The devil is truly in the detail when it comes to picking images for your advertising and website design.

Here is a simple guide to getting the right image.

Many business owners fall at the first hurdle which is the reality of the cost. Nothing is free these days and certainly not images and video.

A few reasonable image sites offer free subscription and a number of free images but be sure to check the licensing and attribution requirements before using them.

Just because it’s free or cheap doesn’t necessarily give you the right to use them when advertising or in your advertising and website design.

Here is a simple guide to getting the right image for your advertisements and website design.

If you’re good enough to take your own images, then shelling out for a professional camera is essential. If you’re not good enough, then you are either paying a photographer or you’re paying for stock images, both of which can become costly.

However, whatever the cost is, it is a worthy investment to your business and here are the reasons why –

Images that are below the standard quality consist of two types

1.Images that are unprofessional and have no thought or time taken over them.

For example, images taken in a bad light, with a mobile phone, in messy surroundings or not in a situation consistent or appropriate to the business will look cheap and nasty.

2. Images that are small, pixelated and incorrectly downloaded.

Images that have been downloaded from other websites without subscription or fee can be small and inadequate but also in downloading and publishing these images, you are breaking the law and will pay a hefty fine.

When using such images you lower the standard of your advertising and therefore your website and brand perception.

Consumers frown upon shoddy imagery. Unfortunately, this can be perceived as untrustworthy.

Images that become pixelated when viewed on a large screen can lose details which may be the selling point of your product.

It is also important (when you have the correct imagery) to use it strategically. Use your images to complement your content, encouraging your readers to share and pass on your content.

This will, in turn, improve your organic reach, paying you back some of the cost for great imagery!

Blogs with the right imagery will also increase your views. Statistics show blogs with images receive 94% more views than blogs without!

Below are some before and after images of what good imagery can do to your page, your advertisements and website!

 

website design - example of a bad website

 

Image 1

As you can see in this we have some dark pixelated images. One of which was taken on a mobile phone. The logo has also been downloaded and stretched beyond its capacity. As an example, I have also placed text on the page as an image which, depending on the screen size it is viewed on, can either be too small or over-pixelated and unreadable.

The overall effect is not only unreadable but also unprofessional.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

website design - a example of a good website

Image 2

Image two is taken from our existing site. As you can see from the difference between the two, the image used here is clear and crisp. The font is evenly spaced and readable and the page is broken down to make it more pleasing to the eye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is just one example of the difference good imagery can make to a page.

It is important when trying to gain new sales that the potential customer feels a sense of trust, and this comes from recognising quality. So don’t scrimp on the creative content on your page!

 

If you’re looking for more ways to improve your content marketing, or want more advice on imagery, where to go for images, or getting your images to enhance your SEO then speak to one of our professional creative designers – call us on 01803 525140 or click here to get in touch.