The GIF, JPEG, and PNG are thee of the most popular image formats on the web. The JPEG format was originally created to be used with photos displayed on the internet. Both the GIF and the PNG formats are used to support lossless data compression. Using these formats correctly can help your website maintain sharp, crisp colors.

JPEG

The JPEG format is great for websites which display multiple photos, as it supports a smooth transition between the colors in photos, and realistic art. If you’re working with text or logos which havecharp color contrasts, JPEG isn’t the best image choice as they don’t look visually appealing. Generally speaking the JPEG format saves photos at the best quality in relation to the size of the file. The JPEG format also loses a bit of data each time you save the image because of the compression process, so editing the file as a GIF or PNG and saving it as a JPEG only when you are sure you are finished is a great way to avoid this data loss.

GIF

GIF’s are the other most popular format used in web images. GIFs are mainly suited for images which don’t require a huge color palette, as they support a limited 256 color palette. All text, logos and banners are best when saved inGIF form, as they generally only have a small amount of colors which can be saved with lossless compression and resizing images. Saving photos as a GIF is a bad choice because of dithering, which is a process of converting colors to what’s available in the 256 format. GIF photos are generally much larger in size than JPEG, also.

PNG

The PNG format is relatively new, but it’s supported by all major browsers. The PNG format works in direct competition to the GIF format, as it offers better image quality and uses less space than the GIF format. It also offers transparency channels. The difference between PNG and GIF is that the PNG format is not limited to 256 colors and currently, the only major advantage GIF has over PNG is the fact that GIF can be used in animation. Eventually, the PNG format may work to replace the GIF format in displaying standard web images.