List placements before taking pictures
Review the homepage, service pages, team, case studies, cards and articles. For each placement, note the subject, orientation, crop, space for text and priority. A wide banner cannot automatically replace a portrait or square thumbnail.
Plan genuinely distinct subjects: work in progress, setting, products, team and useful details. Repeating one picture on every page weakens understanding. The image selection guide
- Pages and formats listed.
- Subject and crop assigned to each slot.
- Card and mobile variants planned.
Prepare locations and people
Choose representative situations rather than implausible staging. Clear only what distracts, inspect screens, labels and documents in view, and schedule around the light available in the location.
Identify recognisable people, private locations and third-party brands. Agree on intended uses with the photographer and everyone concerned before shooting. Keep a record of permissions, required credits and restrictions for each selected image.
- Screens and documents checked.
- Uses and rights clarified.
- Time reserved for real work scenes.
Select and adapt files
Choose frames for sharpness, authenticity and usefulness. Store full-quality originals away from the public site, then export web versions in appropriate sizes. A modern format and responsive variants avoid serving a large desktop image to every phone.
Name files after their actual subject, write alternative text that conveys useful information and add a caption when context matters. Google Images guidance emphasises page context, filenames and alternative text; rights metadata can complement them but cannot replace them.
- Originals stored separately.
- Exports sized for devices.
- Filename, alternative and caption descriptive.
Check the published result
Place images in the actual templates and inspect crops on phone, tablet and desktop. A banner’s important subject must remain visible behind headings and responsive cropping. A card should look distinct from its neighbours.
Test loading speed, missing files and the layout without an image. Maintain an inventory linking each file to its page, rights and review date. The performance guide
- Crops checked at several widths.
- Weight and loading verified.
- Rights and placements recorded.