Small businesses, especially when being slightly green and in the process of gaining trust, need to pay much more attention to the visual part of their web presence. An inferior product or service cannot be saved with beautiful pictures alone, but it doesn’t have much of a chance to make its way to customers without strong visual support either.

People are more prone to paying attention to easily digestible images, which are pleasing to the eyes and take on a significant part of a great brand message. There are several points to keep in mind when choosing stock photos and illustrations, which can deliver a brand’s message accurately.

1. Uniform style

Taking care of details that craft your overall brand image like colours and style is essential. Images you use should be recognisable and relevant for your brand. You want to make sure the quality of imagery is also high, if you do not produce visual content in-house,  you can get it on platforms like Depositphotos. For instance, you can look after images with a particular colour palette, orientation, theme, and other characteristics, or from a particular photographer – that will save you much time.

2. Quality Counts

A harmonious selection of pictures, filters, and colours can save a website that looks haphazardly thrown together on the fly. Thus, just by swapping in the photos of the proper quality, you can instantly:

• Make your products look more desirable
• Give your website a more expensive look and feel
• Make your brand more appealing, professional, and trustworthy

Poorly edited images and grainy photographs might still look OK, but once they are put on a small business website, they become a complete deal-killer. Don’t try to make an image larger than it is, to avoid distortion. Be sure to select only high-resolution photographs in optimal file sizes. They will look professional and have an optimal loading time.

3. People love people

Photography helps people feel connected through the content it shows. For this reason, using photos of animals or people instantly creates some sort of emotional connection to your brand. Even if you are going to use regular lifestyle or epic background photos, it is always a good idea to have at least the suggestion of people included.

4. Behind-the-scenes photos

Featuring professional photos of your teammates is a great way to stand out from competitors. The more connected to your website users are, the more inclined they’ll be to become your customers. That’s why using friendly shots of your team is always a good idea. Consider publishing them on ‘About us’ or any other relevant website page.

5. Originality

Some small business websites are so overwhelmed with visuals, that customers become very ‘image-savvy’, meaning that it becomes more difficult to impress them with an image from the stock. Be sure you consider the following recommendations while making your choice:

• Staged photos – These are no longer a good fit for any small business website, as they look too artificial. Go for images that offer some sort of emotional impact on the viewer.
• Licensing agreements – If you are limited on budget and don’t want to buy photos, be careful when selecting them. Always contact the original owner of a photo to ask them for permission to use that image in your specific case.
• Reliable sources – Though it is possible to find some royalty-free photos in Creative Commons, often you’ll need a more specific photo of a subject. For this reason alone, be sure you take photos from a reliable source, e.g. a reputable photo stock.

Choosing the right imagery for your small business site does not seem to be a big deal, but it has a significant impact on the way your brand looks and feels.

Strike the right balance between visual and textual content. Whatever your initial purpose is – whether it is building a brand new small business website or updating an existing one – be sure to make the selection of the right imagery your top priority.