# Choose a screenshot format

> Choose the right screenshot format for interface text, photo-heavy pages and web delivery. Compare export quality, file size and Sitepeel PDF behavior.

Canonical page: https://sitepeel.dev/guides/png-jpg-webp-screenshots/

Keep a clear original, make a delivery copy, and compare the actual files. A format choice is useful when it preserves the details your reviewer needs at a size the destination can handle.

Published: 2026-09-28

Tool used in this guide: [Website screenshot tool](https://sitepeel.dev/website-screenshot/index.md)

## Start with the content people need to read

A screenshot of a settings panel is mostly small text, sharp edges and repeated flat colors. A photography portfolio contains different information: textured images and gradual changes in color. The best compromise for one can be a poor compromise for the other.

Decide what the image is for before exporting. A developer inspecting a one-pixel border needs a different delivery file from someone viewing a portfolio cover on a phone. Keep the first capture so you can make another export without recapturing or recompressing an already reduced copy.

Starting points, not universal rankings

| Destination | Start with | Review before sending |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Interface bug or small text | PNG | Labels, thin borders and crop dimensions |
| Photo-heavy preview | JPG or WebP | Fine text as well as the photographs |
| An image on your website | WebP compared with PNG/JPG | Readability, actual file size and delivery support |
| A document for review | PDF when pagination is useful | Page breaks, readable scale and embedded image quality |

## What the formats change

PNG uses lossless compression and supports transparency. JPEG uses lossy compression and does not preserve an alpha channel. WebP supports both lossy and lossless encoding, as well as transparency; the encoder and settings determine which behavior you get.

A format name alone is not a quality guarantee. A PNG made from a tiny image stays tiny, and converting a damaged JPEG into PNG does not repair the lost information. Likewise, a WebP export should not be described as lossless unless its encoding path actually provides that mode.

## Use the Sitepeel export menu deliberately

Open a capture in the editor, finish the crop and annotations, and choose Export. Select PNG, JPG, WebP or PDF and use a filename that identifies the route and purpose. Review capture defaults in the dashboard if you previously changed the format, quality or scale for another task.

Sitepeel’s image export uses the browser’s encoder. Its JPG and WebP quality setting controls a compression tradeoff; it is not a promise of a particular file size or lossless output. Use PNG for a simple original-quality comparison, then export your intended delivery copy from the same capture.

- [Follow the capture editor workflow](https://sitepeel.dev/guides/edit-annotate-website-screenshots/index.md)
- [Review capture and export defaults](https://sitepeel.dev/guides/customize-sitepeel-tools/index.md)

## Compare the same crop at the same dimensions

Make a small test export containing the hardest parts of the page: the smallest label, a thin icon, a photo and a subtle background. Use the same crop and pixel dimensions for every format. Otherwise you may attribute a difference caused by resizing to compression.

Open each file at 100%. Look for fuzzy letter edges, ringing around high-contrast shapes and banding in gradual color transitions. Record the file size only after the image passes the readability check. Do not assume the smallest file is the most useful one.

Example: export-comparison.txt

```
Export comparison
Source: the same original capture
Crop and pixel dimensions: identical
Check: smallest label, thin icon, image detail
PNG: readable? file size?
JPG: quality setting? readable? file size?
WebP: quality setting? readable? file size?
Chosen destination: issue attachment / website / presentation
```

## Know what a screenshot PDF contains

Sitepeel’s PDF export places the captured image on A4 pages and uses JPEG image encoding for the page slices. It is an image-based document, not an export of the website’s original selectable text or semantic HTML. Long captures can be split across pages, so inspect where headings and annotations land.

If searchable text, document accessibility or original links matter, use a workflow designed to preserve those features and verify its result. For a visual bug, the original PNG attachment may communicate the issue more directly than a multi-page PDF. Keep the recipient’s task in mind.

## Using these tools in Sitepeel

The Sitepeel steps below describe the 1.0.3 tools. Preview 1.0.3 here. Browser-store availability may vary while the update rolls out. Try them on public Sitepeel pages in the website demo; use the installed extension for other websites. Changes made with inspection and preview tools do not publish changes to a website.

## Questions and answers

### Is WebP always smaller than PNG?

No. The content, dimensions and encoding settings affect size. Compare your actual exports after checking readability.

### Does PNG make a blurry screenshot sharp?

No. It can preserve the pixels it receives, but it cannot reconstruct detail already missing from the capture.

## Further reading

- [MDN: image formats and compression characteristics](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Media/Guides/Formats/Image_types)

## Related pages

- [Website screenshot tool](https://sitepeel.dev/website-screenshot/index.md): Capture a full page, visible area, snip or element. Crop, annotate, frame and export website screenshots with the Sitepeel 1.0.3 capture editor.
- [Fix blurry screenshots](https://sitepeel.dev/guides/fix-blurry-website-screenshots/index.md): Trace blurry website screenshots from capture to export and sharing. Check original pixels, editor zoom, image formats and downscaling before recapturing.
- [Edit website screenshots](https://sitepeel.dev/guides/edit-annotate-website-screenshots/index.md): Use Sitepeel’s capture editor to adjust crops, add arrows and text, choose a browser frame or background, and export PNG, JPG, WebP or PDF.