Images: Why your hero stock photo is making your product feel cheap

You shipped your landing page. The hero has a generic stock photo of people pointing at a laptop. Visitors land, glance once, and decide your product is forgettable before they read the headline.

Images set the emotional tone of your page in milliseconds. Visitors process them before words. Bad images don't just look ugly — they make your product feel cheap, generic, or untrustworthy. Good images do the heavy lifting your copy can't. This guide breaks down how to choose them.

What good image design really is

It's the deliberate choice of every visual on your page — hero, thumbnails, illustrations, infographics — to support what the visitor is supposed to feel and understand.

If an image isn't doing a job, it shouldn't be on the page.

"Illustrations and images in interfaces need to be intentional: every pixel must have a purpose." — Brad Frost

Visitors find meaning in patterns. Strong visuals reduce mental work — visitors get the message without reading. Weak ones add noise.

Why images matter on a landing page

The right images do three things at once.

Trust and emotion

Faces, real environments, and authentic photography signal trust. A fintech with friendly illustrations lowers anxiety. A premium tool with crisp screenshots signals quality.

Scannability

Visitors don't read; they scan. Images become anchors that stop the eye. A clear screenshot, a labeled diagram, a feature illustration — all work as visual signposts.

Conversion

Generic stock photos cause "banner blindness" — visitors assume they're ads and skip them. Authentic imagery (real product, real team, real screenshots) builds proof that converts.

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How to use images on your page

You need a tiered approach — different image types for different jobs.

1. Pick the right image type

a. Hero images

The face of your page. High-impact, high-quality. The hero either reinforces the value prop or wastes prime real estate.

b. Thumbnails

Visual previews — in cards, lists, or galleries. Aspect ratio consistency matters more than the image itself.

c. Avatars

Represent users or brands. Logos for companies, real photos or clean graphics for users.

d. Graphics and infographics

Numbers and shapes that explain data faster than a paragraph can.

e. Illustrations

For abstract concepts photography can't capture. Stylized, branded, custom — they signal personality.

2. Best practices

Set a clear focal point

The eye should know where to land first. On responsive layouts, make sure the focal point doesn't get cropped on mobile.

• Do this: object-fit: cover and intentionally framed subjects.
• Don't: Let the important part of the photo get sliced off on a 375px viewport.

Optimize file size

High quality doesn't mean huge files. Slow images kill UX and SEO.

• Do this: WebP or AVIF. Use srcset to serve smaller files to smaller screens.
• Don't: Drop a 5MB PNG for a thumbnail.

Get accessibility right

Always provide alt text. Screen readers depend on it.

• Do this: Describe the intent — "founder using laptop in coffee shop" beats "image."
• Don't: Stuff keywords or leave alt blank on important images.

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Common ways builders break this

Cheesy stock photos

• The mistake: Generic boardroom high-fives, "diverse team smiling at laptop."
• The fix: Real product screenshots, real team photos, or curated authentic stock from Unsplash.

Unreadable text overlays

• The mistake: White text over a busy hero image. Visitors can't read the headline.
• The fix: Dark gradient overlay, blur, or pick images with intentional negative space for text.

Mixed visual styles

• The mistake: 3D illustrations, flat icons, and grainy stock photos all in the same page.
• The fix: Pick one style and use it everywhere — minimalist, line art, claymorphism, whatever fits the brand.

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How real products do this

Airbnb

Airbnb uses hero images to sell aspiration. The visitor pictures themselves in the rental before they read the headline. The photos do the marketing.

Strava

Strava turns data into images — maps of routes, graphs of performance, athlete avatars. The visuals make achievements feel personal and shareable.

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Related principles

Images live inside a system. These shape how yours feel:

Iconography

When a small icon does the job better than a heavy image.

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Resources & further reading

Storyset

A massive bank of customizable illustrations.

Undraw

Beautiful, open-source illustrations for every project.

Unsplash

The internet's source for freely usable high-quality images.

Pexels

Free stock photos and videos shared by talented creators.

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Frequently asked questions