File formats and compatibility

JPEG / JPG

A widely supported lossy format for photographs. It is compact and compatible, but has no transparency and repeated saves can add visible artifacts.

PNG

A lossless format with transparency support. It is suitable for logos, interface graphics, screenshots, and cutouts, but photographic PNG files can be much larger than JPEG, WebP, or AVIF.

WebP

A modern format supporting lossy and lossless compression plus transparency. It is useful for web delivery and has broad modern-browser support, though some older applications may still prefer JPEG or PNG.

AVIF

A highly efficient modern image format that can produce small files at good visual quality. Encoding may take longer and compatibility should be checked in older software and publishing systems.

HEIC / HEIF

Common on Apple devices and efficient for photos, but not universally accepted by websites and desktop applications. Convert to JPEG for maximum compatibility or PNG when transparency or lossless output is required.

SVG

A scalable vector format suited to logos, icons, diagrams, and generated shapes. Converting a photograph to SVG is a tracing process, not a perfect recovery of original vector artwork.

PDF

A document container that can include text, images, fonts, forms, links, and other structures. Results vary with document complexity, so verify page order, readability, links, forms, and signatures after any transformation.

Compatibility checklist

• Confirm that the destination accepts the chosen format.
• Preserve an original before conversion or compression.
• Check transparency, color, orientation, metadata, and animation requirements.
• Test the exported file in the actual browser, app, printer, or platform where it will be used.