Good Websites Have Good Photos

As soon as a visitor lands on your website they immediately start analyzing the credibility of your company and how well they will trust it. According to a study published in the journal Behaviour and Information Technology, it was found that first impressions of websites are made in the first 50 milliseconds of viewing. That is faster than we blink our eyes! So, creating a great first impression on your website is extremely important. Fortunately, there is a great way to easily and quickly leave a lasting and positive first impression, using good photography.

Well-placed photos help make websites a lot more interesting. Images make visitors stop and pay attention to your site. They also help users recognize articles, links, stories, and many other features and content. The chosen photos should always have something to do with your products, services or the message your company wants to send. Just showing great photos that have nothing do with what you are offering could hurt your potential customers’ trust.

Do not cut corners with photography. The right photos make a huge difference on how effective your website is. I have seen many well designed websites that offer amazing products be ruined by poorly-chosen or low-quality photographs. Bad photos can potentially damage your website’s credibility. The best option would be to be to hire a professional photographer to create unique photos tailored specifically for your site. These kinds of photos typically do extremely well and go perfectly with your branding. If that is not possible, the next best option is to choose stock photography that represents your company well and is not too generic or over-used. If neither is possible, consider not using photography at all. Not having photos as a part of your design is much better than using bad photos.

Here are some things to remember when considering photography for your website:
• Always use professional photos.
• Bigger photos have bigger visual impact.
• Photos of people are generally good – people relate to seeing other people.
• Use photos of real people, the actual people behind your product or service.
• Fewer, bolder photos are better than lots of little photos. It’s about quality, not quantity.
• Look at your competitor’s websites and choose photography that is distinct from theirs.

At Ilfusion, we offer photography services alongside our web design and development services. When we take photos for our clients, we make sure the images we create seamlessly flow into the overall website design to give your viewers that amazing first impression you are aiming for.