The right website imagery can have a positive impact on just about everything, from how engaging your site is to your conversion rate. This means that you need to put some thought into what imagery is right for your website!
In this article, we’re going to outline five great ways you can use website imagery to benefit your business. Let’s get started.
Use photos of your staff to humanize your business
Humanizing your business can help you build stronger connections with your customers. And the right imagery can really help you do this, as it offers a great way to introduce your team and put a face to your business.
Consider taking photos of your individual employees or your team at work. You can display these on relevant web pages, like in a blog post about your employees or on your “About Us” page. This will help you build a relationship with website visitors, making it more likely that they’ll trust you and want to make a purchase.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that humanize themselves through imagery for inspiration.
Alabama Attorney Sarah S. Shepard humanizes herself on her “About” page. As you can see above, Shepard has an image of herself smiling and looking professional next to a paragraph that outlines her expertise. With this image, she puts a face to her name and makes her business seem much less intimidating. This is a very important strategy for a lawyer in particular — legal services can be unnerving but, by showing that she’s just a normal, friendly person, Alabama Attorney Sarah S. Shepard can humanize her business and encourage people to work with her.
On your “About” page, consider implementing a similar strategy. Use pictures of yourself or your employees! This will show website visitors that your company is run by real people and not a faceless corporation. This will make website visitors more likely to make a purchase with you.
Adobe Singapore humanizes their business throughout their blog. For instance, one article announces that they ranked #4 on the list of Singapore Best Workplaces. The image above shows employees at an after-work gathering, smiling, eating, and having a great time. This shows that Adobe isn’t just a huge corporation — their team is full of cheerful people that work hard and play hard. By showing off this image, Adobe Singapore humanizes their business and makes it more likely that website visitors will want to make a purchase.
On your website, consider using pictures of your employees having a great time at work or at an after-hours event. This will help your website visitors relate better to your employees, building trust with your business and encouraging them to make a purchase with you.
Focus on trying to evoke an emotional response from visitors
If you’re able to inspire a strong emotion in your customers, they’ll be far more likely to shop with you. Depending on what you sell, there’s a lot of different emotive images you could use.
Here are a few examples of ways you can stir up emotions in your customers with imagery:
- Happiness: Everyone likes to be happy! Show off images of your customers enjoying their lives as they use your products.
- Sadness or fear: Show images of people who are upset because they have a problem your business can solve.
- Belonging: Show families or communities using your products to show that your items will make them feel less alone.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that use emotional imagery on their websites for inspiration.
Chiropractor Calgary, a chiropractic and massage office in Canada, uses emotional imagery on their homepage. In the image above, you can see a woman with back pain. This image is meant to be relatable to the website visitor. After looking at the image, they’ll want to relieve their pain, as this woman presumably is. This makes them more likely to get in touch with Chiropractor Calgary.
On your website, you can achieve a similar effect with your imagery. Use pictures of people who represent your customers having the same problems that they are. This will help them relate to your business more, making it more likely that they’ll want to spend money with you.
Intelius, a public records business, uses emotional imagery on their homepage, as well. Take a look at the image above. Behind their search tool is a picture of a group of happy people who have presumably just been reunited. This image encourages website visitors to start thinking about people they have lost contact with, which will make them want to use Intelius’s services.
Use images of happy people on your website! Most businesses can do this in some capacity — show people who are happy because you solved their problems or people having fun using your products or services. This type of emotional imagery will make them want to make a purchase with you.
Use imagery to show how your products or services work
People like to make informed purchases. If you show how your products or services work with imagery, you can increase your chances of making a sale! Additionally, you’ll give your website visitors a better idea of what they’ll get from your company, helping to improve your customer experience and leading to happier customers. Product photography, GIFs, or graphics that show how your service or program works, as well as photos of your products actually being used can all help with this.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of businesses that use imagery to show how their products and services work for inspiration.
At Loganix, we use screenshots and graphics to show people how our link building services work. For instance, in the guest posting service section you can see above, there is an image of what a user’s screen looks like while getting set up. This gives website visitors a better idea of what to expect from Loganix’s services, making them more likely to make a purchase.
On your website, show off how your products and services work! You might want to show visitors your products in action or provide an image of people setting up your services. This will help to give them a better idea of what your company can do for them, making them more likely to want to make a purchase.
Apple shows off how their products and services work on their Apple Pay page. As you can see in the image above, there is an image of what an Apple Watch and an iPhone being used in a store would look like near a reader. There is also an image of a MacBook using Apple Pay to shop online. This gives website visitors a better idea of how Apple Pay works with their Apple Devices. By showing off how the program works, Apple makes it more likely that people will want to use it.
On your website, show off images of your products or services in action. This will help your website visitors better understand how they work, making it more likely that they’ll want to spend money with your business.
Try to show off your brand’s personality
If you want people to feel connected to your brand, you need to show off your brand personality! Keep in mind that brand personalities will differ from company to company. For instance, a kids’ toy company will likely use a lot of colorful images, while a law firm will want to use more polished and professional imagery. Think about how your customers will want to be communicated with, and keep that in mind when choosing imagery.
Let’s take a look at an example of a business that shows off its personality in its website imagery for inspiration.
SodaStream, a retailer of sparkling water makers, shows off their personality on their homepage. Take a look at the image of their holiday setup above. They have an image of their products on a bar cart with various holiday drinks. This image shows off SodaStream’s personality well — it conveys that they’re about having fun and celebrating. This image will get website visitors excited about their upcoming parties, making them more likely to spend money with SodaStream.
On your website, show off images of how you like your products to be used, such as in a family or party setting. This will help you show off your personality and better connect with website visitors, making it more likely that they’ll make a purchase.
Show visitors what it’s like to be a customer
If you can help your customers imagine themselves using your products or services, they’ll be far more likely to buy them. You can help people do this effectively with images of people who represent them.
Keep in mind that it’s important to use real people in your images, as opposed to aspirational models. Real people are more likely to seem relatable to your website visitors.
You can use user-generated content from your customers, too. If people see that your customers are ordinary people just like them and they love your products or services, they’ll be more likely to trust you and make a purchase. Just be sure to ask for permission before using customers’ work, and credit them when you share it on your website.
Let’s take a look at an example of a business that uses imagery to show visitors what it’s like to be a customer for inspiration.
A Gift Personalized, a retailer of custom presents, shows visitors what it’s like to be a customer on their homepage. Take a look at the hero image in the screenshot above. A Gift Personalized has a rotating carousel of their products with various initial and name personalizations. This gets a customer to start thinking about what their own friends and family’s names would look like on these products, getting them excited and encouraging them to make a purchase.
Show off imagery on your website that helps a customer imagine what it would be like to incorporate your products or services into their lives. This will help them get excited about your products and make it more likely that they’ll make a purchase.
Summary
Imagery is one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal. It can help you market your products, engage your target audience, and so much more. In this article, we outlined five different ways that you can use imagery on your business’s website. Take a look at your site today and see what needs to be improved!
Author bio
Adam Steele is the COO at Loganix, an SEO fulfillment partner for agencies and marketers. We build easy-to-use SEO services that help businesses scale. If you liked this article, please check out our SEO guides and templates on the Loganix blog.