When it comes to eCommerce, visual elements are essential to properly introduce your products to your audience and give them a reason to stay. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about Shopify images — ideal sizes, how to compress and upload them, and of course, the best practices for eCommerce.
Shopify Image Size
In order to maintain a consistent look for your online store, you need to start by learning how big your pictures’ dimensions and file sizes should be. In general, Shopify allows you to upload images with dimensions as big as 4472×4472 pixels, and a file size up to 20 MB.
Even though those are the general rules, that doesn’t mean they are best practices. You need to consider your site’s loading speed, as well as search engine optimization (SEO) when you’re uploading images to your Shopify store. This is because keeping your image file size small is an easy and effective way to address potential loading speed and SEO issues.
What’s very important to mention, is that Shopify has a built-in image compression system, and will try to adjust the size of every image you upload.
Banner Image Size
With Shopify, you have the possibility of adding two types of banners to your site, in the widescreen and fixed height formats. The best option is to use an image with dimensions of 1920×1080, and at most a size of 200 KB. Because sometimes it’s the most prominent element on the page, it’s important to maintain a high-quality resolution even with the small file size. This can be managed by using a third-party image editor program or a Shopify app.
Product Image Size
The product images you choose for your site need to have the right size and format, too. Since a product can feature up to five images, it’s important for them to have a consistent size. In general, it’s best to use images with dimensions of 1024×1024 for products, and the file size shouldn’t be larger than 100 KB.
Favicon Image Size
The favicon is the identity of your entire site, and it’s one of the first things that loads when someone visits your page. Since it’s a very small element, you don’t need to worry a lot about its size, but it should be a square of 32×32 pixels and not larger than 30 KB.
How To Upload Images to Shopify
There are two ways you can upload images to Shopify, depending on your management system.
Upload Images to the Media Storage
In order to upload images to the media storage, you need to go into Settings located in the bottom left corner of the Dashboard.
After you open Settings, it’s time to go into the Files tab.
And now, simply click on the “Upload files” button and select the files you want to add to the media storage.
Upload Images Directly on the Product Page
The second method is to upload images directly on the product page, and you can easily do this in any of the following ways when you create a new product:
- Click on the “Add file” button
- Drag and drop your image files
- Embed an image from a different website by using the image’s link address
When it comes to embedding an image, it’s best not to use a URL from another website. Not only is it possible to run across potential copyright issues, but you also run the risk of having a broken image if that website ever changes the URL or removes the file from their system.
How To Resize Images
In order to resize images for your Shopify store, you can use two methods. It’s very important that your images are small and easy for the visitor’s computer to render, so anyone who visits your site will be able to view your products without having to wait for the page to load.
Use an Image Editor
The fastest way to resize images for Shopify is by using a third-party image editor like Photoshop or GIMP (a free open-source alternative).
In Photoshop, you can use the built-in Image Processor, and bulk resize your images. You can do that by opening Photoshop, and selecting the “Image Processor” found under File > Scripts.
The image processor will open, and you will be able to select the image source (which can either be a folder on your computer or the images you have open in Photoshop), the location of your compressed images, and the image quality and size.
Use an Image Editing App in Shopify
In the Shopify app store, you can find several apps that will compress and optimize your images. One of the best options is the Image Optimizer + Compression app that optimizes the image size and also tries to understand the image’s purpose and create proper alt tags for better SEO.
Utilizing Stock Images for eCommerce
Most online stores use stock images because it’s a lot more convenient than hiring a photographer to build the image of the brand. Of course, this comes with advantages and disadvantages.
In general, stock images are not very expensive, and there are millions you can choose from. The problem comes in, though, when the photos are not original, or they are featured on many different websites. Lack of originality becomes a problem in terms of SEO, and it’s commonly known that your store’s rankings may suffer if the content is not 100% unique.
Another important thing worth mentioning is that images on the internet may be copyrighted, meaning that you need to have a licence or permission from the author to use them. If you’re caught using a copyrighted image without proper permission, it’s possible for the copyright owner to take legal action against you including monetary damages.
Shopify Burst
Shopify Burst is one of the best options when you need free and high-quality images for your business. Since it’s a Shopify project, you can use the images directly on your online store by searching for a picture when prompted, or simply downloading them from the website.
What’s important to mention about Shopify Burst is the fact that all the images are curated with business purposes in mind, meaning that you won’t be able to find creative shots. On the same note, because of this, their database is not very big, and some businesses may not find the right images.
Other Stock Image Platforms
Other platforms where you can get free or paid stock images for your website are as follows:
1. Unsplash
Unsplash is very similar to Shopify Burst, but you can find all kinds of images, from eCommerce to highly artistic shots. It’s a free platform, and all you need to do is attribute the author.
2. Getty Images
Getty Images is considered to be one of the most exclusive stock images platforms. The contributors are selected based on their work, meaning that not everyone will be able to publish there. Prices are quite high, starting from $150 for a single, low-resolution image.
3. Dreamstime
Being one of the oldest stock images platforms, Dreamstime is also a Google Partner. Prices are a little more accessible, starting from $20 for five monthly images.
4. Shutterstock
Shutterstock has one of the biggest databases, and it can be hard not to find the image you’re looking for. Prices start from $49 a month with 10 downloads included, but you can also make one-time purchases if you don’t need a full package.
Best Practices for eCommerce Images
1. Ask your suppliers for product images
If you own a dropshipping business, you can ask your suppliers to send you images of the products. This way, you will be able to create relevant listings and not have to worry about copyrights.
2. Use royalty-free images
There are quite a few platforms you can use in order to download high-quality and royalty-free images. You will also be provided with a license to use the images for a commercial purpose.
3. Use screenshots
Whenever you want to make a blog article and feature something from another site that you find helpful for the reader, you can use screenshots of that product freely. The only rule is that you can’t change any of the information provided within the screenshot.
4. Use infographics
Infographics are becoming a standard and will catch any visitor’s attention if they’re made properly. You can hire a graphic designer, or find a template on a royalty-free vector platform that lets you build your own infographics from scratch.
5. Hire a photographer
Without a doubt, it’s best if you hire a photographer to take pictures for your business. This way you can make sure that every single one of your images is unique and you have full rights to use and modify them however you want.
If you do this, we suggest protecting your copyrighted images with the Cozy AntiTheft app that prevents content theft by competitors. The Shopify app works by disabling the visitor’s ability to copy text and images from your website no matter what type of device they’re using.
Make Your Shopify Images a Priority
You must pay very close attention to your store’s images because they are a primary factor in whether or not visitors will choose to buy your products. Furthermore, image files have a direct impact on accessibility and SEO. It can take time to optimize your images, but with bulk editing tools like those available in Photoshop or Shopify apps, a lot of the hard work can be done for you.
For more actions you can take to make your site rank, be sure to read our guide to Shopify SEO.
