SQUARE GUIDE · FILE FORMATS
JPEG, PNG or WebP for product photos?
The format you export in decides how big the file is, whether it can have a transparent background, and where you can upload it. For most product photos the answer is JPEG, but there are good reasons to pick the others.
The short answer
- JPEG for photos you'll upload to a store or marketplace. It's accepted almost everywhere and keeps files small.
- PNG when you need transparency, or for graphics with flat colour and sharp text, like a size chart or a logo.
- WebP for images on your own website, when you control where they're shown and want smaller files.
How they compare
| Format | Compression | Transparency | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPEG | Lossy: discards detail you're unlikely to see, at a quality level you choose | No | Product photos for stores, marketplaces and email |
| PNG | Lossless: keeps every pixel, so photos become large files | Yes | Cut-out products, logos, charts, screenshots |
| WebP | Lossy or lossless, usually smaller than JPEG or PNG at similar quality | Yes | Images on your own site; check before uploading elsewhere |
Why JPEG is the safe default
Photographs have smooth gradients and fine texture, which lossy compression handles well. At a high quality setting, the difference from the original is very hard to see, and the file is a fraction of the size of a PNG. Every store platform, marketplace, email client and image editor reads JPEG. If you only keep one copy of each product photo for uploading, make it a high-quality JPEG.
The trade-off is that each time a JPEG is opened and saved again, it's compressed again and loses a little more detail. Keep your originals, and export fresh copies from them rather than re-editing an exported JPEG.
When PNG is worth the size
PNG doesn't discard anything, so it's ideal for images with flat colour and hard edges, where JPEG compression can leave faint smudges around text and lines. It also supports transparency, which you need for a product cut out from its background and placed on a coloured page.
For an ordinary product photo on a white or plain background, PNG mostly just makes the file bigger. A photo that's a few hundred kilobytes as a JPEG can be several megabytes as a PNG, which slows uploads and, on your own site, page loads.
Where WebP fits
WebP was designed for the web. It typically produces smaller files than JPEG at similar visual quality, and it supports transparency like PNG. Current major browsers display it. The catch is upload support: not every marketplace, email tool or older editor accepts WebP files. Use it where you control the website, and check a platform's upload requirements before relying on it elsewhere. Many store platforms convert uploaded images into web-friendly formats automatically, so you may get WebP delivery without uploading WebP yourself.
Transparent backgrounds don't survive JPEG.
JPEG has no transparency, so any transparent areas must be filled with a colour when you convert. Tidy Square fills them with white in every export format, to match its white padding. If you need a transparent product image, keep a separate PNG or WebP original.
Quality settings and file size
For JPEG and lossy WebP, a quality setting around 80 to 90 is a common balance for product photos: visually close to the original with a much smaller file. Tidy Square encodes JPEG and WebP at 90% quality. Dimensions matter more than quality settings for file size. A 2,048-pixel square has four times as many pixels as a 1,024-pixel one, so pick the size your platform recommends rather than the largest possible.
Checklist
- Keep originals; export copies.
- JPEG for uploading photos almost anywhere.
- PNG for transparency or graphics with text.
- WebP for your own site, after checking support.
- Choose the pixel size first, then the quality.
Export matching squares
Tidy Square pads product photos to a square and exports JPEG, PNG or WebP, where your browser can encode it. Your photos are processed on your device.
Open the square image makerIndependent guide by Tidy. Platform support for formats changes, so check each destination's current requirements. Checked 22 October 2026.