When Should You Use PNG?

Use PNG for clean graphic detail

Screenshots, interface elements, diagrams, and text-heavy graphics often benefit from lossless storage. Flat regions and sharp edges can remain clean without the halos associated with low-quality JPEG compression.

Use PNG when transparency must remain

PNG supports full alpha transparency, including soft shadows and anti-aliased edges. This makes it dependable for assets placed on changing backgrounds.

Avoid photographic PNGs by default

Complex photos may produce very large PNG files. For website photographs, WebP or JPG is usually more efficient. Consider SVG for genuine vector artwork, and keep an editable master separate from the final delivery format.