. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Using images on your website: what you need to know

Best Practices for Using Photos and Graphics in Web Design

Let’s update the old cliche. If a photo is worth a thousand words, then a digital photo, on your website, is worth a thousand clicks.

This is because using images in website design is one of the simplest things you can do to make your website more popular with both users and search engines.

There are many reasons to use images on your website. Images and graphics can:

– Improve your SEO,

– Help your company brand and

– Create greater user engagement.

Ultimately, a more attractive website works better.

Of course, images will only work if you use them correctly, and we’ll cover best practices below. But first, let’s explore why you want to use photos and graphics in the first place.

Why use images in website design

Start paying attention when browsing the Internet. You will hardly ever see a website that doesn’t use images in some way. And if you do come across one, it’s probably old, and you probably won’t be forced to spend a lot of time there.

No self-respecting web designer will publish content written without including images and graphics to break up the text.

A long page of scrolling words written without interruptions is unflatteringly called a “wall of text,” and no one likes to read them.

But we don’t just add images to websites because they look pretty (although they are). Using images effectively on a website can dramatically improve its performance.

Here are three main reasons to use images in website design:

1. Website images can improve your SEO

If you want a lot of good, quality traffic for your website, you have two options:

1) You can spend thousands of dollars on ads or

2) you can do good SEO. And including rich images is a key part of good SEO.

Search engine optimization, or ‘SEO’, is the practice of optimizing your website for search engines.

You want it to be as easy as possible for Google (and other search engines) to understand what your website is about, so they can show it to relevant users. The better your site’s search engine optimized, the more likely it is to appear at the top of search results, and the more likely customers are to be eager to find you.

Remember that Google is just a robot. It scans your site, looking for certain metrics like tags, headlines, and written content to understand what your business is about. When you scan your site, you also look at images, so good, optimized images can help your overall SEO.

Case in point: Content with images gets 94% more views than those without. So if you want more traffic, you have to use more photos on your website.

Of course, this only works if you use relevant images and follow best practices, which we’ll cover later.

2. Images can help brand your company

The right images can bring your brand to life in a way that text just can’t. Neuroscientists have found that we can identify images seen as fast as 13 milliseconds. That is much faster than the blink of an eye. When you use attractive images on your website, a visitor will start to understand your brand immediately.

If you haven’t spent time developing your brand, check out my tips on creating a unique brand identity.

And if you’ve spent time developing your brand, put it into practice! You don’t want your logo not to be seen on business cards. Get people to connect with you right away, wherever they find you.

For example, by using a captivating image of a powerful businesswoman at the top of its website, Douma Leadership immediately establishes its brand in the female leadership niche.

Remember that graphics are also images you can use, offering a great way to subtly incorporate your brand elements and colors into your web design. You should add all kinds of visual content to your site, helping people connect with your brand right away.

Remember also that the images you use on your website can also be used on social media. The best images for web content will generally perform very well on multiple platforms as well.

None of this means that good written content is not important on your website either. It simply means that good images have an immediate and lasting impact, which brings us to the final reason for using them in your web design.

3. Images keep users interested

People are visual creatures. We love looking at nice and interesting things. This is especially true for the 65% of the population who are visually learners.

For example, by adding images, our Magic Home Staging client makes it much more likely that users will keep reading your list of design ideas.

Adding the right photos to your site is one of the easiest things you can do to captivate your audience. In fact, at least 38% of users will simply stop interacting with a site when it has an unattractive design.

On the other hand, a BuzzSumo study found that articles that used an image once every 75-100 words received twice as many shares on social media than articles with fewer images.

Combine this with the fact that people are busy and tend to scan websites. Dividing the text into shorter paragraphs and interspersing with interesting photos and infographics can help make your website more accessible and user-friendly.

Ultimately, images make your site more compelling and visually appealing, which means users are more likely to spend time on your website and remember you.

As a final note, Google figures out how long people interact with a website and reward engaging content. So when you use images to keep people on your website longer, your SEO will improve as well.

~~~~~~~~

READ: How to keep people on your website longer

It’s a simple equation: the more time people spend on your website, the more likely they are to convert to leads or sales.

So … do your website visitors like what they see when they land on your site, or do they leave after a few seconds?

Are they choosing to buy something from you or are they abandoning their cart before making a purchase?

Statistics show that the average web user spends only a few seconds on a website before deciding whether to stay or leave. That means you don’t have a lot of time to make a good first impression.

Read more on our website.

~~~~~~~~

How to use photos on your website

Your website will only get the benefits of images if you use them correctly. Here are some of the best practices to keep in mind when using photos and graphics in web design:

? Keep your photos relevant. They must match the text they are illustrating. And use captions when adding photos to blog posts.

? Keep the image file size small. Slow load times can negatively affect your SEO and user engagement. Images take longer to download than text, so too many large images can slow down your site (especially on mobile devices). This means you have to compress your images, which you can do in Adobe Photoshop or with online image compressors.

? Properly tag your images with search engine optimized keywords and phrases. The filename and tags of your images should be done with SEO in mind.

? Don’t overdo the graphics. Cheesy and poorly made graphics can look like advertisements, which people tend to overlook.

? Use pictures with real people as much as possibleas they can help users feel more connected to your site.

? Encourage users to share photos. on their own social platforms.

? Use only your own images or images you have purchased and you have the right to use. Give attribution when necessary.

As much as possible, it is best to use your own photos that you have taken professionally.

However, depending on your budget, this may not always be possible. In this case, you should use stock photos, but use them wisely. Try to choose photos that are not too staged or unrealistic.

For paid stock images, we like to use DepositPhotos.com. You can also find a beautiful variety of free photos on Unsplash that are free to use, without attribution or permissions, for all commercial and non-commercial purposes.

When used correctly, photos are one of the best ways to improve your website. But if misused, they easily mess up your design and slow down your site. This is especially true if you are unfamiliar with proper web design best practices.

My team helps small businesses connect with website design, along with branding, SEO, and digital marketing. And we are experts in finding the right images.

Chat with us today to get started with a professional branding showcasing your next business to get the leads and sales you want.

For the success of your business,

Susan

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *