How to choose images for your website

How you present yourself is how people will see you. Your website and its visuals like images and color schemes, are important and noticeable to people. In order to showcase the best side of a company, we have gathered together 10 tips with examples of how to choose and the criteria for suitable images.

1. High-quality

Quality plays a major role in choosing images for the website. Large, clear images are more professional and allow the reader to see the whole picture without being inconvenienced with resizing a photo. Don’t choose pictures that are blurry or tiny, they will not make any impact.

Example from VIA who is using zoomed high quality pictures

2. Brand related

Images must be relevant and go hand-in-hand with the brand identity. Choosing random images will make visitors doubt or question the brand. For example, if the company is in the fashion industry, it is important to showcase the appropriate pictures of products produced or sold by the brand.

Helbak is using colors and images related to their product design

Another example of Helbak using relevant content is on an error page with an image of a broken glass

3.Call to action pictures

So-called “actionable images” convince visitors to take an action while scrolling the website. Call to action images make the visitor feel included and immersed in the website when looking at these images.They awake an impulse and make people react quickly.

Tasty food images make visitors react and want to order the same food

4. Emotional

First impressions are very important. Most of the decisions people make are first influenced by emotions and after by logic. Using emotional images is the best way to set the mood and evoke feeling in people. While choosing the pictures, it is good to know what kind of emotions you want to evoke and how the brand/company/website will be seen. Emotion is a great tool to create a strong connection between the user and brand.

Kreafunk is using emotional image to make people feel through the image

5. People

It is a good idea to use people in the images as it helps to build a stronger connection. Even companies that are not people oriented use a human touch for their products to make it more positive and reliable. People in the photos should relate to the target group that company/website wants to target.

Neebo is using images of people, family, to make a good trustworthy impression

Here is another example of a picture from Neebo with a human touch

6. Uniqueness

Everyone wants to be unique, and create their own content. It’s definitely more challenging to find images that are not used by other companies. In this case, it is better to avoid popular stock photos and do a little more research to find special photos. Finding unique images is important for a brand or website to differentiate itself from its competitors.

Webtale is using creative images to share their message

7. Metaphorical

There are some cases where companies prefer to use images that have a metaphorical second meaning that might be difficult to see at the first glance. Not all of the visitors are able to understand the message a company is trying to convey in these types of images. The meaning must be clear as soon as the person see the image. So it is better to avoid pictures that are unclear and complex as it can confuse a person.

Swatch is using surrealistic images that will attract visitors

8. Where to find pictures

There are multiple ways to find the perfect image. Using stock photos is one of the most common sources, but it is necessary to not violate the copyright laws if it is not a free source. Using a paid, subscription-based service is a safe solution. Using stock-photos is popular, which also means that many other companies could be using the same images. A good rule to follow is to not choose photos from the first page of search results, but to spend more time researching for the perfect image. If you want to avoid stock images, it is possible either to design your own material or ask a professional to take pictures for you.

If you are looking for free images for your website you can follow this link. Some of the most used images sources to highligt are Unsplash, Pexels and Gratisography.

Usage of illustration on a website

9.Consistency

Make your style recognizable by being consistent. Choose the primary colors, style, and filters that will tell the story. Consistent style helps a brand to be more visible for storytelling.

Bro blog is using images with the same two colors in their blog section.

10. Your team images

Images that give a “behind the scenes” look generate interest and make a company/brand seem positive and trustworthy. This is also a good way to differentiate from competitors and allow people to see the company/brand from another perspective. The best way to present such images is to create friendly, interesting photos inside the company, and/or employee photos.

Salt and Pepper includes images from the agency to showcase the working environment

In order to choose suitable images for your website that will showcase the best side of the company, you need to be specific with the needs and criterias. Choose the right direction — either you want to awake emotions or you want visitors to take and action. But first of all, remember that quality is over quantity and your images must be relevant to your brand identity.

Read more about ViaBill here