We’ve all heard the saying, a picture is worth a thousand words. Being a writer, I am not a big fan of that saying, but I can somewhat agree with that statement. A compelling image can be worth its weight in gold – especially on a website.
The interwebs are such a media rich space that a thoughtfully chosen image placed in the right spot can make people stop and take notice, staying on your page – and off of your competitor’s.
Sparrow studios wants to help you take or pick website photos that will enable your audience to not just browse your website, but experience it.
First thing is first, be geographically relevant. We are in Calgary, so if we were going to use a picture of a skyline it would probably include the saddledome, the Calgary tower, or the peace bridge – hell, even the impressively ugly giant blue ring would be pertinent and communicate our location. You may find THE MOST AMAZING photo of a brightly lit city at night, but if it says Vancouver when you are in Calgary, you’ve already shot yourself in the metaphorical foot.
You know what sells papers (or used to sell papers)? Compelling pictures of people on the front page. The same is true of website media. People would rather see a person in photo than anything else, it automatically makes it easier for people to imagine themselves in the setting. Let’s say that you are selling sofas. Having an image of a beautifully lit sofa in the most stunning room ever may help you sell a few of them, but display a person at peace and relaxed on said couch and you’ll double your sales.
In a perfect world your web design spurs action and will entice your audience to buy what you are selling whether that may be. Incorporate action shots, AKA images of people doing something. If you are a consulting firm it may be more difficult to find interesting action shots. Stock photography is the general go-to for office themed action stills, but stock photo sites are not all created equally. You may find some good royalty free stock images, but you will most likely need to put some money into purchasing interesting action shots or getting your own pictures taken. There is a good ol’ Canadian company Stocksy that is a good source of interesting stock photography and they even have quite a few beautiful images of Calgary as well.
Speaking of investing in pictures, when you invest a little time, money or both into your media you get high quality stills. Picture quality is one of the most important pieces of the website image puzzle. Choose photographs that look vibrant, rich and clear. High quality images also have the perk of being more editable than lower quality photos. You want a balance between loading time and quality, for a product image you likely don’t want an image over 30 kbs but for a full screen background image the size should be no bigger than 300. All of your should be optimized.
Last but not least we have purpose. It may seem like a simple no-brainer that we are even saying this but… if your pictures don’t have a purpose, don’t use them. Don’t use a photograph just because we said that it can boost your average session lengths and increase your conversion rates, use them because a picture is actually the best way to communicate the idea you have presented.
In theory, if you follow these guidelines you should choose some pretty kick ass pictures, if you are still struggling feel free to call us up and see how we can help.
