Top 8 Types of Website Imagery for Your Website

We consume imagery every day, from adverts to YouTube videos to our Instagram feed.

Having good imagery on your website is essential! Not only does website imagery create a positive first impression on visitors — especially since people’s attention spans are increasingly short — but it also has the power to influence users into taking action, and guide them towards engaging with your content or services.

Besides being effective with visitors, website imagery can also help you behind the scenes by boosting your engagement organically and amplifying your brand across search engines.

Find Out More

• Learn How To Create Visual Content for our top tips for non-designers looking to boost engagement.
• See our detailed guide to help optimize your images for SEO

Here are the eight top types of website imagery that you could use for your website:

Stock photos are existing images that can be licensed for business or creative purposes, and are usually sourced through online image libraries, such as Unsplash or Pexels.

They’re a great option for websites that do not need branded visuals, and instead, want to use more universal or generic images to convey a message. If you don’t have the budget or time to get professional imagery, stock photos are a handy resource to tap into.

The downside to stock photos is that your website might seem less unique in comparison to others, and the images won’t show a true reflection of your company or services. If you do want to use this type of website imagery, do so sparingly and make sure the visuals you choose are relevant to your website.

Custom photos are a great way to make your website stand out. From product photography to team photos, this form of website imagery can help you achieve a cohesive look online that remains relevant to your brand.

It’s an effective visual type to choose, especially if you’re selling products or services because customers want to see images of what they’re purchasing.

You don’t even need to shell out lots of money on getting custom photos done professionally if that’s not in your budget! There are plenty of mobile phones that can capture some incredible shots! If you do opt to take the photos yourself, though, make sure your images look professional and have a high-quality and high-resolution finish for your website.

User-generated content refers to imagery — or any form of content really — that has been created by customers and shared online. Social media is a powerful resource to utilize and a great marketing tool.

A lot of businesses are turning to loyal customers for content, whether they’re reposting user posts across social media or on its website like La Croix, or engaging with customers through hashtags and messages.

Understanding your customers is essential if you want to run a successful business, and engaging with them in this way not only makes customers feel seen and understood, but appreciated too.

By sharing user-generated content, you boost your credibility with the evidence of customer satisfaction, and it encourages even more users to trust you.

We all know what a video is, but did you know that adding them to your website can help you boost engagement with visitors?

Unlike a static image, a video is a great website imagery choice if you want to promote a message that’s impossible to do with a photo. You can pack in more information and a large number of visuals into a single video. It’s also an entertaining way to keep visitors on your site for longer!

A video is a useful tool to have if you’re selling services or products online — handy tutorials or examples of a product in use are the perfect way to engage with potential customers.

Equally, you could use videos to share interviews with happy clients, or members of your team talking about the company.

Infographics are a visual and digestible way for users to consume lots of data at once.

The purpose of this type of website imagery is to condense information and lengthy concepts into bitesize graphics in order for readers to understand the key takeaways quickly. So, be wary of overloading your infographic with data — keep it simple and tidy to avoid visitors to your website being overwhelmed.

Infographics are a visually pleasing way for websites to share a story with an audience — like Grammarly’s business journey above — and they help break up text-heavy pages to keep visitors engaged.

However, if you do want to use infographics, make sure you find a consistent style to use across your website to avoid looking messy.

Animating elements of your website is an exciting way to keep your website engaging and interactive for visitors.

Whether you animate your navigation bar, include a dynamic background, or get creative with motion and transition effects across your pages, this form of website imagery catapults your website into the future.

This trendy design gives users a smooth experience, providing them with real-time feedback as they navigate the website or scroll through your content.

Though it can be tempting to get carried away and animate everything you can get your hands on, you don’t want to go overboard and add animation for no reason! It’s best to keep things simple yet effective — making sure your audience can easily navigate and read your website is the priority.

Overlays, as the name suggests, place elements — such as images of text — on top of each other to emphasize certain content. You’ll have seen them everywhere!

They’re usually added to a website to encourage users to sign up for marketing emails, or to persuade customers into making a purchase by promoting special offers.

It’s a powerful technique that helps add depth to your website, makes information stand out, and helps you engage with your target audience.

With an overlay popping up on your website, you can focus the visitor’s attention on one select thing, whether that’s a call to action or an update you need to share.

Vector graphics are images built using mathematical formulas. Sounds technical, right? But don’t worry — they’re used everywhere!

There is a learning curve to tackle if you want to create this type of website imagery yourself, but once you do, your website will be full of professional and high-quality visuals.

As website imagery goes, vector graphics are the ideal choice if you’re looking for something flexible and highly-customizable. You don’t need to worry about pixelation when scaling an image up or down, or slowing down your website’s performance thanks to the small size file.

Since it doesn’t lose its quality when resized, vector graphics are often used for marketing assets and business logos.

Website imagery is critical if you want a professional and stylish website. The important thing is to include images of some sort across every page, whether that’s custom photos or infographics. This helps to keep visitors engaged and stops them from becoming overwhelmed with text.

Of the eight top types of website imagery we’ve shown, find what works best for your business needs and company aesthetic, or even choose a mix of a few of them to create a visually pleasing experience for your customers!