the quick decision guide