How to optimise your product photos for e-commerce

Many businesses take advantage of the opportunity to own their own e-commerce website.

When managing your e-commerce store, it's important to use optimised product images, which is really quite easy.

Steps to optimise your e-commerce product images

Product photos should be resized to fit the e-commerce platform's page template size

1. Amazon: The minimum dimension for Amazon product photographs is 1000x1000 pixels but it recommends using images that are 2560 pixels or larger on the long side to ensure they are eligible for zoom. The primary image must be on a pure white background (RGB 255,255,255).

2. eBay: eBay requires product photos to be at least 500 pixels on the longest side but suggests using images that are 1600 pixels on the longest side for the best results.

3. Etsy: The minimum image size is 2000 pixels for the shortest side of the image, and there is no maximum dimension specified. However, the aspect ratio for listing photos is 5:4.

4. Shopify: Shopify recommends using 2048x2048 pixels for square product photos, although there is no true maximum image size.

5. Magento: Magento suggests an ideal photo resolution of 1100 pixels by 1100 pixels for product photos.

6. Walmart Marketplace: Walmart recommends a minimum image size of 1000x1000 pixels.

7. Alibaba: Alibaba requires images to be a minimum of 800-1000 pixels in width and height.

8. BigCommerce: There is no explicit limit but it's recommended using images that are at least 1280x1280 pixels.

Remember, the minimum image sizes are only guidelines and you should upload the highest resolution images available (along the recommended aspect ratio) to provide the best experience to your customers. It's also advised to adhere to each platform's regulations in terms of background, format or any additional specifications they need.

Product photos should always be saved as JPG files, not PNG, TIFF or GIF

• JPG (or JPEG) files are smaller in file size which makes them load faster for your website visitors. A faster page load time may also contribute to a higher page ranking on Google.

If you receive a wholesaler's product catalogue with a zip file of product photos, how do you convert them to JPG in bulk?

• Adobe Lightroom: This professional photo editing software offers powerful batch editing features. You can crop, colour-correct, filter, watermark, and more with multiple images at once. It's particularly useful for raw images from digital cameras.

• Photoshop: Another Adobe product, you can use Actions and the Automate function to perform repetitive tasks on a large batch of images.

• GIMP: This free and open-source alternative to Photoshop also supports batch editing through its BIMP plugin.

• IrfanView: A lightweight and straightforward application that allows you to perform common tasks like resizing, renaming, rotating, cropping, converting formats, and applying simple corrections via the batch conversion option under the File menu.

• FastStone Photo Resizer: This tool is great for simple batch processing tasks like renaming, resizing, cropping, watermarks, and basic colour adjustments.

• XnView MP: This is a free tool for converting and resizing your photos. You can adjust colour balance, brightness, contrast, and sharpness.

• Paint.net: While not a feature in the base software, plugins are available that allow batch processing.

• Online Tools: Websites like BIRME (Bulk Image Resizing Made Easy) and Pixlr have bulk resizing options.

Make sure you optimise the ALT text for your product photos

1. Amazon Seller Central:

   • Sign into your Amazon Seller Central account.
   • Click on 'Inventory' and choose 'Manage Inventory'.
   • An inventory list of your products will show up. Click on 'Edit' on the product that needs alt text.
   • Under the 'Offer' tab, there will be a product information form. Write your alt text in the 'Product Description' section.
   • Click on 'Save and finish.'

2. eBay:

   • Log into your eBay account.
   • Go to 'My eBay' then 'Selling.'
   • Find the listing you want to edit, and then click on 'Revise.'
   • Go to the 'Describe the item you are selling' section. You can add alt text in the 'Item description' box.
   • Click 'Continue' and then click 'List your item.'

3. Shopify:

   • Log into your Shopify account.
   • Click 'Products' and choose the product you want to edit.
   • Under 'Images', click on the image you want to add alt text to, then click 'ALT.'
   • Write your alt text in the box that appears.
   • Click on 'Done', then 'Save.'

4. WooCommerce (WordPress plugin):

   • Go to your WordPress dashboard and choose 'Products.'
   • Find the product you want to edit and click on the product name.
   • In the product details page, scroll down to 'Product Data' and enter the product description in the 'Short Product Description.'
   • To add alt text to images, click on the image. Enter your alt text in the 'Alternative Text' box.
   • Click 'Update' to save changes.

5. Magento:

   • Log into your Magento Admin Panel.
   • Click 'Catalog' then 'Manage Products.'
   • Click 'Edit' on the product that needs alt text.
   • Click 'Images' from the left column under the product information.
   • Click on the image thumbnail, in the 'Label' box, write your alt text.
   • Click 'Save and Continue Edit.'

6. BigCommerce:

   • Log into your BigCommerce account.
   • Go to 'Products', then 'View.'
   • Click 'Edit' by the product you want to modify.
   • Under 'Product Details', write a description in the 'Product Description' box.
   • To add alt text to images, scroll down to 'Product Images and Videos.' Click an image, then add alt text in the 'Image Description' field.
   • Click 'Save & Close' to save changes.

Remember, a well-written alt text will make your products accessible and understandable to not only the general audience but also visually impaired individuals who are using screen readers. It's also important for maintaining good SEO practices. Use clear, concise language and try to incorporate relevant keywords where naturally fitting.