What Photos Do I Need for My Business Website?
Photos are often the thing that holds people up longest when building a website. Here is what you actually need, so it stops feeling like a barrier.
Why photos matter more than people expect
A website with no real photos, just generic stock images, tells a visitor almost nothing about your actual business. Real photos are proof: proof your salon looks the way it says, proof your van turns up looking tidy, proof the cakes really look like that. Think of your website’s photos like the window display of a shop; they are often the first honest impression a customer forms before reading a single word.
The essential shots for most local businesses
You do not need a professional photoshoot to get started. For most one-page sites, this short list covers it:
- A hero shot. One strong image that represents what you do, your shopfront, your workspace, or you at work.
- Work or product photos. Three to six images showing the actual results customers get, a finished haircut, a clean kitchen, a decorated cake.
- A photo of you or your team. People trust businesses they can put a face to, even a simple, friendly photo helps.
- Your premises or van (if relevant). Useful for trust and for customers who will visit in person.
- Logo. If you have one; if not, your business name in clear text works fine.
What “good enough” actually looks like
Professional photography is nice to have, not a requirement. A recent, well-lit photo taken on a decent smartphone, in natural daylight, without a messy background, is genuinely good enough for most small business websites. Consistency matters more than polish: a handful of clear, honest photos beat one glossy image and nothing else.
Aim for photos that look like your business on a normal, tidy day, not a stock photo of somebody else’s.
What to do if you do not have any yet
If you are starting from nothing, do not let it stall you. Take a batch of photos over one afternoon: a few of your workspace tidied up, a few of recent finished jobs as you complete them, and one of yourself smiling at the camera. That is usually enough to launch with, and photos can always be swapped in later as you build up better ones.
If you are not sure exactly what your site needs alongside photos, the one-page website planner walks through everything to gather before you start.
How LaunchSite handles your photos
When you onboard with LaunchSite, we tell you exactly which images to send over and in what rough shape, so there is no guesswork. We then fit and arrange them properly on your one-page site as part of the build, included in your £39.99/month plan alongside hosting, SSL, a standard domain and monthly updates. If you swap out photos later, that is covered by your monthly updates too, no extra fee, no editing software for you to learn.