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Website photos: what actually helps (and what to skip)

By , founder4 November 20265 min read
The short answer

Real photos of your work, your team, and your premises build more trust than any stock library. A decent phone photo of the real thing beats a beautiful photo of someone else's.

Photos are one of the fastest ways to build trust on a website, but only if they're the right ones. Here's what to include, what to skip, and how to get good shots without hiring anyone.

What actually helps

Photos of real, finished work, ideally with a few different jobs shown. A photo of you or your team. People buy from people, and a face builds trust fast. Your premises, van or workspace, if it looks the part. Before-and-afters, if your work naturally has a "before" state worth showing.

What to skip

Generic stock photos of models in hard hats or handshakes. They're easy to spot and undercut trust rather than build it. Old photos of work you're no longer proud of, or that don't reflect your current standard. Blurry or dark phone shots. A photo that's hard to see is worse than no photo at all.

Getting good shots without a photographer

Shoot in daylight near a window or outdoors rather than under indoor bulbs. Fill the frame with the subject rather than shooting from far away. Take a few angles of each job and pick the best one later, rather than settling for the first shot.

Keep file sizes sensible

Modern phone photos are often huge files that slow your site down badly. Compress images before uploading, or make sure whoever builds your site does it for you, since page speed affects both visitors and Google rankings.

Where Ashcroft fits

We compress and optimise every image on your site automatically, so your photos load fast without you needing to think about file sizes. Send us what you've got and we'll take care of the rest.

Talk to us about your website →

Common questions

Do I need a professional photographer for my website?+

Not necessarily. Clear, well-lit phone photos of real work usually build more trust than a polished but generic professional shoot.

Should I use stock photos on my website?+

Avoid them where possible. Visitors can usually tell, and stock photos signal a template site rather than a real local business.

What photos matter most for a small business website?+

Real photos of finished work, a photo of you or your team, and your premises or van if relevant. These build trust fastest.

Find out what yours would look like, for free. Tell us about your business and we'll design your site before you pay anything. If you love it, it goes live within 48 hours. Get my free design