The first thing most people look at when visiting a website are pictures. They look a lot more appealing on a page than a huge block of text. Images help break up your written content as well as supporting it. If you are explaining something in writing on your website a picture to go with it can help a lot and give the user a better understanding of the point you are trying to get across.
Selection
The type of images that you use is also very important. Grey, or black and white images are far less likely to grab someones attention than a bright, colourful and engaging picture. This may sound obvious, but choosing images related to your content and website branding is vital.
Source
When using images on your website you need to be very careful of the source. You can purchase stock images from websites like istock photo’s, but these are open to the public so someone else could also purchase the same image and use it on their site. This is fine but if they are a competitor it could create confusion between your website and another one using similar pictures. Google images also has a feature to search for images labelled for reuse, but this also means that other companies could be using the same images as you. To create good website content, images you have taken yourself can be great. Using original images of your own rather than stock ones that another company could use is great to make your content look original and individual to your company’s website. Always be careful when using images if you are not sure about the source. Copying images from other websites that you do not have permission to use is not advisable and can result in your website being penalised by Google, as well as the image owner taking action.
Quality
The most important thing when using images on your website is the visual quality. Adding an image that is blurred and hard to see can be off-putting and would be better to use no images at all. High quality and clear images are a must. They help grab users attention and a nice good quality image of your business or work that you have carried out gives a good impression of your business too. Here’s an example of a website that we have worked on where simple design and good quality self taken images work well. http://barbadosclaridges3.com/
Look at these images for example. Which one would look better on a website?
Editing images
Enhancing, editing, photo shopping – it’s a big topic online. It all really depends on the type of image that you want to get across on your website. If you want to convey the impression of originality and authenticity then original un-edited images is the right path. One of the benefits of editing images is professionalism. An image that has been colour enhanced can create a better appearance than an image with a dull grey background. But be aware, you can edit images too much which will make your website look fake and the images over manufactured. So getting the right balance when editing photos is important.
Overall the main thing to follow is your business and the topic of your content. Don’t publish anything on your website that you are not completely satisfied with as poor content and images can put people off viewing or making an action (contact form, purchase, search etc.)
