“A picture paints a thousand words,” right? When it comes to web design, nothing could be truer. Today’s audiences don’t have time to read a ton of text – they want to make a decision as quickly as possible, with as little effort as possible. When that decision is whether to stay on your page, you’ll want to give them reason to stick around. One way to do that? Valuable, engaging images.
Eye-Catching Images
When you look at a website, what’s the first thing you notice? The images, of course. A bold, eye-catching logo or a quality stock photo create interest and intrigue. They invite the reader to stick around and actually read what you have to say, instead of bouncing over to the next fun thing.
Images Reinforce Brand
purpose of your brand far better than any number of words ever could. Visuals have the unique ability to instantly make viewers experience emotion. Just one glance and they can instantly feel happy, sad, thoughtful, or intrigued. Think about what you want to convey through your brand, and search for quality images that bring that feeling to life.Images Can Educate
If you have a new product or service that you’re dying to tell people about, images are the way to go. A well-designed infographic can teach your audience about something in half the time it would take them to read written instructions. Better yet, create an instructional video. Nothing is better than being able to follow along with someone as they go through all the necessary steps, pausing whenever you need a moment to catch up, or rewinding when you need to see something again.
Easy Navigation
What’s faster: searching through a lot of text for the link to a specific page or product, or clicking on an image that will take you directly there? I don’t know about you, but I get annoyed when I click on an image and it doesn’t take me somewhere. Today’s customers are conditioned to take the easiest route possible … and if someone else is making it easier than you are, they’re going to get the business.
Images Create Engagement
Users just plain like visuals more than text. Going to a website with no images is like picking up a magazine with no pictures – it’s just not very fun. A survey from HubSpot showed that Facebook posts with photos generated 53% more likes than those without photos. Internet users across the board prefer images to text whether on Facebook or Twitter or while perusing business websites.
Adding quality images to your content spices things up. It makes your material more fun and exciting and increases engagement. Plus, if you’re creating your own content, finding just the right image to convey your post’s intent can be more interesting and save time. I’d much rather search for an impactful image (or better yet – create one myself) than write two thousand words any day!