Product photo upload requirements of eCommerce platforms

There are hundreds of thousands of businesses that sell online through eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Woocommerce, Amazon, BigCommerce. etc. So, I decided to collate the product photo uploading requirements for all major eCommerce platforms.

Let’s start.

There are some astonishing facts that you’d be interested in it.

A simple LinkedIn search shows that

There are 15,000+ fashion and apparel companies in the US alone

What does this mean to you?

This means that your photos have to be of top-notch if you want to perform better than your competitors. Because

76% people say that product photos influence their buying decision.

I get frequently asked by my client that what should be the ideal size of the photo. I tell them that

  • the ideal size is 3000 x 3000 pixels with a resolution of 72 dpi.
  • the photo size should never cross 150KB.

But, we’ll see today what does eCommerce platform suggests

1. Shopify photo uploading requirements

  •  Maximum upload size: 4472 x 4472 pixels with a file size of up to 20 MB
  • Recommended size: 2056 x 2056 pixels
  • Minimum size to zoom in: 800 x 800 pixels
  • File formats: JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and BMP

Here’s the full list for Shopify.

2. Amazon photo uploading requirements

Amazon is pretty strict when it comes to the requirements. My Amazon clients always have the toughest time getting their photos approved.

  • Minimum size to zoom in: Images should be at least 1000 pixels in either width or height
  • Recommended size: 2056 pixels wide
  • Image frame: The product should fill 85% of the frame
  • Background color: ALL product photos should have a white background
  • File format: You can upload JPEG, PNG, GIF or TIFF files.
  • File names: The file name must include the product identifier (this is your Amazon ASIN, JAN, EAN, 13-digit ISBN or UPC). After that, a period and a file extension (see accepted file types listed above). For example, 1234567890123.tif or A987654321.jpg. You may not include dashes, spaces or other characters in the file name.
  • Design: You can’t include any text, borders, logos, mannequins or watermarks in your images.

Here’s the full list for Amazon.

3. WooCommerce photo uploading requirements

WooCommerce is basically a plugin for your WordPress site. It does not have its own platform. It simply converts your WordPress site into an eCommerce site.

So, there’s no defined set of rules for the product photos. You should check your WordPress theme guidelines for the photo uploading requirements. But, I’ll give you a rough idea.

  • Minimum size to zoom in: Depends on the WordPress theme
  • Recommended size: 2056 pixels wide
  • Maximum file size: 64 MB
  • Recommended file size: 100KB
  • Image frame: The product should fill 85% of the frame
  • File format: You can upload JPEG, PNG, GIF or TIFF files.

4. BigCommerce photo uploading requirements

  •  Maximum upload size: Nothing defined by BigCommerce
  • Recommended size: 2056 x 2056 pixels
  • Minimum size to zoom in: 1000 pixels on the longest side
  • File formats: JPG is recommended

Here’s the full list for BigCommerce.

5. Magento photo uploading requirements

Magento is also a highly customizable platform. Unlike Shopify and BigCommerce, it’s a kind of software that installs on your web server. But, unlike WooCommerce, it doesn’t need WordPress to run.

So, there’s no defined set of rules for the product photos. You should check your WordPress theme guidelines for the photo uploading requirements. But, I’ll give you a rough idea.

  • Minimum size to zoom in: You can customize it
  • Recommended size: 2056 pixels wide
  • Recommended file size: 100 KB
  • Image frame: The product should fill 85% of the frame
  • File format: You can upload JPEG, PNG, GIF or TIFF files.

Here’s the full list for Magento.

6. eBay photo uploading requirements

  • Maximum upload size: 9000 pixels on the longest and 12 MB in size
  • Recommended size: 800 – 1600 pixels on the longest side
  • File formats: JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, and GIF
  • Background: The image background can be between white to light gray (a light shadow is also acceptable, but mirror reflections are not allowed).

Here’s the full list for eBay.

7. Squarespace photo uploading requirements

  • Maximum upload size: 2500 pixels on the longest and 20 MB in size
  • Recommended size: 2500 pixels on the longest side and 500 KB in size
  • File formats: JPG, PNG, and GIF

Here’s the full list for Squarespace.

8. Wix photo uploading requirements

  •  Maximum upload size: Nothing defined by Wix
  • Recommended size: 1200 pixels on the longest side
  • File formats: Nothing defined by Wix

9. Weebly photo uploading requirements

I could not find any dedicated page for the photo requirements but I found a ticket where the customer support said three things.

  • Maximum upload size: Nothing defined by 3dcart
  • Recommended size: 1,000 pixels on the longest size with 72 dpi.
  • File formats: JPG or PNG recommended

Here’s the full list for Weebly.

10. PrestaShop photo uploading requirements

  •  Maximum upload size: Nothing defined by PrestaShop
  • Recommended size: 800 x 800 pixels
  • File formats: JPG and PNG

Here’s the full list for BigCommerce.

11. Volusion photo uploading requirements

  •  Maximum upload size: Nothing defined by Volusion
  • Recommended size: 1200 pixels on the longest side
  • File formats: Nothing defined by Volusion

Here’s the full list for Volusion.

12. Big Cartel photo uploading requirements

  •  Maximum upload size: Nothing defined by Big Cartel
  • Recommended size: 1200 pixels on the longest side (not officially defined by Bigcartel but this size should be good to you)
  • File formats: Nothing defined by Big Cartel

13. EKM photo uploading requirements

  •  Maximum upload size: 2000 x 2000 pixels
  • Recommended size: 1024 x 1024 pixels
  • File formats: JPEG and PNG

Here’s the full list for EKM.

14. Etsy photo uploading requirements

  •  Maximum upload size: Nothing defined by Etsy
  • Recommended size: at least 1500 pixels wide
  • File formats: Nothing defined by Etsy

Here’s the full list for Etsy.

15. Alibaba uploading requirements

  •  Maximum upload size: Nothing defined by Alibaba
  • Recommended size: 1000 x 1000 pixels
  • File formats: JPEG and PNG

Here’s the full list for Alibaba.

I edit photos for people like you who sell online.  Most of my clients sell on Shopify, Amazon, eBay, and WooCommerce.

I can edit three photos for free as a demo.

Get my free demo

9 white background alternatives for your eCommerce photos

You’re fed up with seeing the white background in eCommerce photos and you want to try something new. Search no further because I am going to show you 9 alternatives to a white background for your eCommerce photos.

To be honest, white is still the best background if you want to go with the number of sales. eCommerce product photos with white background tend to sell more.

Amazon spends billions of dollars every year on research and it is using a white background then this means that there must be a reason. And I cannot think of any reason other than better sales.

But, there’s a catch. the white background is not always the best background.

The color of the background in eCommerce photos which usually give you better sale results is the one that is the color of your website background.

Amazon’s website background color is white so the white background in eCommerce photos tends to convert better. If your website’s background color is black then black background for your eCommerce photos should convert better.

The goal is to make the product stand out. There should be the least amount of distraction. Having a different background for your eCommerce photos than the website background adds distraction.

In case you’re still not convinced, here are the 9 background that you can use.

1. Marble

When to use: when you sell luxury items that people wear (for example – cosmetic items, skincare items, etc.)

Marble is associated with luxury and gentleness. When people see a marble background in an eCommerce photo, they immediately think that the cost of the product is much more than the market average and the product is soft for the skin.

This background tends to attract females more.

 

 

 

Source – bobbibrowncosmetics.com

How to shoot?

  1. Method 1: – Get a marble slab or sheet. Place your product nicely and shoot it.
  2. Method 2: – Shoot on any regular background and then change the background to marble in Photoshop. The benefit here is that you can use multiple textures of marble here unlike method 1. There are a bunch of free stock photos available on the internet. Use them and your photos will not be monotonous with one texture of marble only.

Source: https://www.thirteenthoughts.com/diy-white-marble-photography-background/

2. Lifestyle

When to use: when you want to show how/where to use your product

This is by far is the best background to show your buyers how to use your product. Here you choose the background where a person is actually using your product or your product is being used somewhere. You can show a photo like this.

This type of photos works a lot better if you show your product photos against a white or other solid color backgrounds. Don’t expect a good conversion rate if you only show lifestyle photos.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Osprey® Europe (@ospreyeurope) on

Here’s one more example.

See how good Apple is telling that Apple Watch is waterproof (or basically splash-proof).

How to shoot?

  1. Method 1: – Shoot your product photos while using them. You can take the backpack photo above as an example
  2. Method 2: – Shoot a normal photo and change everything in Photoshop. For example, you cannot shoot the photo of the Apple Watch like the photo you are seeing above. The only way to add water splash is to use Photoshop.

3. Light gray

When to use: when you just want to show any other color than white but still want to have a nice conversion rate.

We’ve seen that this is the second-best background for conversion. Yes, the first is the white background but you’re bored with the white color.

How to shoot?

  • Shoot the photo against a green or any background and then change the background in Photoshop

4. Gradient

When to use: when you just want to show any other color than white but still want to have a nice conversion rate.

Gradient with a light product shadow also looks good. It’s your personal choice whether you want to go with a solid color or a gradient.

Fitbit uses a nice medium to light gray gradient for its Versa 2 smartwatch. The light watch shadow is also adding beauty to this photo. This makes us think that the watch is floating above the ground.

 

source: fitbit.com

How to shoot?

  • Shoot the photo against a green or any background and then change the background in Photoshop

5. Wood

When to use: when your product is antique, hand made, or directly or indirectly related to the trees/plants

You can use the wooden background after showing the close up shots of your products against a solid color background.

Wooden background gives a perception that your product is handmade.

How to shoot?

  1. Method 1: – Get a wooden slab or sheet. Place your product nicely and shoot it.
  2. Method 2: – Shoot on any regular background and then change the background to marble in Photoshop.This is what we do for our clients.

6. Fur/cotton

When to use: when your product is very soft on the skin

You can use the fur background after showing the close up shots of your products against a solid color background. Fur background gives a perception that your product is something that the users will put or apply on their skin and there’ll be no side effects.

How to shoot?

  1. Method 1: – Get a fur or cotton. Place your product nicely and shoot it.
  2. Method 2: – Shoot on any regular background and then change the background to fur in Photoshop. The benefit here is that you can use multiple textures and colors of fur here unlike method 1. There are a bunch of free stock photos available on the internet. Use them and your photos will not be monotonous with one texture of fur only. This is what we do for our clients.

7. Sepia

When to use: when you just want to show any other color than white and gray, or want to increase customer loyalty.

Sepia background works good for female dresses and your customers tend to feel that your company is friendly. This increases customer loyalty and your customers feel that you’re a small company who care its customers a lot.

Source: modcloth.com

How to shoot?

  • Method 1: Shoot the photo against a green or any background and then change the background in Photoshop
  • Method 2: Shoot the photo against a sepia wall

8. Color of the product

When to use: when you want to highlight one of your products

Here you set the background color that is two shade lighter or darker than the product color.

I could not find a good photo to show as an example so I designed this photo in Photoshop for you. Here the background is a gradient and the center of the background is two shade lighter than the color of the shoe.

How to shoot?

  • Shoot the photo against a green or any background and then change the background in Photoshop

9. Black

When to use: only for super luxury items

Black color signifies luxury. If you sell luxury items like watches that cost more than $2,000 then you may want to use the black background.

Don’t use a black background on items that are not at all luxury because your price-sensitive customers may exit your site without making any purchase.

Source: rolex.com

How to shoot?

  • Shoot the photo against a green or any background in a dim light and then change the background in Photoshop

Do you lack the Photoshop skills?

I help the founders or creative directors eCommerce companies to show beautiful product photos by editing the photos for them. My clients are as small as companies with 2 co-founders and as big as ITT with 10,000+ employees.

If you want, I can show you how your product would look like. I can do it for free.

Get my free demo

Background color of e-commerce photos – The Ultimate Guide

We edit thousands of photos daily. White remains the most preferred color for the background but the trend is now changing. Light gray is now emerging but there’s a catch. Let’s see what this guide for the background color of e-commerce photos bring to you.

The ultimate guide for the background color of e-commerce photos

You are thinking that why is background important. Don’t you?

Here’s a fact.

50% of online shoppers think that product photos are more important than product information, reviews, and ratings. Shopify

Your background can make your photo more appealing or can do the opposite.

1. Types of the background color of e-commerce photos

There are mainly three types of background

  1. Lifestyle background – The products are shot in a way that it shows the usage of them. It’s good to build an emotional connection with the product.
  2. Product only – The photos are shot against a neutral color background. It increases the conversion rate.
  3. Pattern background – The background is a pattern. It’s a good option for those who don’t want to have a neutral background.

2. Lifestyle background for e-commerce photos

Let’s see one example

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Take a look at the above screenshot. It’s of Dainty Jewells. I think that Charity, founder of Dainty Jewells, like potential customers to build a connection with the dresses.

The main purpose of liefstyle photos is to show where and how to use your products.

Photos with lifestyle background do this.

Its product page also has only lifestyle photos. I could not find any photo with a solid or neutral background.

2.jpg

Lifestyle photos don’t perform well in terms of conversion rate.

Take a look at the above screenshot of Joinery. Aren’t the photos looking beautiful? But, are the photos converting well? I doubt so.

6.png

At first glance, I got confused that what is the actual product they’re selling. Was it the chair or the rug in the first photo? I don’t know and I won’t bother clicking on the photo to find out. Also, the title of the product is written in such a small font that my eyes won’t naturally go there.

Sometimes, lifestyle photos confuse the potential buyers because the customers can’t figure out the actual product in the photo. It further decreases the conversion rate.

According to us, the best way to show lifestyle photos is after showing the product only photo. Here’s an example.

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This backpack is on Rom Outdoor. The site is showing the lifestyle photos after showing the product only photos.

It’s also good to add a few lifestyle snaps to your product page, helping to to boost emotional engagement.

3. Product only backgrounds for e-commerce photos

Here you show the product against a neutral background like white color, gray color, or any other color.

These photos describe your product at a glance and are best suited for your catalog and product pages. Their job is to nurture page visitors towards making a purchase.

When consumers view a product page, they are looking for proof of quality and value. A neutral background provides this proof and value.

There are mainly three colors which most of the e-commerce stores owners are using nowadays

  • White color
  • Light gray color
  • Pastel colors

You should make sure that your product covers 85% of the photo in the photos having a neutral color background.

3.1 White color background

Have a look at Amazon. All photos have a white background.

There’s a reason Amazon uses only the white background. The reason is that the white color background gives the highest conversion rate. Amazon invests millions on research and if they’re still using white background means that research supports this color.

4.jpg

But, there’s a change in trend.

Although white color background converts a lot better than other backgrounds but white color backgrounds fails to build an emotional relationship between your products and potential buyers.

3.2 Light gray background

You put a shade of gray in the background.

Here’s a lookbook of Sarah Pacini. Can you see the shade of gray in the background?

5.jpg

The gray background does not give as high conversion rate as the white background.

Gray background adds premiumness to the photos. It does not have a high conversion rate like white backgrounds but it adds an emotional connection with the potential buyers. Your existing buyers are more likely to purchase from you again.

This is what we also advice.

You know that we edit e-commerce photos. We also advise our clients to use a light gray background (usually #eeeeee) for their photos.

3.3 Pastel background

Pastel colors are pale colors that soothe eyes. Here’s a Wikipedia article on pastel color.

Take a look at the screenshot of Flaire Junkie.

8.jpg

Pastel colors are very eye-catchy. Maybe because they soothe the eyes.

Pastel colors tend to work good with colorful dresses. It also works good with fancy items like colorful phones, cloths. iPhone red also has a red pastel background on apple.com.

4. Pattern background for e-commerce photos

You show a pattern in the background.

Here’s a screenshot of a page on Oh Polly.

7.jpg

The photo has neither a neutral background nor a lifestyle background.

The conversion rate of pattern background is between the lifestyle background and neutral color background.

The choice of pattern plays a crucial role in the perception of the product in the potential buyers’ minds.

Black color signifies luxury and this dress has a black pattern background. The photo is also edited in such a way that it signifies the luxuriousness of the dress. But, the dress costs only 40 pounds. Guess what? It’s cheap.

The buyer will think that it’s a luxury dress but costs only 40 pounds. She won’t think twice before making the purchase.

Outsourcing e-commerce photo editing – what should you know?

After or before starting your e-commerce store, one of the most important questions is who would take your product photos. If you hire a professional photographer then it’s good. But you may want to shoot photos by yourself if you don’t have much cash. The question here is whether you’d outsource e-commerce photo editing to someone else?

Nowadays, even phone cameras like iPhone’s and Oppo’s camera do a great job. The photos are big enough to put on your e-commerce store and sharp enough for your customers to see the edges of your products.

What you should know about e-commerce store owners psychology on product photos?

You’re not alone if you think that your product photos should look better than your competitors. But if your competitors have a great in-house photo editing team or outsource their photo editing task to companies like us then you’re already behind them.

Does this mean that you’ll sell less?

This is where the tension among e-commerce store owners start. But, you don’t need to worry.

Orlego says that 68% of your potential customers make buying decisions after seeing your product photos. 60% after reading the description and 58% after reading the reviews.

You don’t need to go worried as long as you see that your customers are liking your product photos.

When should you NOT outsource your photo editing job?

When you set up your e-commerce store, you have two options for the photo editing task.

    To hire some agency to edit your photos or outsource your photo editing job
    To do the photo editing job by yourself

The question is which one should you do?

Well, there are answers.

1. When you have only so many photos

If you’re starting very small then you should do the photo editing job by yourself.

Let’s say that you have only 10 photos and you’re not planning to have 10 more photos next month or anytime soon. In the case, you should do the photo editing job by yourself because outsourcing it will be a costly affair.

I charge $4.99 per photo for photos up to 50. Editing 10 photos will cost you $49.

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Yes, $49 is not much but you already have so many other expenses like setting up a store, paying the merch, and running ads. First, see whether you’re getting traction.

What’s the point of adding $49 to your expenses?

2. When you have good and reliable in-house photo editing team

Guess what? Most of the e-commerce store (even those which are making millions) use their in-house photo editing team.

I’ve met so-so many e-commerce company CEOs who say that their in-house photo editing team is the best?

How can you be sure that your in-house photo editing team is doing a good job?

I wrote at the beginning of this guide that 68% of people say the product photos affect their buying decisions. If you see that your conversion rate is high (the number of the purchase divided by the number of unique visitors saw the product) you don’t need to bother.

A typical conversion rate for an e-commerce store is 2-3%. If you’re getting this then you’re doing good. If you’re not then something is wrong. And the issue is not necessarily to be with the photos.

In this case, it’s best to ask someone else to review your site. Some of the photo editing agencies like us do the review at free of cost. Contact them and let them do their job.

3. When you don’t have any budget

This one is self-explanatory. You may not need to hire a photo editing agency if you’re running short on cash.

Yes, if you don’t have good photos then your sales will dip. But, you need to make a profit out of those minimal sales and then hire an agency when you have some cash.

When should you outsource your photo editing job?

1. When you have so many photos

If you’re a fashion and apparel excommunicated store, you may be having 100+ photos every month. As a CEO or creative director, your job is to focus on the growth of your company rather than editing photos.

It’s a good time to hire an agency rather than editing the photos by yourself.

2. To save time

Editing photos is a boring task for the majority of people. It’s not boring for the photo editing agencies because of they breath Photoshop.

Editing one e-commerce photo requires 10 mins if you’re an intermediate user and 5 mins if you’re a pro. Don’t even calculate the time if you’re a newbie because most of your time will waste in searching the right tutorials that’ll enable you to edit your photos.

Many of our clients are from the fashion and apparel industry. They all have 200+ photos every week and we edit those for them. Some of them have also 200+ brick and mortar store across the US.

Just think about the time they’ve wasted if they decided to edit the photos by themselves

But I already have an in-house photo editing team. Then why should I worry about the time?

Photo editing agencies use many tools to edit one batch of the photo. We keep ourselves updated with the latest apps and tools in the market which can help us to edit the photos in minimal time.

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For example, making the background light gray takes 2-3 mins in Photoshop for a medium complex photo. There’re tools we know that does this job in 1-click. Guess what? We just saved 2-3 mins.

Photo editing agencies also spend several thousand dollars to purchase the license of these tools.

My agency uses around 27 tools for photo editing. Yes, Photoshop and Lightroom are the most used among them.

3. If you want to save your a*s

Photo editing is a daunting task. Imagine that you’re planning to launch a product next week and photos are not even edited. If this has already happened to you then you’re not uncommon. If this has never happened to you then you’re uncommon.

We see this kind of issue every week. Many of our clients come to us and say that they’ve messed up. New 100 products are launching next week and 500+ photos are not even edited. We ask them to calm down and send all the photos to us. They send the photos using Dropbox or Google Drive and we use our additional workforce to deliver the project on time.

Guess what? He spent his weekend happily after that.

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4. When you start making profit

It’s a rule in business that you need to keep on making your product better. Product photos on your e-commerce store is a kind of product that your customers see. Making the. Better is the thing you always want to do.

Once you have a profit, you’ll have enough money to hire a photo editing agency. Photo editing agency doesn’t charge much. One of the services we provide is e-commerce product photo editing and we charge only $1.99 per photo for 100+ photos. The cost per photo is higher for lesser photos.