Just like any other aspect of e-commerce, product listings are among the primary building blocks of a successful online store. The product image, more than anything, is an identity by itself. First, it captures a potential customer’s attention and second, it influences their decision to purchase the item. Effective customer experience and conversion depend on the loading speed of images, which, in turn, improves search visibility. Product images are supposed to outperform in usability yet maintain a certain level of quality. Therefore, picking the right image format is crucial.
It is critical for e-commerce retailers to pick the image format that is most suited for their context among all the potential options that are provided. JPEG, PNG, and WebP formats have their pros and cons, but which one do you think is best for e-commerce? In this article, we will discuss the most relevant formats in regard to e-commerce product listings and why they are best suited to your company’s needs.
JPEG (JPG) – Recommended for Pictures
JPEG, or JPG, is one of the most preferred image types in e-commerce: for good reason. It is particularly suited for photos or images with color shades and complex color patterns. In instances of product images, most importantly, in the case of garments and garments, complements, gadgets, and even food, JPEG captures the quality needed and maintains a relatively low file size.
One of the most important benefits of JPEG is the compression offered without greatly reducing quality, which is perfect for online images. This compression alone can drastically reduce page load speeds, an important factor for retaining visitors and increasing conversion rates. JPEGs can also be beneficial for SEO because page speed is a ranking factor and prevents most product images from being missed by search engines.
Regardless, JPEG images do not have any transparency options and often suffer a loss of quality during compression: which is often a consequence of this compression. But, for most commercial images where detail care is absent, JPEG provides an excellent blend of quality and image weight.
PNG – Ideal for Images that Have Text or Need Transparency
While product photos are best served with JPEG images, PNG is usually the preferred choice for images that feature text, logos, or graphics. Since PNG uses lossless compression, no details get lost when the image is compressed. This makes PNG images suitable for retaining maximum details and clarity like icons, product labels, and logos.
When it comes to product listings for e-commerce stores, PNG is the most effective format when images require transparent backgrounds. This helps to retain a professional standard for your product images when displayed on different backgrounds without borders. For example, logos or some other product graphics that need to rest on different colors or designs can be captured beautifully in PNG format.
On the other hand, PNG images are usually larger than JPEG images which are a concern when it comes to website loading speeds, especially if there are a lot of images on a single page. While PNGs are the best for certain visuals, it can be problematic if proper care is not taken concerning file size.
WebP – E-commerce Product Images of the Future
WebP is a newer type of image created by Google. It tries its best to combine the advantages of JPEG, PNG, and other formats while trying to decrease file sizes as much as possible. With WebP, images can be blurred and sharpened, or the quality can be lost with a simple click allowing high-quality images to be produced while saving much space compared to JPEG and PNG. This feature makes WebP a great choice for e-commerce sites with poor loading speeds looking to improve their load times while keeping image quality high.
WebP is good for websites that are designed keeping mobile users in mind since it lessens the bandwidth needed to load product images, thus optimizing performance on mobile networks. Like PNG, WebP also supports transparent backgrounds, which makes it a useful format for many kinds of product images.
But one drawback is that not every browser and device supports WebP, especially older versions of Internet Explorer and Safari. Online WebP converters such as webptojpghero make this so much easier by providing swift web image optimization without compromising quality.
Still, many people within the industry are accepting this format. So, as newer web browsers develop, WebP is bound to become more common. At the moment, the best solution is to use WebP alongside JPEG and PNG so nobody has to miss out on the benefits.
GIF – Ideal For Short Animations
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is famous all over the internet for simple animations and can spice up e-commerce sites with products. Although they are not perfect for high-quality images due to their color limits, GIFs are fantastic for featuring product highlights or infusing some charm into your listings. For example, products can be demonstrated in freely animated sequences using GIFs, or different points of the product can be showcased with GIFs in a lively animated manner.
The problem with GIFs is the limited colors available, which can make the images look pixelated. To add on, GIFs have larger file sizes compared to static images, especially those with longer animations. So, guides that focus on short and simple animations can benefit from GIFs, but they won’t work very well for most product pictures due to lack of image clarity and color detail.
SVG – Perfect for Vector Graphics
Scalable Vector Graphics, also known as SVG, works best for logos, illustrations, and even icons. Unlike JPEG and PNG, SVGs don’t work best with raster formats. SVG is different from traditional vector formats since it is based on equations instead of pixels. As a result, SVG images are infinitely scalable without compromising their quality. This makes them great for high resolutions, retina screens, and responsive web designs.
For e-commerce stores, SVGs are best for logos, icons, and simple graphics since they are small in size, extremely efficient, and easily scalable. Another great feature is that SVG graphics can be animated or styled with CSS. However, SVGs are not suitable for complex imagery such as photographs because they are vector-based.
Choosing the Right Format for Your E-commerce Site
The type of product images being used directly determines the format being selected. SVG logos will work best for e-commerce websites that need complex imagery. JPEG is usually best for photographs while PNG is used for graphics that have transparent backgrounds or text. Generally, WebP is great for most products because of its quality, especially for images that are optimized for mobile users.
For websites that contain extensive product catalogs, there is a need to balance image quality with the website’s loading speed. Larger image files negatively affect user experience as the page takes longer to load, resulting in higher bounce rates and lower conversions. In order to ensure that your customers can efficiently navigate your website, images must always be optimized through resizing or converting them to a more efficient format.
In Summary
Choosing the right image format can make or break an e-commerce site. JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, and SVG formats each offer unique advantages over the other, and learning when to use them is crucial to ensuring proper optimization for your product listings. With the right balance on image quality, file size, and browser compatibility, you will ensure that your product images have maximum impact on potential customers.
In summary, choosing the right product image formats increases your website performance, improves user experience, and gives you an edge in sales against your competitors. Whether you choose JPEG for photographs, PNG for transparency, or WebP for its efficiency, the format you choose can help set your e-commerce site apart from the competition.
