SVG vs PNG for SharePoint
Modern SharePoint renders SVG in key slots — use it for branding, keep PNG for content imagery.
Branding: SVG Territory
Site logos are SVG's clearest win — one file stays sharp in headers, hubs, mobile, and search results at every density. Icon sets in Site Assets serve web parts crisply across the intranet. Sanitize files first (strip scripts) since tenant security policies scrutinize SVG's scripting potential.
- Site logos: SVG for universal sharpness
- Shared icon libraries serve every site collection
- Strip scripts before deploying SVGs tenant-wide
Content: PNG Territory
News post images, banners with photography, and screenshots belong to PNG/JPEG — SharePoint's image renditions and cropping handle rasters predictably, and news rollups generate thumbnails from them reliably. Some tenant configurations force-download SVGs in document contexts, another reason content imagery stays raster.
- News and banner imagery: raster for predictable renditions
- Screenshots and photos gain nothing from SVG
- Some tenants force-download SVG in library contexts
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my SVG download instead of rendering?
A tenant or library policy serves it with a download disposition as script-safety hardening. Branding slots (site logo, image web parts from Site Assets) usually render fine — test in your tenant.
What's the ideal site logo setup?
Upload the SVG logo where the tenant accepts it, with a PNG fallback prepared. Design it to read clearly at 32px — SharePoint renders logos small in navigation.
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