Hero images capture your viewer’s attention, tells your potential customers what you have to offer and makes them feel like they can’t do without your product or services. The temptation to use a full-screen Hero image to be more effective may be your first instinct, but is it the best choice? The bigger the better, right? Well, sometimes…
Let’s look at the pros and cons that you should know about when choosing a full-screen Hero Image for your website. You want to get this right!
Hero Images and Why You Need Them
A Hero Image is a term you may or may not have heard before. It’s a picture or video that is in an oversized banner area at the top of your website or landing page. A Hero Image is typically what gives your website viewer their first impression of your company. It provides a sense of design, displays your brand style, and shows your product or services and informs them about what you do and what you’re all about. This happens in a matter of milliseconds, that’s all the time you get for this first impression.
Can’t people just read your website and learn about what you do without a Hero Image you might be asking? Well, technically yes, but without a Hero Image you may not be able to keep viewers on your website long enough to do so.
Think about it… many of the messages or even just feelings you remember are from stories you have been told or images you’ve seen. We put ourselves in the experience and it helps us retain them easier. Images can add a whole new level as sight is one of our most powerful senses. Visuals give us a quick “story” and “paint a picture” that we can insert ourselves into. This is what you want for your customers, to tell them your story and make them want to be part of it.
Pros and Tips with Full-Screen Hero Images on a Website
A great, high-resolution, full-screen Hero Image can make a huge impact. You have a bigger space to tell the story you want to tell and more area to communicate and engage your viewers in a compelling way. Your call to action (CTA) can be up front and center with a full-screen hero image as well. Your viewer can’t miss it.
Full-screen Hero Images can be completely immersive. A simple image that doesn’t have much going on can grab you even more than one that is busy with a lot going on. Keeping Hero Images, especially large Hero Images simple can be very helpful when overlaying a heading or other text as well.
Hero Images that incorporate softer color schemes that are easy on the eyes are becoming more and more popular. Take note and realize that your image, especially when it’s a full-screen Hero Image is effective on its own. You don’t have to have bold colors blasting your audience to be seen.
Full-screen Hero Images afford you room to be creative and original. Don’t be afraid to use photos of your own or try something new by inserting a video of your product. Make sure they are professional and look great in all formats but have fun. When you enjoy what you do, your viewers will too!
Cons of Full-Screen Hero Images
While there are pros to a full-screen hero image, there are several cons as well, or at least things you should be aware of and monitor if you do choose to use one. Some of these include:
- Increased loading times. Large images can slow down the time it takes to load your webpage. This can be especially true if your user is on a mobile device. All that you’re trying to achieve with your Hero Image can be lost if it takes too long for your viewers to see it in the first place. Do your homework on this one and take extra time to do what you can to decrease load time. It can help with your Google ranking too!
- Image cropping is inevitable. Your viewers are coming to you in all kinds of ways. Some are using large high-res screens, others have old low-res monitors, and still more and more are accessing websites through their mobile devices. You must consider all types of users and how your full-screen Hero Image will be scaled to fit the screen.
- Larger screens must scale up images to fill their screen, resulting in a very large, very blurry, full-screen image. Background images are fine to be a bit blurry, but if your Hero Image is intended to be sharp, it won’t look right. Larger, higher quality images are uploaded as Hero Images to compensate, but larger file sizes come along with the larger, better picture, leading to longer load times once again.
Are Full-Screen Hero Images Right for You?
In the end, it’s not only about the size, or simply about the look and design of an image. Ask yourself, does your image draw you in? Does it evoke emotion or persuade you to act? The truth is, you want your Hero Image to do all the above, make your customers feel something, provide style and design to your webpage, as well as inform your customers about you and why they want to know more.
ARYU Advertising, a leading digital advertising firm in the Dallas Fort Worth area has experience using Hero Images for all different types of businesses. We’ve experimented, tested, measured, and then started all over again to perfect our digital marketing strategies into what you can use to make your business even more successful.
If you’re ready to level up and make Hero Images a part of your website but aren’t quite sure how to do it most effectively, ARYU Advertising is here to help. We would love to talk with you about all the services we provide and how we can add value to your digital marketing strategy and lead online traffic in your direction. Contact us for more information.
