Shopify Image Sizes: A 2024 Guide for Product Images (With Tips)
In this guide, we're sharing the ideal Shopify image sizes and different image types along with best practices and tips.
Content Writer
Sanketee Kher
January 2, 2024
Setting up your Shopify store from scratch is a big task, which can feel intimidating and leave you with a lot of questions — what size should your product images be? What image formats should I use?
Understanding Shopify image sizes for a newbie can be even more daunting.
To ease your setup into the Shopify platform, our team at Commerce3D has compiled the ultimate Shopify image size guide for all your product image-related questions and Shopify’s best practices that you can use in your store to drive those sales up!
Understanding Shopify image sizes for a newbie can be even more daunting.
To ease your setup into the Shopify platform, our team at Commerce3D has compiled the ultimate Shopify image size guide for all your product image-related questions and Shopify’s best practices that you can use in your store to drive those sales up!
Shopify Image Sizes: A 2024 Guide for Product Images (With Tips)
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents:
Why should you care about product images?
Product images are the first thing your customer sees when they enter your store. Shopify image sizes have a direct impact on how your products and your brand overall are perceived by your potential customers. And as we all know — first impressions matter.
There are numerous factors to take into account when preparing and uploading content to your website, ranging from file sizes and aspect ratios to the image-uploading process itself.
Let’s delve into these details:
There are numerous factors to take into account when preparing and uploading content to your website, ranging from file sizes and aspect ratios to the image-uploading process itself.
Let’s delve into these details:
User experience
You may have a great product, however, if the photography is badly composed or of poor quality, down goes the perception of your product’s value and with it the purchase probability. In such cases, consumers are likely to leave your e-store for a competitor offering higher quality content, showing off materials, colors, or any other criteria that appeal to them.
Research shows that a psychological sense of ownership is boosted with vivid and detailed imagery, therefore, the size and quality of your product photos matter greatly and can be the determining factor whether a potential customer clicks on or abandons your page.
Research shows that a psychological sense of ownership is boosted with vivid and detailed imagery, therefore, the size and quality of your product photos matter greatly and can be the determining factor whether a potential customer clicks on or abandons your page.
Zoom capabilities
In your Shopify store, incorporating high-resolution images that retain their quality while zooming is crucial. Images that are too small or excessively large will appear distorted when zoomed in, detracting from the customer’s experience.
It’s imperative to use the right Shopify image sizes that are optimized for zoom functionality, allowing customers to view product details without any loss in image quality.
It’s imperative to use the right Shopify image sizes that are optimized for zoom functionality, allowing customers to view product details without any loss in image quality.
Ensuring optimal page speed
Slow-loading pages are a big no-no in today's fast-paced digital world.
A common cause of sluggish website performance is the presence of large media files, including extensive product photos and videos. But the answer isn't just making images smaller or compressing them a lot. You need to find a good balance: your Shopify image sizes should consider clarity for close-up views, but also be adjusted so your website loads fast.
A common cause of sluggish website performance is the presence of large media files, including extensive product photos and videos. But the answer isn't just making images smaller or compressing them a lot. You need to find a good balance: your Shopify image sizes should consider clarity for close-up views, but also be adjusted so your website loads fast.
Shopify image sizes: Best practices
We won’t set any strict limitations to your Shopify image sizes since it really depends on your product, picture quality, colors used, compression, etc.
But, here is the ultimate Shopify image size guide and best practices you should keep in mind when dealing with product photos for your store:
But, here is the ultimate Shopify image size guide and best practices you should keep in mind when dealing with product photos for your store:
Know Shopify’s image constraints
Product photos on Shopify cannot be larger than 4472 × 4472 px or 20 MB. Shopify experts recommend using square photos with dimensions of 2048 × 2048 px — this guarantees that the image will be displayed equally great on all devices.
Note: The zoom tool will not operate on photos that are smaller than 800 × 800 px.
It is suggested that the ideal resolution for Shopify images be 72 dpi. You may also use lower-resolution images, but keep in mind that the quality of your product images may suffer as a result.
Note: The zoom tool will not operate on photos that are smaller than 800 × 800 px.
It is suggested that the ideal resolution for Shopify images be 72 dpi. You may also use lower-resolution images, but keep in mind that the quality of your product images may suffer as a result.
Consistency in product images sizes
Having product images that are all of different physical sizes on the page makes it difficult for the customer to find what they are looking for. The inability to quickly find something may result in them leaving your store altogether to search elsewhere. In addition, your images should maintain their integrity when clicking/zooming in on them.
Optimize your images for faster loading
Images that are too heavy take up a lot of precious weight on your page and can cause a long ‘...loading’ experience for your customers. Compressing your product images is one of the most effective ways to speed up the loading of your website. However, not all image compressors are created equal. Try using a compressor that can reduce file size while maintaining photo resolution. Some free web tools like CompressPNG or TinyPNG do a good job and typically allow you to reduce numerous images at once.
For Shopify, you should aim to use images that weigh from 2-5 KBs to 3.4-3.7 MB.
For Shopify, you should aim to use images that weigh from 2-5 KBs to 3.4-3.7 MB.
Pick a style and stick to it
The style of your Shopify page will affect how people perceive your brand. Your page style should reflect the nature of your brand and products: bright and fresh? Trendy and minimalistic? Dark and mysterious? Knowing which type of personality fits your branding best is the key to making sure that every piece of content ties in with the others.
Choose the right image format for your Shopify products
Shopify supports the following file types: JPG, PNG, WEBP, GIF, and TIFF.
Here’s your Shopify image size guide to figure out when to use which:
Here’s your Shopify image size guide to figure out when to use which:
JPG
JPG (Joint Photographic Group) is commonly used for images on the web. The JPG format is a popular choice for product images because it strikes a balance between file size and image quality. The compression enables this balance, which is important when uploading images to the web.
PNG
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is also a widely spread format since PNG files have “lossless'' (reduced file size without reduced quality) compression and support transparency (images with transparent backgrounds).
WEBP
WebP is a modern image format that provides superior lossless and lossy compression for images on the web, with an average saving of over 30% of file size when compared to JPG or PNG.
GIF
GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) are a great way to add some animation to your store. For Shopify, it is recommended to upload the file to a GIF-making tool (Giphy, for example), get the embed code, and paste it into your Shopify product page.
TIFF
TIFF is a lossless compression format that is widely supported by a range of editing and web applications. It offers high-quality, uncompressed graphics, which tend to have large file sizes.
HEIC
HEIC is a modern, efficient compression format. It offers high-quality images at smaller file sizes compared to traditional formats like JPEG. When using HEIC, it's important to ensure that your target audience's devices and browsers are compatible with this format, as incompatibility can lead to issues in viewing or downloading these images.
Overall, JPG is certainly the most common and convenient file format for product images when it comes to associating smaller sizes with decent quality. PNG stands for higher quality lossless compression, it does so at the heavy cost of a larger file size. GIF is useful for demonstrating 360-degree virtual photographs and provides lightweight files. TIFF is a format that offers great quality, but file sizes are usually rather heavy.
Shopify image types
Now that you know the correct Shopify image sizes, let’s understand the important Shopify image types:
Traditional product images
A traditional product shot with a white or transparent background is the most common type of image you'll see on ecommerce sites. This type of image is an excellent and simple approach to provide your clients with their initial impression of your items in 2D.
Lifestyle product images
Lifestyle product images play a crucial role in helping your customers imagine how your products would fit into their daily lives, significantly enhancing the likelihood of a purchase. This is not just about showcasing a product; it's about weaving a narrative that resonates with your audience, turning each product showcase into a compelling story.
When you're ready to upload these lifestyle images to your Shopify store, follow Shopify's image guidelines to ensure a seamless experience. This means your images can be as large as 4472 x 4472 px, or 20 megapixels, and smaller 20 MB. For those opting for square photos, Shopify recommends 2048 x 2048 px. Following these guidelines ensures your images are perfectly optimized for the best customer experience on your Shopify store.
When you're ready to upload these lifestyle images to your Shopify store, follow Shopify's image guidelines to ensure a seamless experience. This means your images can be as large as 4472 x 4472 px, or 20 megapixels, and smaller 20 MB. For those opting for square photos, Shopify recommends 2048 x 2048 px. Following these guidelines ensures your images are perfectly optimized for the best customer experience on your Shopify store.
Colorful backdrops
Shopify collection images
Shopify collections offer an excellent opportunity to be creative in showcasing your products.
Shopify suggests creating collections based on various categories such as gender, size, color, type, and season. Additionally, it is great to create collections that highlight complementary items or showcase your full product range.
Take, for instance, a food and beverage brand. Imagine you offer a range of artisanal teas, coffee blends, and accompanying snacks, each available for separate purchases and not dependent on one another. Presenting a collection that includes your signature herbal tea, a rich espresso blend, organic honey, and hand crafted biscotti not only enhances product visibility but also encourages customers to explore your diverse offerings.
Shopify suggests creating collections based on various categories such as gender, size, color, type, and season. Additionally, it is great to create collections that highlight complementary items or showcase your full product range.
Take, for instance, a food and beverage brand. Imagine you offer a range of artisanal teas, coffee blends, and accompanying snacks, each available for separate purchases and not dependent on one another. Presenting a collection that includes your signature herbal tea, a rich espresso blend, organic honey, and hand crafted biscotti not only enhances product visibility but also encourages customers to explore your diverse offerings.
Start using the right Shopify image sizes today!
If you need high-quality virtual product images, Commerce3D is here for you.
We offer a wide range of packages at different price points, so you'll find something that fits your budget and needs. We take care of every detail in the process, from the creation of high-detail 3D models to virtual photoshoots that produce a gorgeous product image that meets every Shopify standard, file size, and resolution requirement. We do so within 24 hours of checkout.
Sounds too good to be true?
Book a demo to get your first free Shopify product images — no risk involved!
We offer a wide range of packages at different price points, so you'll find something that fits your budget and needs. We take care of every detail in the process, from the creation of high-detail 3D models to virtual photoshoots that produce a gorgeous product image that meets every Shopify standard, file size, and resolution requirement. We do so within 24 hours of checkout.
Sounds too good to be true?
Book a demo to get your first free Shopify product images — no risk involved!
