How to optimize product photos and boost sales

Online shoppers look good and hard at the photograph of an item before buying. Your website photos could make or break a sale. Top quality product photos that encourage sales have the following characteristics:

• Clear and sharp
• Front, side, and rear views
• Large enough to show details
• Accurate color
• High contrast
• Fast download  

Clear and sharp – means just that. No blurry outlines. Identification of the product should be obvious.

Front, side, and rear views – gives the buyer a good idea of the overall dimensions of the product. Important especially for tech gadgets such as computers and cameras that have connectors on the side and back.

Large enough to show details – buyers are frustrated when they see a little blob and have to guess what it is or what it does. Enough said.

Accurate color – especially important for clothing, shoes, and accessories. Ensuring that the product exhibits accurate color online can minimize customer returns.

High contrast – one should easily be able to distinguish the item from the background. Light against dark or vice versa. The product should ‘pop’ from its background.

Fast download – online shoppers don’t like to wait and will abandon a site before a long download is complete. For a quick appearance, limit your photos to no more than 50kb in size, preferably less.
  
As a buyer, what are some of the things you would like to see in product photos?

Coming up in my next post . . . How to keep customers coming back with useable shopping carts and forms.