On a scale of one to ten, how important do you think it is to have pictures and illustrative designs on your business’ website? It’s probably no surprise to anyone that the ranking is pretty high because of the interaction they inspire. But what kinds of images and designs do the best to inspire customer interest?

Today, we will look at what images you should include in your website design and how to make your website layout look unique and professional. 

How Can Photos Help?

Why do you need images on a website besides product pictures? You’d be surprised how many different photos will benefit you to incorporate them into a design layout. Images make a business appear more personable and allow customers an inside look at who is behind a company’s mechanics and data charts. In addition, pictures can inspire greater appreciation for a business from customers and help create a better flow of information. 

Let’s look at some examples and how these image types can help your business’ website make a greater impact on customers.

About Us

This particular photographic element helps to give a human face to the business and lets customers see who they’re buying products from. Having a clean and friendly image with the company’s founder(s) displayed helps close the perceived gap that e-commerce sites can create between a business and its customers. 

This can be done using various settings or environments because the point of this picture is to let your customers see you and give them an idea of who you are as a person and not just a CEO. Especially if there’s more than one, you each bring a unique element to the company that will help persuade customers. 

If yours is a family business, include the whole family! Let your customers know that their needs and their family’s needs are important to you because they’re vital to theirs. Let your biography on your website showcase a real human presence that can be reached if a customer wants to know more and that they matter to who’s behind the sales quota. 

Employee Directory

 This one is a little similar to the ‘about us,’ except you’re giving customers and potential partners the chance to see who leads each business department and the best person to reach out to when they need something. Having this kind of visual representation gives businesses the chance to showcase the talent they possess and the loyalty they inspire with their employees. 

  Not every company chooses to use this; others do and later decide to remove the page, and there’s nothing technically wrong with either decision. Instead, this kind of imagery is meant to present openness with customers and help direct customers to the correct people within the company to answer their questions and address any concerns. 

If you want to have an employee directory, make sure the images are consistent and look personable so customers don’t dismiss the guide’s purpose. Try to have all employees use a similar background and take the picture from the same angle. This will help the page appear clean and concise. 

Office Photographs

This picture example is a fun way to show what life is like in your company, giving you the most creative license. Your company is yours to display, and you can do it however you want. These images will likely feature on your site’s homepage. They are meant to show your business’ intimacy and care for what it does and who it serves. 

You can include pictures taken during design meetings, office parties, or even customers interacting with products. The point of these images is to help paint a nice idea of your company’s morals and help show some ‘behind the scenes’ actions that paint you and your employees in a positive light. 

Have fun with these images if you choose to include them in your website designs because nothing is more influential than seeing others genuinely happy with what a company provides. For example, if you have a brick and mortar where you encourage customers to spend time with employees and learn more about what you do, then show that! If you have a warehouse or factory that does tours, broadcast them with images or even videos. 

Company-Related Photos

This last suggested image to include with websites is a set of images related to your company and how it got started. This is an excellent idea if you have a unique product or service, work with other companies or events to spread awareness about your company. If your business sponsors or takes part in an expo or festival, try including pictures from past events on the homepage to showcase alternative ways customers can meet and learn about you. 

 If you have a business that does fun activities like Family Day for the employees, show pictures that were taken and who’s in them (with their permission of course.) You want the images and designs that make up your website to invite people in and make them want to learn more about what your company does. 

Don't Want too Many Photos? No Problem!

If you don’t want to have many pictures of people on your homepage, you can include a far-out view of the workspaces within your company. Let people see what it’s like behind the ‘Employees Only’ doors and welcome them into your office. Pictures of life within the company show a real place with real people who help their customers and answer their problems however they can. As a business, that’s why you exist, so let people see it. 

Go on and Take Pictures

No matter how you pick and choose which imagery and design layouts you want to represent your company, make sure they all say something about you and what you want your customers to walk away from your site feeling. Make your website the best it can be and let your customers see your business for its actual value.