Choosing the Right Image Format for the Web: JPG vs. WebP
Posted on October 16, 2025 by Farzam Bayat
In the world of website design and performance, images play a much bigger role than
just making things look good. They impact page load speed, search engine rankings,
and user experience. That’s why choosing the right image format is more important
than ever, especially with modern options like WebP gaining popularity.
WebP is a modern image format developed by Google. It was created to provide better
compression than traditional formats like JPEG and PNG, meaning smaller file sizes
without sacrificing image quality. WebP usually reduces image file sizes by up to
25% compared to JPEG. Supports transparency like PNG and animations like GIF. At
the moment it is fully supported by modern browsers, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox,
Edge, and Opera.
But what about the good old .jpg (JPEG) format? Is it outdated, or still a solid choice?
Despite the buzz around WebP, there are still strong reasons to stick with JPEG, especially
if you know how to optimize your images properly.
JPEG is universally compatible with every browser, operating system, and email client
supports it. You can control quality and compression easily using tools like Photoshop.
Great for photography and detailed images with rich colors.
JPEG is dependable and future proof with no risk of format specific issues if browser
politics or tech wars arise.
Quality & Optimization Is the Key!
While image format matters, the real key to fast, high-quality web visuals lies in
how well images are optimized. No matter what format you choose, whether it’s JPEG
or WebP, the biggest performance gains come from resizing your images to the correct
dimensions and compressing them properly.
For example, uploading a 2000-pixel wide image for a space that only displays it at
400 pixels wide wastes bandwidth and slows down your site unnecessarily. Resizing
that image before upload can reduce its file size drastically without any visible
quality loss to users.
Equally important is maintaining image quality while keeping file sizes low. A crisp,
clear image that loads quickly is the goal, not a perfectly uncompressed, high-resolution
file. Tools like Photoshop make this easy by letting you export images at 40–60% quality,
which often looks identical to 100% but cuts the file size in half or more.
For instance, a photo saved as a high-quality WebP might still be 400 KB, but an optimized
JPEG of the same image could be just 150 KB, and look nearly identical to most viewers.
So while modern formats like WebP offer more efficient compression on paper, they
aren't magic bullets. Choosing the right format does matter, but it's secondary to
how the image is prepared and delivered. Think of it this way: a poorly optimized
WebP is still a poorly optimized image. At the end of the day, smart practices like
resizing, compressing, and serving images in the appropriate format and size for your
layout will have a far greater impact than simply switching to the “latest” format.
Here are two examples frequently used images on our website:
Larger full-page width images:
- Dimensions: 1800 (W) x 924 (H) pixels
- Recommended file size: under 175 KB
Departmental featured images:
- Dimensions: 1200 (W) x 600 (H) pixels
- Recommended file size: under 125 KB
Finally, always take a moment to review your images after uploading them to your website.
Check for clarity, sharpness, and proper scaling to ensure nothing looks pixelated,
stretched, distorted, or blurry. Even a perfectly optimized file can look off if it’s
not displayed correctly, so a quick visual check goes a long way in maintaining a
polished, professional appearance.