You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Whether we are aware of it or not, we all form an opinion of any given website very quickly and few things can make or break our opinion faster than the quality of the graphics, images and photos we see. When building a website, there is always the temptation to use our own images – either to showcase our products or services or to save a little money. This is one of those areas where it rarely pays to take shortcuts. There are times when using your images will be just fine, but one of the most common mistakes people make when building their own website is using blurry, low resolution or sub-standard images which diminish the overall aesthetic of the site. To avoid falling into this trap, I strongly encourage clients to consider using stock images or photos that will convey the right tone and message and create that professional looking website they are striving for.
There are several stock image sites out there, but I always seem to come back to Shutterstock.com who have a huge selection of reasonably priced images (usually just a few pounds each) for just about any purpose you might need.
