Products —
Shopify product photos that look sharp and load fast
Image size, format, backgrounds and alt text: the photo decisions that make a store look professional without slowing it down.
Product photos are the closest a shopper gets to holding the product. They also make up most of the weight of a typical store page. Here's how to get both right.
Pick one aspect ratio and stick to it
Most Shopify themes display products in a grid. If one photo is square, the next is tall and the next is wide, the grid looks messy and cards jump around. Choose one shape, usually square, and crop every main product photo to it.
Size: big enough to zoom, no bigger
Shopify serves resized copies of your images automatically, so upload one high-quality version and let Shopify handle the rest. Around 2000 pixels on the longest side is plenty for zoom on most themes. Uploading huge camera originals doesn't make the store look better; it just makes the upload slower.
Format
- JPG for photos
- PNG only when you need transparency, such as a logo
- Shopify converts images to modern formats like WebP for browsers that support them, so you don't need to do that yourself
Consistency beats perfection
A range shot on the same plain background, in the same light, from the same angle, looks more professional than a mix of studio shots and phone snaps. If you're shooting at home:
- Use daylight from a window, not overhead lights
- Use a plain white or light grey background
- Keep the camera at the same distance and height for each product
Show what people ask about
Use your extra photos to answer questions before they're asked: the product in use, close-ups of texture or stitching, scale next to a hand or common object, and the back or inside.
Write alt text
Alt text describes the image for people using screen readers and helps search engines understand the image. Describe what's in the photo plainly: "Navy linen apron with two front pockets", not "apron1" or a list of keywords.
Quick checklist
- Same aspect ratio for every main photo
- Around 2000px on the longest side
- JPG for photos
- Consistent background and lighting
- At least one in-use or scale shot
- Plain-English alt text on every image