I cannot get my image to upload or show up even after I get it uploaded. What am I doing wrong?
First, we do not recommend you to use huge logo files or giant product images. Keep in mind that people will not wait to see your site, or buy anything, if it takes your site a long time to load.
Recommended image file formats:
GIF - Graphics Interchange Format - pictures store single or multiple raster image data in 8-bit, or 256 colors. GIF pictures support transparency, compression, interlacing, and multiple-image pictures. GIF pictures are suitable for logos and animations.
JPG - Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) - pictures store a single raster image in 24-bit color. JPEG is a platform-independent format that supports the highest levels of compression; however, this compression is lossy. JPG pictures are the best for photos and we recommend you to use this file format with quality "40" for your product pictures.
Suggested image sizes:
Thumbnails: No larger than 150 px x 150 px (Typical useage is 70 px x 70 px)
Detailed Image: No larger than 500 px x 500 px (Typical useage is 400 px x 400 px or some width or depth that fits within these parameters)
Getting the images:
You can get images for your store from a lot of different sources.
You can:
• Use a digital camera and take photos of your products.
• Use a usual camera to take photos of the products and scan the photos afterwards.
• Scan photos from catalogues and user manuals.
• Use pictures of a product which has supplemental CD.
• Use pictures of the products some producers offer at their web sites.
Note: A primary consideration that everybody must have is that of ownership of materials. Copyright infringement is an important topic in Internet design. The use of other people's materials without their permission or without compensating them in some form may be considered a criminal activity. Copyright infringement, plagiarism, theft, misuse or misappropriation of intellectual property, inappropriate use of images -- the courts are full of these types of cases involving the Internet. If you have any doubts, ask permission BEFORE you use a graphic.
Getting the file ready for the web:
Whatever the source of image is, CD, digital camera, scanning, or Internet you are very likely going to have to reduce the size and resolution for web viewing.
Using your image editor: Crop (as close as you can to the subject of the image).
Resize (if necessary).
Save as image (choose the appropriate file format GIF or JPG)
Tip: Always keep original file for further use if necessary
Troubleshooting
If you've done everything right, your image should display well and load fast. If you have problems, use this checklist before you open a ticket.
1. Make sure the image is not too big for the application requirements. For example, the Desktop Manager may only allow image uploads up to 200 px wide. If you try to upload an image that is 210 px wide, it won't be allowed.
2. Check the resolution. It should be 72 dpi for the web. Larger files will show up, but it will increase the size of the image file, take up bandwidth and load slow.
As a result, if the dpi is higher than recommended, a 200 px wide image with a 150 dpi will not be within the allowed size and will not load. In plain language, the higher dpi causes the image to increase in byte size and may not meet the requirements.
3. A common error is the "format," especially from pictures taken with a digital camera. For the Internet, use RGB format, not CMYK.
4. Check to see if your jpg image is an RGB file and your gif image is an Indexed file. You will get a broken image symbol if these don't match.
5. Use lower case letters to name your image files. Avoid spaces. Instead use under_scores or use-hyphens.
6. Try to keep the name of your image files about 8 characters long. Longer is okay, but shorter is better.
7. Avoid punctuation in your image names. blue_chairs.jpg not blue_chair's.jpg
8. Avoid slashes within your image name.
Tip: For web stores, name the image the same as your SKU and you will avoid many headaches and lost time. |
