Image formats

The format is a choice about what the picture is for. JPEG is for photographs that can lose a little detail. PNG is for graphics that should stay sharp. WebP is the smaller web file when the viewer accepts it. HEIC is what many phones save, and it often has to become a JPEG before anyone else can open it.

Photos and phone pictures

A camera JPEG stays a JPEG unless a tool downstream refuses it. HEIC from a phone is the file that usually needs a conversion, and JPG is the target most inboxes and older editors accept. Converting does not add detail. Run it once from the original, at Balanced unless you are printing or you must hit a size limit.

PNG and WebP

Keep PNG for logos, screenshots, and diagrams with text. Move a photo or a busy illustration to WebP when the page is on the web and you have looked at the result. WebP back to PNG or JPG is for a program that will not open WebP. The WebP and PNG guide walks through that choice with the same tools.

Read the guides