Best image format for websites in 2026 (and how to convert)
Image weight is one of the biggest factors in page load speed, which affects both user experience and search ranking. Choosing the right format for each image on your site can cut total page weight significantly.
The short answer: WebP, with exceptions
For most website images — photos, banners, product images — WebP offers the best balance of quality and file size, and is supported by all current browsers. But a few cases call for other formats:
- Logos and icons with flat colors or transparency: PNG or SVG (for vector logos) often look just as good and are simple to manage.
- Email-embedded images: Some email clients have inconsistent WebP support — JPG or PNG is safer.
- User-uploaded content needing maximum compatibility: JPG remains the safest universal fallback.
Converting an existing image library
If your website currently serves PNG or JPG images and you want to switch to WebP for performance:
- Use PNG to WebP for graphics and images with transparency.
- Use JPG to WebP for photos.
- Adjust the quality slider to around 80-85% — WebP at this level is usually visually indistinguishable from a 100% JPG but considerably smaller.
Resizing images for your layout
Beyond format, serving images at the dimensions they're actually displayed at matters just as much. If your site displays images at 800px wide but serves 3000px-wide originals, you're wasting bandwidth regardless of format. Use the image resizer to match your images to their actual display size before converting to WebP.
A simple workflow
For each image: resize to its maximum display width, convert to WebP at 80-85% quality, then upload to your site. Repeating this for a batch of images can meaningfully reduce total page weight — often by 50% or more compared to unoptimized PNG or high-quality JPG originals.