When you’re selling online, whether on Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Etsy, or other marketplaces, your product images are one of the most important drivers of clicks and conversions. High-quality visuals build trust and help shoppers understand exactly what they’re buying, especially since they can’t touch the product in person.
But beyond great lighting and styling, choosing the right image file format, usually JPG or PNG, matters for both image quality and page performance.
Inside this article
📸 What JPG and PNG Are (Quick Overview)
JPG (or JPEG)
- Stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group.
- Uses lossy compression: the file size gets smaller by simplifying image data, which can slightly reduce quality.
- Produces smaller file sizes that load faster on product pages.
PNG
- Stands for Portable Network Graphics.
- Uses lossless compression: image detail is preserved, even after editing.
- Supports transparent backgrounds, useful for graphic overlays and clean product images.
🎯 Which Format Should Marketplace Sellers Use?
✅ Use JPG for Your Main Product Images
- JPG files load fast because they’re smaller, which helps your product pages perform well: important for both shopper experience and search rankings.
- Photographs of real products, especially those with gradients, shadows, and rich color detail, look great when saved as JPG.
- Because many marketplace requirements (eg. Amazon and Shopify) prefer smaller, optimized photos, JPG often offers the best balance of quality + performance.
Example: Your main listing photo for a pair of sneakers? Save as a well-compressed JPG so shoppers see detail without long load times.
🧾 Use PNG for Special Graphic Needs
There are situations where PNG makes more sense:
✅ Transparent backgrounds: if you need to place product images on colored or custom backgrounds without a visible box around them.
✅ Graphics with text, icons, badges, or logos: PNG preserves crisp lines and sharp edges with no quality loss.
✅ Editing workflows: because PNG is lossless, it’s ideal for images you’ll adjust repeatedly before final export.
Example: A size chart overlay or a branded badge that sits on top of your product photo may be best saved as PNG.
🔍 Speed vs. Quality: Why It Matters for Sales
Page Load Times Affect Buyer Behavior
Large images that aren’t optimized can slow down page load speeds, especially on mobile, and slow pages can push customers away.
- JPG gives you the fastest performance for product galleries and zoomable photos.
- PNG gives you highest fidelity graphics when quality or transparency is key, but with bigger file sizes that need care on load speed.
💡 Tip: Use JPG for your core catalog photos and PNG for supplementary graphics only when needed.
🛍️ Checklist for Marketplace Image Uploads
Before you hit “publish”, ask yourself:
✅ Is this a main product photo with real product detail? → JPG
✅ Does this image need clarity for text or icons? → PNG
✅ Does the background need transparency? → PNG
✅ Can this file be compressed further without losing visual quality? → Yes, for JPG especially
Summary: Best Practices for Sellers
| Situation | Recommended Format |
|---|---|
| Main product photos | JPG |
| Graphics with text or logos | PNG |
| Transparent or clean backgrounds | PNG |
| Fast-loading storefront galleries | JPG |
Choosing the right format helps you showcase your product beautifully while keeping your listing fast and buyer-friendly… a small optimization that can make a big difference in sales performance.
