How to Properly Add Stock Photos to Your Website

Although images should not encompass the majority of your webpage, they are an essential addition to the content you post on your website. Images are used to illustrate your content and connect with your target audience. The more realistic an image looks, the stronger the connection between your words and your target audience’s interpretation. Even if the image is not directly related to the content, it can still be effective.

The only thing is how to procure these images (legally, without worrying about copyright laws). Sometimes stock photos may need to be used.

Why Stock Photos Can Work

Nowadays you don’t see many articles online advocating the use of stock photos. This statement is not exactly unwarranted. Many businesses are weary of using stock photos to represent their webpages. This is because while stock photos are inexpensive, readily available for immediate download, and can represent many different moods and tones of a website, they can be generic and uninspiring.

Despite this, some businesses may opt for stock photography due to budget constraints or an inability to obtain original images. And that is totally okay, so long as these stock images are used effectively and are relevant to your webpages. Choosing the right stock images requires a little innovation and careful selection, more thought than a last minute decision slapped onto the page. It’s just a matter of finding the right fit.

Choosing the Right Images for Your Website

What exactly is the right image? That depends on your content- what emotion you want to convey, and how you want your target audience to react to what you’re saying. No matter how relevant your content may be, just simply putting up a random, unfitting photo of a saturated blue sky or a smiling person will cause your target audience to become disconnected and disengaged with the content.  For example, if your audience is reading an article about anorexia, they will have trouble connecting with a radiant woman who looks like a swimsuit model.

Select subtle images that look realistic, accurately represent your content, and evoke a response from your audience. Your target audience will be able to relate more to your content if they see images that they can connect with on an emotional level. Remember that not all stock images are cookie-cutter molds or an extreme exaggeration of feelings and events. By choosing the right photos, the image will add emphasis and keep readers drawn into your business’s webpages.