The most popular file formats at this time are png and jpg. PNG (Portable Network Graphics) has gained immense popularity because it is a lossless file format, it supports transparency, has high color depth and is an open/free file format. The JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) file format has remained popular because of its compression efficiency, compatibility, and image quality and because its an open and free file format.
WebP is a newer format developed by Google that is gaining popularity due to the fact of having the best of both PNG and JPEG formats. Webp file format features are:
- Smaller file sizes compared to JPEG and PNG
- Support for both lossy and lossless compression
- Transparency and animation features
- Open and free file format
While not as widely used as the top formats, WebP is increasingly adopted for its performance benefits, especially in web applications.
This tech article was written by:
Andrew Miles, Sr Systems Administrator
School of Computer Science, Carleton University