[intro]When you have completed this guide, you will know the format required for the Product Images on your EKM online shop and be able to apply this to your own images. [/intro]

The quality of the images that you have assigned to your products can make or break a sale, so it’s essential that when you upload your images, you get it right the first time. Before you upload your images, it’s important to examine what kind of images you have to work with.

File Types

.jpegs

  1. These are the most common image file types. If you take a photo with a digital camera, it is often a .jpeg file type.
  2. Pronounced ‘jay-peg’, they are a lossy compressed file format. This means that .jpeg files omit some quality and detail in order for them to be a smaller file and therefore, display much quicker and are easier to share online.
  3. These should be used as Product Images on your EKM online shop as when uploaded in the correct size and quality, they will load faster and improve the customer experience of your EKM online shop. 
  4. .jpegs can be shrunk down but remember not to make them bigger than they actually are as this makes any lack of detail look very pixelated and negatively affects the quality of the image.

.pngs

  1. This file type supports transparency. What this means is that if you have a shape - a logo for example - you can have a transparent background on the image so that when the image is uploaded, the logo will blend seamlessly with any background it is applied upon.
  2. Pronounced ‘ping’ or ‘pee-en-gee’, file compression for a .png is lossless. This means that all of the detail and quality of the image is retained, which can make some .png files hold a lot of information and thus be slow to display online, affecting your page loading speed. This issue can be avoided by optimising your .png files using websites such as Tinypng.com which remove any superfluous data from the image without affecting the quality or resolution.
  3. These file types are recommended for logos, graphic images and Design Images where close-ups and detailed shots are necessary.

Image Shapes

On the EKM platform, it is strongly recommended that you upload square Product Images, as these ensure that any Theme you apply to your EKM online shop will display correctly. Rectangular images can result in blank space on display, which can negatively impact your design and in some extreme cases, user experience too when rectangular images that are smaller than the 500x500 minimal limit are used. With this in mind, you can upload product images as small as 500x500 pixels square and as large as 2000x2000 pixels. We recommend 1024x1024 pixels square as the optimum size for your product images and a jpeg file type where possible. 

Don't

  1. Use images that are bad quality, such as blurred or very dark;
  2. Use product images that have been downloaded online without permission (such as a Google Image search);
  3. Use watermarked images (especially if the image is not your own);
  4. Upload images which are not uniform - different shapes and sizes can look bad when viewing the images on the Category page.

Do

  1. Edit your Product Images to be square - as small as 500x500 pixels up to 2000x2000 pixels - 1024 pixels square is the optimum size for Product Images on the EKM platform;
  2. Ensure that each of your Products has different additional Images - the more images a Product has, the more this encourages customers to buy the Product;
  3. Use a white background - this draws attention to the Product itself;
  4. Use jpeg files to ensure that your EKM online shop loads quickly for your customers.

However, if you are taking photographs of your own Products to create your Product Images, click here for the guide to Creating your Own Product Images. 

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[contact] If you need our help with your EKM online shop, contact your Ecommerce Expert or the Customer Support Team, who will be able to point you in the right direction. We're open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-5.30pm weekends. If you'd like to suggest a feature or an upgrade on any of the EKM platforms, please let us know on the EKM Suggestions Board. If you have a non-account-specific question to ask the EKM Team, join us in the EKM Community. [/contact]