No matter what your business sells, it’s important that your website looks good.
Design and UX are the most important components but having top-notch photography is also vital as it has been proven that new users form an impression of a website under three seconds.
So if you’re going to use photography, you need to get it right.
But there is more to picking the right shot, you also need to consider the impact that high-quality photography has on the length of time it takes for your website to load.
So, here’s everything you need to know about web photography.
If you’re intent on using a photograph one your homepage, you’ll understand that it will be the most important shot you’ll display.
If you run an Ecom site or restaurant website, we don’t need to tell you about the importance of photography, but these tips may still help;
– Ensure the colours in the photo match your branding as closely as possible so that the homepage looks consistent
– The resolution/DPI should be high
– The subject/product is in focus, and the background is out of focus, making the goods or focus of the picture stand out.
– The products are displayed in a relevant context
Consistency is key when it comes to web photography so if you are uploading new imagery, don’t pick random shots from a variety of sources or photographers.
Ideally, you want to be able to get a high number of photographs from the same photographer who you have briefed on the style you are looking for, which brings us onto the next point.
Everybody thinks they have a ‘good eye’ for photography but it’s simply not true, sorry.
There’s a lot more that goes into photography than the shot, it’s critical to get the right lighting and have the knowledge to touch shots up in post-production.
So unless you know how to do this, it’s worth investing.
Fortunately, there are a plethora of platforms where photographers can be found such as;
– Perfocal
– Upwork
– Fiverr
Even if you have a small budget, you can find photographers with low rates, though they may not have as much experience or as high-quality equipment compared to those with higher rates.
During a photoshoot, try to get as many different types of photos as possible and think of the other marketing materials you’ll need photography for.
It’s also important to have a backlog of photos to use on social media and email campaigns if you plan on launching new products or services.
If you have a ‘meet the team page’, ensure that the background in all of the shots is the same as well as the angle at which the shots are taken.
Don’t let people send their own photos to be used on your website, it isn’t Tinder at the end of the day.
Whether you like it or not, Google is in charge and we all have to play by their rules online.
So that means the photography you use on your website has to be SEO friendly just like the rest of the content you have uploaded.
This means that the images have been compressed so that they don’y drag down the load time of your website.
This can be done using free online compression tools.
Secondly, each photo should have an ‘alt description’ which is important for Google to understand what is being shown and whether it is relevant in a search.
If this all sounds like a little too much to handle, get in touch with our team and we’ll be able to support you by providing high-quality SEO friendly photography.