Optimizing your product images for size, proportion, sharpness, and format will help you better present your goods. Product image is the first thing the potential buyer notices about the product. There is a saying "A picture is worth a thousand words". Optimizing your product images will drive customer engagement on your site and increase its conversion rate.
Image Size
All images have two properties: pixels (px) which refers to the screen space images take, and a number of kilobytes (KB) which refers to the storage volume images occupy on a server.
The size of product images on the catalog pages can be selected in your Configuration > Design menu.
While Online Store supports images of any size and optimizes them to fit into your customer’s screen, large images can slow down your website. Downloading large image files, especially to mobile devices, can be quite a challenge for users. Compress your images to eliminate that problem and speed up your page load time. You'll find an array of image editing tools online such as TinyJPG and JPEGmini.
Image sharpness
After reducing an image, you probably noticed a loss of sharpness. Most modern photo editors provide a "Save for web" option with a reduction algorithm that directly affects the sharpness. In Photoshop, we recommend that you use the image size under 1000 px and quality Bicubic Sharper.
Image proportions
The graphic design recognizes a limited set of standard proportions (1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 3:4, and 2:3) which are scientifically proven to be most pleasant for the human eye. Choosing one ratio for all images will give your store a structured and professional look. You can adjust the ratio for your images in the Image Aspect Ratio section in your Configuration > Design menu.
Image file format
Aside from the image size and ratio, an image file's format will affect the performance of your website on desktop computers and mobile devices. The three most common types of image files are JPG, GIF, and PNG.
- JPG is the standard format for Internet images as it can compress without compromising a picture's quality.
- GIF images are smaller than their JPG counterparts and are commonly used as animation and small vector graphic files.
- PNG is the largest type of image file which makes it ideal for large colorful images.
Select an appropriate format to give your images the highest quality even with the smallest size.
Multiple images
Images from multiple angles of the products give your visitor the feeling of actually holding the product. The "touch-and-feel" aspect of shopping is important.
Taking close-ups breaks the invisible barrier between your product and customers. A close-up allows them to scrutinize your product down to its tiniest detail.
We recommend shooting your product from as many angles as you can to give customers a three-dimensional view of what you're selling. That way, they can experience the item as if they've walked into your shop and touched it.
Higher quality images will give you a competitive edge. Don't miss out on the chance to increase conversions with better-quality images.