Photos for your website: what you need and how to prepare them
Which photos a small business needs, own versus stock images, size and format for speed, descriptions for accessibility and the rights to use a picture.
Photos are often what slows a website down, and also what makes it feel real. To be clear about my role: I do not take photographs or write texts, the photos come from you. What I do is prepare them properly for the web. Here is what to think about before the work starts.
Which photos are worth having
- People. You and your team. Visitors like to see who they will deal with.
- Premises. The entrance, so customers can find you, and the inside.
- Your work. Finished results, products and the way you work.
- Products on a plain background, if you run an e-shop.
- The logo in good quality, ideally as a vector file.
Your own or stock
Your own photos show the real business and build trust. Stock images are generic, and the same picture may appear on a competitor’s site. Stock can be fine for an abstract background, but never for “our team” or “our workshop”. Photos from a phone in good daylight can work well. A professional photographer is worth it for the main pages, and finding one is your decision.
Size and format for speed
- Oversized images are one of the usual reasons pages load slowly. More in what slows a website down.
- A photo straight from a camera or phone is far larger than a page needs. It should be resized to the size it is shown at.
- Modern formats such as WebP are usually smaller than JPEG at similar quality. I handle the conversion and sizing, so bring the best originals you have.
- Send the original files, not copies compressed by a messaging app.
Descriptions for accessibility
Every meaningful image needs a short text alternative (alt text) for people who use a screen reader or have images switched off. Describe what the picture shows, for example “Hairdresser colouring a client’s hair in the salon”. Decorative images can have an empty description. Do not stuff keywords into it. Text written inside an image cannot be read by a screen reader either, so keep important information in real text.
Rights to use
- If a photographer took the pictures, check the agreement says you may use them on your website.
- For stock images, read the licence. Some require a credit, and not all allow commercial use.
- Do not copy images from search results or from other companies’ sites.
- If people are recognisable, get their consent. This applies to staff and customers. If in doubt, ask a lawyer.
What else to gather is listed in what to prepare before a website. If you are planning a new site, see website development in Bratislava or write to me.