20 Actionable Tips on Using Images for Web Design
Did you know? According to a survey by Researchers, over 60% of the population is visual learners. Images are easier for our brains to process than text, which is why incorporating visuals into your web design is so important.
Images can help tell your brand’s story, add personality to your website, and explain complex concepts quickly and easily. But if they’re not used correctly, images can also make your website look unprofessional and dated.
So how can you use images effectively on your website? Here are 20 tips to help you get started:
- Choose images that are high quality and relevant to your brand.
This will ensure that they look good on all devices, and help keep your website looking polished and professional.
61% of consumers are more likely to buy from a website that uses high-quality images. This means that if your images are poor quality, you could be losing out on customers.
- Use images that are optimized for the web.
Images make up 64% of the average web page’s total size. With this in mind, you need to make sure that the images you use are optimized for fast loading times.
This means they should be the right size and format, so they load quickly without slowing down your website.
- Use responsive images.
These images will automatically adjust to fit the device they’re being viewed on, ensuring that they always look good.
Websites with responsive images load 15% faster than those without responsive images.
- Use images to help tell your brand’s story.
Whether you use high-quality product photography or fun illustrations, using images that evoke emotion is a great way to connect with your audience and form an emotional connection with them.
- Consider using infographics or data visualizations to explain complex concepts.
Images can often do a much better job of explaining topics than text alone, so if you’re trying to convey a lot of information quickly and easily, an infographic or data visualization might be the perfect solution.
- Use images that help set the tone and create a mood for your website.
Whether you’re trying to make your website feel inviting or create a sense of urgency, images can help convey these emotions and drive action from your audience.
- Use images that are relevant to the content on the page.
Images that don’t match the tone or message of your other content can stick out like a sore thumb and make your website look disorganized.
- Use images to highlight key points or call attention to important information.
If there’s something you want your audience to remember, consider using an image to help drive home the point. Just be sure not to overuse images for this purpose, as too many can start to look like clutter.
- Use images to break up long blocks of text.
If you have a lot of text on your website, consider using images to break it up into smaller, more manageable chunks. This will make your content easier to read and help keep your audience’s attention focused.
- Use images to create a visual hierarchy.
This means using images of different sizes, colors, and orientations to create a visual structure on your page that helps guide your audience’s eye to the most important information.
- Use alt text for your images.
Alt-text is the text that appears when an image doesn’t load, so it’s important that they accurately describe your image to help search engines understand what the image is about.
- Use captions to provide additional context for your images.
Captions are a great way to explain what’s happening in an image and provide information that helps add value for your audience. Just be sure that they don’t take up too much space or distract from the main content of your page.
- Use images to draw attention to calls-to-action, buttons, and other important elements on your website.
Images can help these elements stand out more clearly on your page, which should help increase their conversion rate.
- Use images that are relevant to the overall tone and message of your website.
This will help ensure that all of your images are working together to create a cohesive look and feel for your site, which will encourage visitors to stay longer and engage more with your content.
- Always use high-quality images that accurately represent your brand.
This means using images that are well-lit, in focus, and free of any distractions or clutter. Remember that your website is a reflection of your brand, so you want to make sure that all of your images reflect the quality and professionalism of your business.
- Make sure all of your images are properly formatted before uploading them.
This means ensuring that your images are the correct dimensions and resolution, aren’t too large in file size, and don’t contain any unnecessary metadata. By doing this, you can help ensure that they will load quickly and look great on any device or screen size.
- Consider using stock photos to fill in any gaps in your image library.
If you’re having trouble finding the right image to use, there are a number of stock photo sites that offer high-quality images that you can use on your website. Just be sure to read the terms of use before using any of these images, as some sites require attribution.
- Test different images and image types to find the ones that work best for your website.
Every website is unique, so what works well on one site might not necessarily work as well on yours. Try testing different types of images and image styles to see which ones are most engaging for your audience and have the highest conversion rates.
- Keep track of which images are performing best and use them as frequently as possible.
This will help you continually improve the effectiveness of your website by building on the ideas and trends that seem to be working well for you. Additionally, it can also help reduce the amount of time you spend searching for suitable images to use on your site.
- Regularly update your website’s images to keep your content fresh.
This means adding new images, removing outdated ones, and changing up the image layout on your pages on a regular basis. By doing this, you can help ensure that your site always looks its best and that visitors have a reason to keep coming back.
Images are an important part of any website and can help to improve the overall look, feel, and message of your site. However, it’s important to use them strategically in order to maximize their impact. Keep these tips in mind when adding images to your website to ensure that they are working hard for you!
