Personalizing your Public Library Website with Images

So, you’ve built your library website (see Elkhart Library Website) and now it’s time to add images. Like any other website, you’ll have to abide by a few rules while at the same time selecting your photos wisely to keep in line with your mission and values.

The following are five quick tips to help you pick the right images and place them strategically on the website.

Always have Quality Images

There are several reasons for this. For one, websites with images get more traffic. According to Jeff Bullas, pages with images get 94% more traffic than those without. Secondly, images bring your products or services to life. On a library website, images are necessary to remind users of the purpose of the site.

Also, images are important for SEO and have been shown to boost the likelihood that users will share your posts. The number of images to have on each page is up to you. But, as long as they’re not hurting load times, go for at least three per page.

Quality of Web Images is a must

If you want the people visiting your website to stay longer and come back multiple times, quality images are vital. Why? Because people naturally want to associate with quality! If your images are of poor quality, most users will feel like they could do better.

For this reason, we recommend investing in professional photography. Rather than taking the photos on your own, perhaps using your phone, find a professional photographer with a professional camera to help you capture those moments. Also, avoid stock photos. They make websites look cheap.

Include a personal touch

This is a strategy used in all marketing corridors because manifesting a human touch creates stronger, healthier bonds. A photo of books in a shelf might appeal to prospective visitors, but one with a human user picking one of the books is likely to have even greater appeal. The picture doesn’t have to capture the whole human body, even the hands are just enough. Just ensure that the majority of your library website photos have that human touch.

Every photo serves a purpose

Including photos for the sake of it makes your site crowded for no reason. Since clutter is the last thing you want on a library website, ensure that each photo serves a purpose. The homepage needs a warm and welcoming photo. An image of someone reading at a desk with a full bookshelf in the background would do nicely.

Use additional library photos, especially in the “Us” About page, to tell the library’s story. The About page can also contain photos of top employees as well as some behind-the-scenes images. For the rest of the site, including photos that highlight; achievements, ease of use, recent social events, partnerships, and new products.

Master type, size, and placement

This is where it gets a little complicated and the reason you need a professional web designer. Starting with type, there are at least 10 different image file formats to choose from, including GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and the rest. Each format is ideal for different situations.

When it comes to size, you have up to six options to pick from. And that’s before you consider aspect ratio. Then, you have to tackle placement because where you place your images has a direct impact on recall and ease of use.  Only an experienced professional can help you make the right decisions.

Rounding Up

In addition to the above tips, we also recommend that you; keep track of file sizes to avoid speed issues, use alt attributes in case an image doesn’t load, and avoid image duplication.  Sounds like a lot? We’ve got it covered and can help! Contact us today!