A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

Technology and the internet has moved at what feels like the speed of lightening in the last 20 years and with that our browsing behaviour has become more refined and sophisticated. One of the ways this has manifested itself is through imagery. This can be seen very clearly through social media. Both Facebook and Twitter have their origins in the written word, yet are having to invest more and more time and money into developing their image and video services to keep up with demand, while both Pinterest and Instagram barely use the written word at all. The age old phrase ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ has never been more pertinent.

It’s true that science shows that our brains are able to process images more readily than text, but also, users have become more savvy. They now expect more advanced features than in the past. Companies such as ASOS, who have allowed their customers to participate in a kind of virtual catwalk, have shown us that images can provide the kind of fine detail and product features that are necessary if websites are going to attempt to try and create a virtual shopping experience to rival the real thing.

Even if your website doesn’t need to compete in the world of ecommerce, images sell the lifestyle or an ideal that your company wants to present. A significant amount of traffic to websites is driven by Google’s image search, emphasising the need for time and effort to be put into your website’s imagery.

In order to make sure that you do indeed make the best use of imagery in your website, there are a number of best practises to bear in mind. These points will help ensure your imagery is as high quality as it can be.

• Make sure that the images are relevant. Users tend to ignore them if they are just their for the sake of it.
• Pictures of people are generally more appealing. Make sure that the the image ties in with what you’re trying to say through your website.
• Keep to one visual style and remain consistent throughout.
• Use images to illustrate a concept such as the dimensions, colour or usage of a product

A great website can thrive or flounder on the strength of its imagery. If you want to build a website that is a visual reflection of your business, your product or service and your message Purplebox Digital can help. Get in touch with our team to discuss your website and imagery needs.