1. Choose high-quality images
You need to be picky about the images you select. Even if your website’s image gallery is stunning, with an intuitive layout and great functionality, it counts for nothing if your pictures are boring. The best galleries speak to those that are viewing them. Take time to think about the following.
- What drives people emotionally?
- Why do they come to your website over others?
- What do you offer that is unique?
- Do your images represent who you are as a brand?
- Are your images up-to-date or old?
- How is the quality?
Find and create images that are visually striking, unique, and relevant to your message or brand. If you work with a web design and marketing company, they can help bring your vision to life. They will be able to coordinate photo and video shoots for you, as well as choose appropriate stock images when needed.
2. Find a layout that fits your brand
There are a variety of ways you can design an image gallery. The one you choose depends on a few factors. There are plenty of plugins that allow you to make your own gallery, but a custom web design company can create something truly unique for you. Whatever you choose to do, pick a layout that incorporates your brand. This is your style of business, products, and services.
Is your website professional and modern? If it is, you will need an image gallery that is formal. Is your brand youthful, friendly, and playful? Opt for a more interactive and colorful image gallery. Experiment with a few different layouts and see what fits with your company’s overall look and feel.
3. Keep your image gallery up-to-date
Just like digital marketing, you need to continually update and tweak your image gallery. Doing this tells your clients that you like to keep things updated and fresh. If you are able, use your own photos and videos for your gallery. Stock photos are acceptable on other areas of your website but don’t offer the same personal touch.
Consider reaching out to your community for images. Hold social media contests and ask your customers to submit images and videos of them using your product. This is an excellent way to engage your customers and generate new content at a fraction of the price.
4. Make sure your gallery is compatible
The quickest way to lose a customer is poor compatibility with their device. You need to ensure that your website’s image gallery works across multiple devices and platforms. Always test it to make sure that none of your potential customers are excluded. Do this after every update.
5. Think about syncing your social media accounts
Having social media accounts is critical for any business. You need to create an engaged community that comes back to your content and products. You also need to make sure that you are focusing on your customers and followers at the same time.
Maintaining a social media presence can be incredibly time-consuming. A good way to cut down on time is to sync your content across multiple platforms. Consider including your website’s image gallery to your business’s Facebook or Instagram account. This gives you automatic content and helps you save time.
6. Don’t be afraid to experiment
You could look at what is trending in the world of website development to get an idea of what your gallery should look like. For example, popular image gallery designs in 2020 included minimalism, horizontal sliding features, grungy textures, and even image navigations. All of these can be innovative if used alongside your branding. Just be sure that the style you choose matches your brand, even if it isn’t as exciting as trendy galleries.
7. Use these tips to optimize your gallery
Choosing the right design is vital to the success of your image gallery. But, you will also need to optimize it to get the most out of your time and effort. The following can help you set up and manage your image gallery for optimal results.
- Consider mobile and desktop. The different sizes of screens call for responsive design.
- Size your images properly. Keep the space available on your webpages in mind. Be sure to crop your images and size them correctly before uploading them to the site.
- Optimize the file size. Images can cause your website to load slowly, especially if you have a lot of them. Optimizing their size will prevent this.
- Keep the elements simple. Some designers and web developers place a lot of features in the gallery itself. This includes sliders, arrows, captions, links, and more. Keep as little inside the gallery as possible for a more functional design.