[FAQ]

I’m working on optimizing the images for my website to improve loading speed and visual quality. I keep hearing about modern image formats like WebP and SVG, but I’m not entirely sure what the difference is or when I should be using each one.

Is one format generally “better” than the other for a website in 2025? What are the specific use cases for WebP compared to SVG?

Any advice on choosing the right format for the right job would be a huge help!

[Jeff Bullas]

That is an excellent technical question. Choosing the right image format is fundamental for good web performance, but the answer is not about which format is ‘better’ overall, but which is the right tool for a specific job.

WebP and SVG are both excellent modern formats, but they are designed for completely different types of images and are not interchangeable.

First, let us look at WebP. This is what is known as a raster image format, just like a JPG or a PNG. This means it is made of pixels and is designed for complex images with many colours and details, such as photographs. Its main advantage is that it provides significantly smaller file sizes than older formats like JPG at a similar or even better level of visual quality. This dramatically improves your website’s loading speed.

Second, you have SVG, which stands for Scalable Vector Graphic. This is a vector image format, meaning it is not made of pixels but of mathematical paths and points. Its key feature is that it is infinitely scalable; you can make an SVG as big or as small as you want without any loss of quality or sharpness. SVGs are therefore best suited for simple, geometric graphics like logos, icons, and simple illustrations.

So the simple rule is this: use WebP for your photographs, and use SVG for your logos and icons.

In summary, you should use both formats in your web design toolkit. They are not competitors; they are specialised tools for different tasks. By using WebP for your photos and SVG for your logos and simple graphics, you get the best of both worlds: fast loading times for your complex images and perfectly crisp, scalable graphics for your branding elements.

Cheers,

Jeff

[Author]

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