— eCommerce-Guide.com
By Vangie Beal
If you own an online store, it's a good practice to ensure you offer shoppers clear and professional-lookingproduct images. The images you use in your store will rouse consumer interest in your products. A plain or poor-quality digital photo of the item you sell is just not enough to inspire a purchase.
Online store owners and eBay sellers working with a limited budget can skip the cost of purchasing commercial image editing software and use free Web-based or open source tools to perk up product shots.
Here are five free image editors to get you started.
If you need help using GIMP, a simple Google search will yield a number of articles on how to effectively use some of the tools in the program. More advanced users can download additional scripts and brushes.
Since Pixlr is a Web-based image editing tool, you don't have to download or install anything. You simply load it into your Web browser.
Splashup offers a number of features including layers with blending modes and numerous effects and filters to spice-up your product shots and other business images.
Picasa is a basic program, but it's user-friendly and meets the needs of most online store owners who need to liven up a few product images.
January 25, 2012
If you own an online store, it's a good practice to ensure you offer shoppers clear and professional-lookingproduct images. The images you use in your store will rouse consumer interest in your products. A plain or poor-quality digital photo of the item you sell is just not enough to inspire a purchase.
Online store owners and eBay sellers working with a limited budget can skip the cost of purchasing commercial image editing software and use free Web-based or open source tools to perk up product shots.
5 Free Image Tools for Online Store Owners
There are a number of basic functions that you will want to use to fix up product shots, so even if the editor is free, save time by making sure the basic options are available. Look for crop, rotate and brushes. And be sure it includes a text editor in case you need to add a copyright tag or caption directly on to the image. Remember that using too many special image effects will make your product shot look fake, so stick with the tools that enhance the natural look of the product in your online store.Here are five free image editors to get you started.
1. GIMP: The GNU Image Manipulation Program
GIMP is one of the most well-known an open source image editors. It comes complete with layering, brushes, lighting and more features that let you add a cutting-edge look to your images. Online store owners will want to work with some of the tools for rotation, cropping and text.If you need help using GIMP, a simple Google search will yield a number of articles on how to effectively use some of the tools in the program. More advanced users can download additional scripts and brushes.
- Main features: .gif animation capabilities, brushes, layering with blend modes, filtering and color effects, transformation tools, a text editor and photo creation capabilities.
- Cost: GIMP is open source software (so it's free) and available for Windows, Mac, Linux and UNIX systems.
2. Pixlr: Web-Based Image Editing with Drop-Down Menus
Pixlr is a Web-based image editing program that can help online store owners make images and product shots look snazzy and appealing to your site viewers and customers. The image editor features movable (and scalable) windows for editing, drop-down menus to use effects, filters, brushes and other image editing tools. Pixlr offers an easy-to-use text editor, so you can add slogans and catchy phrases to your images and Web advertisements.Since Pixlr is a Web-based image editing tool, you don't have to download or install anything. You simply load it into your Web browser.
- Main features: easy drop-down menus, filters and effects, brushes, transformations, text editor and no downloading because it's Web-based.
- Cost: Pixlr is free -- no credit cards, accounts, or trials. It's available on all operating systems with an up-to-date Web browser. It also works with Android and Apple iOS devices.
3. Splashup: Free Web Editing with Social Sharing
Splashup is another Web-based image editor that can be used in conjunction with popular photo sharing services like Facebook and Flickr. This social integration allows Web shop owners to access photos directly and not have to download them to a hard drive, edit, then upload them.Splashup offers a number of features including layers with blending modes and numerous effects and filters to spice-up your product shots and other business images.
- Main Features: integrated photo sharing, layering with blend modes, filters and effects, text editor, edit photos directly off of a webcam, and it's Web-based.
- Cost: Splashup is completely free, and requires no credit cards or accounts; you just open the Web page and edit your photos. It works on any operating system with an up-to-date Web browser.
4. Picasa: Organize, Store and Edit Images
Picasa is a free program offered by Google that lets you host, organize and edit all images on your computer. It's pretty simple: after you install Picasa, it searches for all images on your hard drives. Once it has indexed them, it stores them in a library for easy access. Features include basic image fixes, such as color and contrast, and you can crop, rotate and add text. There are several effects and filters you can use to turn plain images in to showcase quality.Picasa is a basic program, but it's user-friendly and meets the needs of most online store owners who need to liven up a few product images.
- Main Features: create a photo library to index your images, includes all basic editing tools, filters and effects and a text editor.
- Cost: Picasa is completely free to download and use. It works on Windows, Mac and Linux systems.
5. Fotoflexer: A Web-Based Tool with a Simple Interface
Fotoflexer is another Web-based image editor that offers a decent number of features and a simple interface that makes editing images a painless task. Fotoflexer integrates with images and photos on a number of popular social sites including Facebook, MySpace, Flickr and Photobucket. The Web tool offers most of the basic image editing tools such as crop, resize, rotate and text editing. Online store owners can also add image effects and filters to give product shots a unique look.- Main Features: integrated photo sharing, all basic photo editing tools, text editor, effects and filters, and it's Web-based.
- Cost: Fotoflexer is completely free, and works with any operating system with an up-to-date browser, since it is Web-based.
More Online Store Product Page Tips
Looking to get a better handle on improving your online store? Try these tips and guides for small business ecommerce sites:- E-commerce Content: Writing Product Descriptions
- Product Shots that Pop: It's Not About the Pixels
- Prepping Product Shots for Web Shops
- Ecommerce Website Design Tips: The Product Page
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