What is the first thing a visitor sees when they visit your website? It’s not your homepage, but your images. What kind of impression do you want to give? Do you need more visitors and customers on your site? Then it’s time to choose the right images for your website.
There is no one perfect rule for choosing an image for a website, but there are some guidelines you can go by in order to create a good-looking portfolio or blog page. The first step is deciding which type of photography style best fits the content on your site. Is it modern and minimalistic, rustic like wood grain photos with imperfections or something else altogether?
Some tips to guide you on how to choose the right images for your website:
CONSIDER THE IMAGE’S SUBJECT MATTER – It’s important to consider the subject matter of your website images. If you are selling a product, it may be helpful to have an image that addresses what is being sold or offer something in relation to this item. For example, if you’re trying to sell gold earrings there should always be at least one picture on display showing how they look when worn by someone and not just lying around on a surface.
PICK AN IMAGE THAT IS RELEVANT YOUR PAGE CONTENT – To make your page more interesting, add an image that directly relates to the content. For example, a picture of a bee with flowers on its back might be appropriate for pages about gardening or environmentalism. If you’re writing articles related to art history, then perhaps using artwork as images could work well.
CHOOSE AN IMAGE WITH A GOOD BALANCE OF COLOR AND CONTRAST – Don’t use too many colors when choosing an image for your website. The best images have a good balance of color and contrast, making sure the focus is on what you want to. It’s important to keep in mind that not all images will work for your website. For example, you might think an image of a girl playing on the swings is great because she looks so happy and there are lots of colors. But if someone with red-green colorblindness visited your site, they would see only gray-scale which doesn’t look good either. So make sure when choosing pictures for your website, consider how many colors there are as well as the contrast between light and dark areas within the picture.
CHOOSE A VARIETY OF IMAGES – When choosing images for your website, it’s important to have a variety of photos and graphics. Some people prefer more graphic-based websites with no humans in them while others like the human element as well. If you are unsure about which is better, try either route or look at other sites similar to yours that may give insight into what works best for their audiences. When selecting pictures for your site make sure there is a range from text-based ones all the way up through those including personal photographs. It does not matter what type of pictures you use; it is just important that they do their job – which is engaging the viewer with quality content. You can select from a variety of choices including text-based ones and those containing personal photographs; whichever suits your website best will work for everyone else who visits as well.
ADD CAPTIONS OR TITLES TO MAKE YOUR BLOG POST MORE ENGAGING – Images can sometimes say more than words. In a blog post, it could be the difference between simply informing and truly engaging with your readers by providing them with a visual context for what they are reading about. Add captions or titles to make your images come alive in an informative yet entertaining way!
DON’T OVERUSE STOCK PHOTOS – If you’re thinking to yourself, “Photographs of people are so lame. I should definitely use stock photos instead” be careful not to get caught up in the hype. A website full of overused images can become boring after a while because everyone else is using them too and they all start looking the same. Pictures that look like every other picture on someone’s site will not create an impression or make any sort of statement about who you really are – especially if those aforementioned stock photographs are out-of-date as well.
GIVE CREDIT TO ANYONE WHO HAS CONTRIBUTED AN IMAGE THAT YOU USE – Just because you don’t have the time, resources or creativity to create an original work of art doesn’t mean that someone else’s hard-earned artistic talent should go unrecognized. The world is filled with gifted artists who are struggling and find it difficult to make a living from their craft alone. They deserve our support as well. To avoid plagiarizing other people’s creative genius, please give credit where due by including any applicable links in your post or image caption.
MAKE SURE THE BACKGROUND DOESN’T DISTRACT FROM THE FOCUS OF YOUR IMAGE – Images are inherently interesting, but some backgrounds can take the spotlight off what should be a focal point in your photos. If you want to make sure an image really pops on viewers’ screens and captures all of their attention, try not using any distractions behind or around your subject. It’s also important to choose a background where not only is there no distraction but it also compliments what you have in front of you and helps draw more attention to it.
BE MINDFUL OF WHAT TYPES OF IMAGES YOU’RE POSTING ONLINE – In this digital age, it’s important to think before you post. Some images may be offensive or inappropriate depending on the audience and their culture or beliefs. So look for inclusive images that represent all people in your online sphere of influence so that everyone has a seat at the table. In order to have an inclusive discussion around any topic, there needs to be representation across different genders, ethnicities, generations from those who are living with these challenges day-to-day as well as those “on the sidelines” observing what is happening within our communities – but not taking part.
MAKE SURE THE IMAGES ARE HIGH-RESOLUTION AND LOOK GOOD ON ANY SCREEN SIZE – Websites look best and work for all devices when using high-quality photos. Always use the right resolution so that your images will load quickly, no matter what screen size or device type they’re viewed on. With screens getting smaller every day, you need to consider how these pictures will appear at their best quality so that your viewers can still have a glorious experience no matter where they’re viewing from or what size device they use.
CHOOSE IMAGES WITHOUT DISTRACTING BACKGROUNDS FOR BETTER RESULTS WHEN POSTING THEM ONLINE – Choosing images that have a clean background can be tricky. If there are too many items obstructing what you’re trying to capture and share, then chances are good someone will not even bother looking at them. They won’t see anything worth paying attention to if there are other things on the image competing for their attention. The best images are those with no type of distressing backgrounds such as blending colors and sharp contrasts against them because people viewing the photos online rarely want distractions when looking at pictures they find online.
Choosing the Right Images for Your Website is Important
The images we choose for our website can drastically alter the perception of what we do. If you’re looking to make a lasting impression on your customers, use these guidelines if you’re wondering how to choose images for your website and present an appropriate brand perception online. In addition, don’t forget about optimizing your images! A quality photo will help with your search ranking and may even lead to more sales in time.