2025 Guide to Image Formats for Web & Commerce

Which format to choose (and when) balancing quality, weight, compatibility, SEO, carbon footprint and Core Web Vitals. With decision tree + actionable steps.

Quick comparison

(Placeholder comparative table — enrich with measured data later.)

WebP balanced, AVIF better compression but slower encode, JPEG XL future potential, PNG for exact transparency, JPEG legacy baseline.

Decision tree

  1. Need rich transparency? → PNG / AVIF (if decoding cost acceptable).
  2. Generic photo or ecommerce listing? → WebP primary, JPEG fallback.
  3. Need maximum compression while preserving critical detail? → AVIF (validate CPU impact).
  4. Enterprise legacy pipelines? → Keep JPEG + introduce WebP gradually.
  5. Exploring future archival? → Pilot JPEG XL in controlled contexts.

Recommended use cases

  • Commerce catalog: WebP + per-template weight budgets.
  • Hero marketing banners: AVIF (with fallback) if lazy-loaded.
  • UI iconography: SVG or optimized PNG.
  • Mass thumbnails: Moderate lossy WebP.

Format details

WebP

Wide support, balanced quality/size, ideal modern baseline.

AVIF

Superior compression, watch encoding & decoding CPU cost.

JPEG XL

Potential for archival & HDR; partial support.

PNG

Pixel-perfect transparency; apply structural compression.

Practical implementation

Suggested pipeline: audit → weight budget → batch convert → visual QA → deploy with fallbacks.

Automating with FotoLince

Process locally for privacy, experiment with WebP/AVIF instantly and observe weight impact.

Optimize my images now