On a product page, images do most of the selling. In Baymard Institute's usability testing, 56% of shoppers began a product page by looking through the images, before they read the title or the description. Yet Baymard also found that a quarter of e-commerce sites provide images that aren't good enough for shoppers to judge the product.
Here's a practical checklist for getting product images right.
1. Show the product from every useful angle
Shoppers can't pick the product up, so your images have to answer what they'd check in a shop. Cover these:
- Front: the main image, on a clean background.
- Back and sides: often skipped, often wanted.
- Close-ups: materials, texture, stitching, ports, labels.
- In scale: the product worn, held, or beside a familiar object. Baymard found that 42% of users try to judge size from the images, and 28% of large sites it benchmarked had no in-scale images at all.
- In use or in context: the product doing its job, or in the room it belongs in.
- What's included: accessories and contents, so there's no doubt about what arrives.
Rather than chase a fixed number, make sure each of these is covered. For most products that comes to somewhere between 5 and 10 images.
Add a 360° view for every side at once
A 360° spin shows the front, back and every angle between in one image, and lets shoppers stop where they like. A peer-reviewed 2016 study found 360° spins made products feel more tangible than static photos. Put it where shoppers look first, in or beside the gallery: in Baymard's testing, most users never tried 360° features that were tucked out of the way.
2. Use large, sharp images with zoom
Shoppers zoom in to check details, and they expect the image to stay sharp when they do. Baymard found that 93% of desktop sites let users zoom some or all product images, so shoppers expect it.
- Shopify: accepts images up to 20 MB and 25 megapixels in JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC and GIF. Upload a large square image, for example 2048 × 2048 pixels, so there's detail to zoom into.
- WooCommerce: recommends originals of at least 800 × 800 pixels, and larger for detailed products. If images look blurry, set the image sizes under Appearance → Customize → WooCommerce → Product Images (classic themes), then regenerate thumbnails under WooCommerce → Status → Tools.
- Keep the same shape across a product's images, and ideally across your catalogue. Square works well on phones and in grids.
3. Keep it consistent
Consistency makes a store look trustworthy and makes products easy to compare.
- Same background and lighting for the main image of every product.
- Same framing: the product fills a similar share of the image each time.
- The same order of shots: front, back, details, in use.
- Accurate colour. Edit for accuracy, not drama. Colour that doesn't match the real product is a common reason for returns.
4. Write useful alt text
Alt text describes an image for people using screen readers, and it's the most important text Google uses to understand an image.
- Describe what's in the photo, in context: "Black leather tote bag, back view showing zip pocket".
- Don't stuff keywords. Google warns that keyword stuffing in alt text makes for a poor experience.
- Make each image's alt text different, saying what that particular photo shows.
In Shopify, click an image in the product's media and choose "Add alt text". In WooCommerce, set the "Alternative Text" for the image in the media library.
5. Name your files well
Before uploading, rename files from IMG_4021.JPG to something descriptive like black-leather-tote-back.jpg. Google recommends short, descriptive file names, and it's a small habit that adds up across a catalogue.
6. Keep images fast
Large images are only good if the page still loads quickly.
- Let the platform resize. Shopify and WooCommerce both create smaller versions for thumbnails and phones; upload one large original.
- Use modern formats where you can. WebP and AVIF are smaller than JPEG at the same quality, and Google Search supports both.
- Load extras on demand. Videos, 3D models and spins should wait until shoppers scroll to them. Twurn's viewer, for example, loads its images only when the spin comes into view.
The checklist
| Check | Why |
|---|---|
| Front, back, sides, details, in scale, in use, contents | Answers what shoppers would check in person |
| A 360° view near the top of the gallery | Shows every side at once, where people look first |
| Large originals with zoom | Detail stays sharp when shoppers zoom |
| Consistent background, framing and order | Looks professional; easy to compare |
| Accurate colour | Fewer "not as pictured" returns |
| Descriptive alt text and file names | Accessibility and image search |
| Resized, modern formats, extras on demand | Fast pages |
Questions
How many product images should I have?
Enough to cover the front, back, sides, details, scale, use and contents. For most products that's 5 to 10. A 360° spin can cover the angles in one image.
What is the best product image size for Shopify?
A large square image works well, such as 2048 × 2048 pixels. Shopify accepts up to 20 MB and 25 megapixels per image.
Does alt text help SEO?
Yes. Google calls alt text the most important attribute for describing an image. Describe the image naturally, without keyword stuffing.
Sources
- Baymard Institute, Ensure sufficient image resolution and zoom (56% explore images first; 25% of sites have insufficient images; 93% offer zoom).
- Baymard Institute, In-scale product images (42% judge size from images; 28% of sites lack in-scale images).
- Baymard Institute, Video and 360 views.
- Verhagen, Vonkeman & van Dolen (2016), Making online products more tangible.
- Shopify Help Center, Uploading and managing files.
- WooCommerce, Adding product images and galleries and Fixing blurry product images.
- Google Search Central, Image SEO best practices.