You would be surprised to know the importance of images for websites. According to research, articles with relevant photos got 94% more views, and pictures on Facebook saw 10% higher engagement levels than text.
Photos do more than make a website look pretty. Relevant website images capture people's attention, increasing traffic and conversion rates.
There are numerous things to consider to pick the best images for your website. You must select the correct image and file size, remember what images attract and repel your target audience, and optimize them for search engines.
How Images Benefit a Website?
A site without pictures appears empty and drives people away. On the other hand, a website with relevant and engaging photos moves visitors toward it and probably converts them into buyers or subscribers.
Here are three ways in which images can benefit a website.
Increase Click-Through Rates
We humans are visual beings. Images trigger our emotions. If your website images spark your visitors' emotions, you can get them to click the links on your site or complete the CTA task.
Moreover, relevant website images can make information conveyed in the text easily digestible. This improves your site's user experience resulting in higher traffic and sales.
Lighten Up Your Products
Almost everyone skims through text information on sites. They may miss a product description (if there's no picture) that may be relevant to them. Product photos can interrupt their skimming and draw them toward it.
Further, compelling product images give users the power to imagine themselves using the products, convincing them to buy.
Improve SEO Ranking
Websites images increase your site's chances of exposure in front of a broader audience. When you incorporate relevant keywords in your pictures' caption, your images appear in both web and image search results.
What to Consider While Choosing Website Images?
Image taken from Strikingly’s user’s website
Here are some things you must review when choosing website images.
1. Avoid Using Stock Photos
The best images for websites are the ones your company owns. Original images reflect your brand's identity and values, making it easier for potential customers to trust your business. Generic pictures don't possess that element of uniqueness that your original photos will. And there are chances your competitors might be using the same stock images as yours. How will your customers differentiate between your and your competition's brand identities?
No one wants to see those boring photos of your employees sitting together and conversing. Think about hiring a professional photographer to breathe life into those pictures and make them engaging.
2. Optimize for SEO
Images are more content for SEO optimization that helps your site rank higher and reach a broader audience. Here are some ways you can optimize your photos.
- Ensure to write the correct alt text for screen readers.
- Use the correct image format. Different image formats serve different purposes. For instance, JPEG is best for complex and colorful pictures, and PNG is suitable for pictures containing less data because it's heavier.
- Write relevant and straightforward captions and include related keywords wherever you can.
- Name the image files correctly so Google knows whether or not your image is related to the user's search query.
3. Select the Right Image and File Size
Image dimensions and file size significantly impact search engine optimization and a website's overall performance. Ensure your website images don't exceed the size of 200 KB. Heavier images slow down the site's loading speed, creating the worst user experience.
You can use image compression tools to reduce your website images' file size. Decreasing the file size affects image quality, but it's hardly noticeable for digital device users.
Here are recommended sizes for different website images.
- Blog image – 1200 x 630 px
- Website banner image – 250 x 250 px
- Background image – 1920 x 1080 px
- Logo (square) – 100 x 100 px
- Favicon – 16 x 16 px
- Logo (rectangle) – 250 x 100 px
- Thumbnail image – 150 x 150 px
4. Include Humans in Your Photos
Image taken from Strikingly’s user’s site
Humans love seeing other humans in pictures. A website image containing people creates an impression of trustworthiness for the visitor. Photographs focusing on people's faces strengthen the emotional connection, which makes the impact even more vital.
We know that you cannot involve people in every picture, but include where you can. Try taking pictures of people using your products or services. This will greatly affect your target audience's imagination of them using your items.
5. Ensure Your Images Serve a Purpose
Don't add photos to your website only to beautify its appearance. Users tend to ignore pictures that don't serve a purpose. Ask yourself these questions to know whether your website images are relevant.
- Is this picture helping users to understand a concept?
- Does the image serve the purpose of showing off your services or products well?
- Is your product's photo emotionally appealing?
- Can the user imagine themselves using your product when they see this image?
- Is the image related to your brand?
- Does it speak to your target audience?
- Will the image be effective enough to convert visitors into buyers?
- What message does the picture convey?
6. Include a Call to Action
A concise call to action is more important than you think. A clear CTA is necessary if you need social media followers, or blog subscribers or want to increase your sales. One last push motivates the user to click the link or complete other tasks.
When a visitor lands on your site, their attention is grabbed by pictures before the text. That way, a call to action in an image is more effective than text. Ensure you don't include more than one CTA task. It leads the audience to think that there are numerous tasks they should perform, and they end up completing none.
7. Orientation
When it comes to choosing website images, orientation gets ignored by many. Orientation of a picture impacts user experience. Portrait images for websites create a terrible user experience, declining photos' purpose, which is to create a good user experience.
Landscape images fill the website's width without dropping far down the page. Landscape photos are better for mobile websites as well. A portrait image on a mobile website will drop further down the page, making it hard for users to simultaneously see the content and full image.
Incorporating Images into Your Website
Knowing where the images are needed and where they're not is essential for them to be impactful. Here are some ideas for including pictures on your website.
- Product images from different angles. Consider attaching the closeups if necessary.
- Before and after images. For instance, if you sell skincare products. You can add photos of a person before and after using your product.
- How-to images. Suppose you're crafting a how-to blog post for your site. Include pictures of the steps being performed. It will make following guidelines easy.
For many sites, you can upload images using an FTP program or an image hosting service. You will have to check which method applies to your site. And if you don't have a website yet, save yourself from the hassle of getting a coded site and build one yourself using Strikingly.
Strikingly is a website builder that lets you build responsive websites using customizable templates and drag-and-drop features. It doesn't require coding or web designing experience. Strikingly's extremely easy-to-use website editor offers robust features to make your site stand out.
Here's how you can add images in different website sections using Strikingly.
1. Big Media Section
Image taken from Strikignly
Unlike a gallery, a Big Media section displays one big picture alongside, above, or below the text.
a. To add a Big Media section, go to your site editor by either creating a new site or editing the existing one from the dashboard.
b. Click "Add new section" in the menu.
c. Go to "Image & video" and select your preferred layout.
d. Click edit. You will see the options to edit an already uploaded image, add a video, replace the existing image, and add link and alt text.
c. Click "Replace," then paste the image link or upload it from your computer.
2. Gallery
Image taken from Strikingly
The gallery section is great for building a portfolio. You can add a gallery to your site, like the Big Media section, except go to "Gallery" right above "Image and Video" this time.
a. Tap "Manage Gallery" to upload pictures and videos.
b. Click on the plus button to import media. You can upload from your computer, choose from the Strikingly library, or paste a link to your images
c. Select the picture/video you want to upload from imported items and write an engaging title and description.
d. When finished, click "Save."
3. Website's Background Image
Changing the site's background image is simple. Click "background" in the right corner. You can change background color, video, or image from the drop-down menu.
4. Product Images
Image taken from Strikingly
Product images are crucial to convince the visitor to purchase your products. To add product photos to your site, add an eCommerce store section just like you added other segments.
a. Click on "Add Products."
b. Then tap "Add new products" and click the box saying, "Upload images."
c. You can import media from your device, paste links, or choose from Strikingly's library.
d. Click "save" when done.
5. Blog Post Image
A relevant blog post image helps draw readers to your blog. Here's how you can outshine other blogs by adding preview images or videos to your blog posts using Strikingly. First, add a blog section from the sections menu.
Image taken from Strikingly
a. Click "Manage blog posts."
b. Tap "write a new post."
c. Click "Background" in the top-right corner.
d. You can upload an image from a computer, paste a link, or select from the Strikingly library. You can also embed a video by going to "Video" and clicking "embed video."
e. Save when finished.
The key to gaining maximum benefits from website images is to research your target audience to know what images will drive them toward your site.
Lastly, implement all the tips we discussed correctly, and see your website’s engagement rate increase drastically.
