The visual appeal of your website can be make-or-break for your success. When potential customers land on your site, you often only have seconds to captivate them and convince them to stay, whereas lacklustre design and low-res images can leave your visitors questioning the professionalism and quality of your brand.
While there’s far more to web design, one of the most powerful tools at your disposal is to use compelling imagery across your site. Here are the essential photos you need for your e-commerce website and why they’re crucial for your brand’s success.
A Hero Image to Act as Your Storefront Window
Your hero image is the first thing visitors see when they land on your website—a big, attention-grabbing banner that sets the tone for the rest of the site. Think of it as your virtual storefront window, encouraging potential customers to step inside and explore.
An effective hero image should be visually striking, instantly conveying your brand’s identity and value proposition. Whether it’s a product shot, a landscape, or a lifestyle image, your hero image sets the stage for the visitor’s journey through your site.
About Us Images That Humanise Your Brand
The ‘About’ page gives you the opportunity to create a personal connection with your audience, humanising your brand and building trust. The right image on this page puts a face to your company, allowing customers to see the real people behind the brand.
Some great options are a team photo, a candid shot of the founder, or a behind-the-scenes glimpse of your workspace, but whatever you choose should reflect your brand’s personality and values, establishing your authenticity and letting your customers feel like they really know you and what you’re all about.
User-Generated Imagery That Promotes Engagement
User-generated imagery is a powerful way to connect with your audience on a personal level while also showcasing your products in real-world settings. Encourage your customers to share photos of themselves using your products on social media, and feature the best examples on your site.
Not only do these images create a sense of community and authenticity, but it also gives you some free advertising, with satisfied customers serving as your new brand ambassadors.
Let the Product Images Shine on Their Own
Clearly we can’t talk about e-commerce images without talking about images of the products themselves, and the importance of high-quality images can’t be overstated. Your product photos are the closest equivalent of a customer picking up an item in a shop and examining it up close.
Clean, professional images shot on a white backdrop allow your customers to see the product in detail, from every angle, ensuring that they know exactly what they’re getting before making a purchase, resulting in more conversions and fewer returns. For products that contain intricate details, such as subtle patterns or textures in clothes, make sure the image can be magnified.
Sell the Experience with Lifestyle Images
Clear images of your products are essential, but so are images that show the product being used. Lifestyle images tell a story—they paint a picture of the lifestyle your brand embodies. Lifestyle images featuring your products give customers a vision of the experiences they can enjoy by choosing your brand.
Say you’re selling wetsuits – along with images of the product, you could show a surfer riding the waves or enjoying a drink on the beach with friends. Lifestyle images evoke emotion and aspiration, transforming your products from commodities into something much more.
Jolly’s Drinks & Life Oils
A couple of our recent clients are great examples of how powerful the right imagery can be.
Jolly’s Drinks are a premium soft drinks brand using Cornish spring water and they have some of the cleanest and most vibrant product images on the market, showcasing the amazing branding on their products as well as the delicious ingredients that go into the drinks. Jolly’s partnered with local photographer Matt Austin to capture the soul of their products and the results are thirst-inducing.
Life Oils are suppliers of the highest quality CBD oils and health supplements, only selling products that they themselves have tested and use. Despite the recent popularity of CBD products, it is still an unknown quantity for many, which is why we prioritised clean, professional imagery in our product shoot to build customer confidence. The images showcase not just the products in and out of the packaging, but also backdrops that feature plants and natural materials that embody their brand ethos.
Optimising Images for SEO
Your images can also do you a lot of favours in the SEO department. Give your images descriptive filenames, alt text, and image captions based around your target keywords. This can improve your chances of ranking higher in search results and driving organic traffic to your site. Image SEO is a simple yet effective way to increase visibility and attract potential customers to your e-commerce website, so don’t be lazy by leaving your pictures with their default numerical names.
High-quality photography is non-negotiable for any successful e-commerce website. From the hero image that welcomes visitors to the ‘About Us’ photos that humanise your brand, each image has a part to play in shaping the customer experience and driving sales.
Our content creation services are on hand to ensure you’ve got the best possible imagery to represent your brand. We are able to take care of your content needs in-house, or we can match you up with one of our top-rated content partners.
Invest in imagery that tells your brand’s story and you can create a memorable online shopping experience that keeps customers coming back for more.