The quick answer
If you only remember one line per format, make it this. Use JPG for almost every product photo you upload to a marketplace or send in an email — it is small and works everywhere. Use PNG when the image needs a transparent background or when you want a pristine, lossless master to edit from later. Use WebP on your own Shopify store or website, where its smaller file size makes pages load faster and helps your SEO.
A comparison table
Here is how the three formats compare at a glance. "Lossy" means the format throws away some data to shrink the file; "lossless" means it keeps every pixel intact.
| Format | Best for | Transparency | File size | Where it fails |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPG | Photos, marketplaces, email | No | Small (lossy) | Can't do transparency; visible artifacts if over-compressed |
| PNG | Transparency, logos, lossless masters | Yes | Large (lossless) | Heavy files slow down web pages |
| WebP | Your own website / store | Yes | Smallest | Some marketplaces and older software reject it |
When to use JPG
JPG (also written JPEG) is the default choice for product photography. It compresses photographic detail extremely well, so files stay small, and every marketplace, email client, and device supports it. Amazon, for instance, prefers JPEG for main product images. JPG is technically "lossy" — it discards some data to shrink the file — but at a high quality setting the loss is invisible to the eye, so this rarely matters for a clean product shot. If you have a PNG or WebP that a marketplace won't accept, convert it to JPG with the PNG to JPG converter or the WebP to JPG converter.
When to use PNG
Reach for PNG in two situations. First, when you need transparency — a product cut out from its background, a logo, or a graphic that has to sit cleanly on any color. JPG simply can't store transparency, so a cut-out has to be a PNG (or WebP). Second, when you want a lossless master to edit and re-export from, since PNG preserves every pixel. The trade-off is file size: PNGs are much larger than JPGs, so they're a poor fit for uploading in bulk or for pages that need to load fast. To make a transparent version, use the JPG to PNG converter, and to swap or clean up a backdrop, try the background color changer.
When to use WebP
WebP is the modern format built for the web. On your own Shopify store or website it's usually the best pick: it's typically 25–35% smaller than an equivalent JPG at the same quality, and it still supports transparency like PNG. Smaller images mean faster page loads, which improves both the shopping experience and your search ranking. The one caveat is compatibility — some marketplaces and older apps or design software still don't accept WebP, so it's a website-first format rather than a universal one. To generate lightweight web images, use the PNG to WebP converter.
Rule of thumb: keep one high-resolution PNG or JPG master of each product. From that master, export a JPG for marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, and a WebP for your own website or store. You get maximum compatibility where you need it and maximum speed where it counts.
Format is not the only thing that matters
Choosing the right format is only half the job. The dimensions of your image and how hard it's compressed matter just as much: an image that's too small looks blurry and can disable marketplace zoom, while one that's needlessly huge slows your pages down. Get the pixel dimensions right with our product image size guide, then shrink the file without losing visible quality using the free image compressor.