Which Photos Should You Put on Your Business Website?

Start with what a customer wants to recognise

Think about someone visiting your website for the first time. They might want to see the person who will turn up at their door, the shop they are planning to visit or the sort of work your company actually does. Your photos should answer those questions rather than simply fill empty space.

If you run a cleaning company, a photograph of your team at work may tell people more than a stock picture of a spotless kitchen. If you are a tradesperson, pictures of finished jobs help customers understand the projects you take on. For a salon or café, the premises and people are often worth showing.

You do not need a professional photoshoot to begin. A few genuine, well-lit pictures taken on a decent phone can be more useful than polished but unrelated images.

Choose pictures that explain your service

Give every main picture a job. The first might introduce the business; another might show your work; a third might make it easier to recognise the location. Ask what a visitor learns from each one. If the answer is "nothing", the image may not be needed.

Include a sensible mix of people, places and finished work where those subjects fit your business. Keep backgrounds tidy, make the subject easy to see and avoid putting important details right at the edge. Website layouts often crop images differently on phones and larger screens.

Do not worry about filling every page with photographs. A clear explanation of your service and how to contact you matters more than decoration.

A useful selection might include:

• One clear image introducing your business.
• A few examples of services, products or finished work.
• Your premises, vehicle or team if customers need to recognise them.
• Close-ups that genuinely help explain quality or process.

Check that you are allowed to use every image

Finding a picture on Google or social media does not mean it is free to use on a business website.

Photographs are generally protected by copyright. The UK Intellectual Property Office explains that using someone else's image online will often require permission or a suitable licence. Keep a record of where pictures came from.

If a photographer took pictures for your business, check the agreement rather than assuming payment transferred every right. If you buy stock photography, read the licence and make sure it allows commercial use. Some images also require a credit.

Be considerate when photographs show identifiable customers, staff or children. Explain the intended use and obtain appropriate permission where needed.

If you cannot confirm that a picture is suitable, use another one. Check for private paperwork, customer addresses or vehicle registrations accidentally visible behind the subject.

Make sure they look good and work on phones

Look at each image on a phone as well as a computer.

Can you still see the subject? Is someone's face cut off? Does a photograph contain tiny text that becomes impossible to read?

Choose a straightforward picture over a crop that hides what matters.

Very large image files can make pages slower to load. Ask your website provider to use suitable image sizes and formats rather than uploading every original at maximum size.

Google's guidance recommends balancing sharp images with faster loading and layouts that work on different devices.

Pictures should also be understandable to people who cannot see them.

A short description, called alternative text, can explain an image carrying useful information. W3C accessibility guidance says purely decorative images do not need a spoken description. Good descriptions explain what is relevant, without repeating search terms.

Send your website designer a simple photo pack

Put chosen pictures into one clearly named folder before the build starts.

Use names such as "team-outside-shop" or "salon-front-entrance" rather than camera file numbers. Add a note saying what each photograph shows.

For SANTRIL Website Launch, the published process asks customers to complete an intake and provide business details, content and assets before production begins. Supplying usable photographs at that stage helps avoid back-and-forth.

Before sending your pictures:

• Choose the strongest photos, not every picture on your phone.
• Confirm ownership or the licence allowing website use.
• Remove private information visible in the background.
• Tell the designer which image belongs with which service.