Here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester, we are Manchester’s leading web design experts. We work with a variety of customers and clients across the region, including small and local business owners. In fact, producing quality websites for local and small businesses is something we excel at, and we know just how to use web design to help your business thrive. So whether its responsive design for mobile screens, or creating the perfect desktop landing page, we have you covered. And a big part of this is the use of hero images. But are hero images a good thing? And does your small business website really need one? Well, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester, this is our guide to hero images for small business landing pages.
What is a hero image?
First of all, what is a hero image? Well, a hero image is an image that takes up almost all of your “above the fold content”. So essentially, when a potential customer loads your website, they see a high quality image that really draws them into your website, and your company. Sometimes a large headline will be overlaid over the image, or even a call to action button.
Hero images have been used for some time now, and you’ve probably seen them used on websites you visit yourself. But should you use hero images for small business landing pages?
The advantages of a hero image
Using a hero image can be a great idea. For example:
- a hero image can attract attention to make sure users press that call to action
- they can draw interest and make a user want to scroll down, or click, to find out more
- they can be used to say something personal about your company or brand
- people are used to seeing them on websites, so you won’t be offering something new that could be confusing
- it suits the minimalist approach to web design, where there are very few elements on the screen at the same time
- it can translate well for a responsive web design
However, there are also some disadvantages:
- banner blindness is a real thing- and so is hero image blindness! People are so used to seeing them they rarely read them, and instead simply scroll past
- if you don’t use your own, unique image, your website can look bland or stale, or it can be similar to someone else’s. This can be really negative for your company branding.
- high resolution images can dramatically increase your load time, so if you do not optimize and size your images properly, you could be losing visitors and Google ranking
Hero images for small business landing pages
So, when it comes to a small business website, is a hero image really necessary? Well, it all depends on the company. And it can also depend on the type of work you do, or industry you are in.
For example, if you are in an industry where the appearance of your physical work is essential, a unique and optimized image of your own work can be a great choice. This could work well for local garages, plumbers or kitchen fitter websites, as there is no better way to show off your skills and talents than an image of your work or products. And once people see the quality, they might be more likely to get in touch.
At the same time, if your business is all about providing a service, and your users will be looking for detail, they are likely to scroll past a hero image to get the information they need, without paying much attention. This is often the case for local accountants and lawyers, where you can expect most hero images to make these type of companies look the same as one another. Instead, these companies need to focus on company branding to stand out from other local firms, and use different web design techniques. A hero image just will not be effective.
For more information or advice, or for professional web design support from Manchester’s leading web design experts, get in touch today, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester.