Category · 02 of 05
Image Format Converters
Change an image from one format to another. Useful when a marketplace rejects your file type, or when you want the smaller file a modern format gives you.
- PNG to JPGConvert PNG to JPGTurn PNG files into JPGs, with control over the quality and over which colour replaces any transparent areas. Useful when a marketplace or printer will not accept PNG.
- JPG cannot store transparency.
- JPG is lossy, so converting a crisp PNG screenshot to JPG will soften text and sharp edges.
- JPG to WebPConvert JPG to WebPConvert JPEG photos to WebP, the format that gives you the same visual quality in a noticeably smaller file. The single easiest win for a faster website.
- This is a lossy to lossy conversion, so a little quality is lost in the round trip.
- Some marketplaces and older desktop applications still reject WebP uploads.
- HEIC to JPGConvert HEIC to JPGConvert the HEIC photos your iPhone produces into JPGs that everything can open. Whole albums at once, the right way up, and with the embedded location data left behind.
- The HEIC decoder is a large WebAssembly module, around three megabytes.
- Camera details, timestamps and GPS coordinates are not carried into the JPG.
Choosing a format
Format choice is mostly determined by what the image contains, not by preference. Getting it right often saves more than any compression setting.
| Format | Best for | Transparency | Lossy |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPG | Photographs; anywhere maximum compatibility is required | No | Yes |
| PNG | Logos, screenshots, diagrams, anything needing transparency | Yes | No |
| WebP | Websites — smaller than both, with either mode available | Yes | Either |
| HEIC | Nothing, outside an Apple device — convert it | Yes | Yes |
The two conversions that lose something
Most conversions are reversible in principle. Two are not, and both are easy to do by accident.
PNG to JPG destroys transparency. JPG has no alpha channel, so transparent areas must be filled with a solid colour, and that choice cannot be undone. Converting back to PNG produces a larger file with a permanent coloured background. The converter lets you choose that colour deliberately.
Any lossy-to-lossy conversion compounds damage. Converting a JPG to WebP decodes an already-compressed image and compresses it again. The effect is usually invisible, but convert from your highest-quality original where you can.
Where each format is accepted
Compatibility, not quality, is what usually forces a conversion. Marketplaces — Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Shopify — expect JPG or PNG and generally reject WebP. Use WebP on your own website, where you control the hosting and page speed matters.
HEIC is rejected almost everywhere outside Apple's ecosystem, which is why converting iPhone photos is the most common conversion people need. That page also explains how to stop your phone producing HEIC in the first place.