Using Images: Upload, Optimize, and AI-Generate
Images make your website visually appealing and engaging. Learn how to upload images, optimize them for fast loading, and even generate custom images using AI.
Performance tip: Optimized images can reduce page load time by 50-70%. Always compress images before uploading.
3 Ways to Add Images
1. Upload Your Own Images
The simplest way—use your existing photos and graphics.
How to upload:
Tell the AI: "Add an image of [description] to [page]"
AI will create an image placeholder
Click the placeholder to upload your image
Or tell AI: "Replace the placeholder with my image"
Example prompt:
"Add a hero image to the homepage. I'll upload my own photo of our team."
2. Use Image URLs
Link to images hosted elsewhere (your server, image CDN, etc.)
Example prompt:
"Add a logo at the top left corner using this URL: https://mysite.com/logo.png"
Good for: Images already hosted, logos from brand assets, product images from your inventory system.
3. Generate with AI
Create custom images using AI image generation.
Example prompt:
"Generate an AI image for the hero section: A modern office space with people collaborating, bright and professional, blue and white tones"
See the AI Art Generation guide for details.
Image Optimization Basics
Optimized images load faster and save bandwidth.
Recommended Image Specs
Format: WebP (best), or JPG for photos, PNG for logos/graphics
Hero images: 1920x1080px, under 200KB
Product images: 800x800px, under 100KB
Thumbnails: 400x400px, under 50KB
Icons/logos: SVG (scalable) or PNG 200x200px
How to Compress Images
Before uploading, use these free tools:
TinyPNG (tinypng.com) - Compress PNG and JPG
Squoosh (squoosh.app) - Convert to WebP, compress
ImageOptim (imageoptim.com) - Mac app for batch compression
Example workflow:
Take/download original image (e.g., 5MB)
Open in Squoosh.app
Convert to WebP format
Adjust quality to 80-85%
Download result (now ~200KB)
Upload to HeyBoss
Adding Images with Prompts
Hero Section Images
Prompt template:
"Add a hero section to the homepage with a [description] image on the [left/right/background]. The image should be [dimensions] and [style]."
Examples:
"Add a hero section with a product mockup image on the right. Use a placeholder for now, I'll upload the actual product photo."
"Create a full-width background hero image showing a modern workspace. Generate it with AI using blue and white professional colors."
"Add a hero section with my logo image centered above the headline. Logo URL: https://mysite.com/logo.svg"
Image Galleries
Prompt template:
"Create an image gallery on [page] with [number] images in a [layout]. Images should be [size] with [spacing]."
Example:
"Create a portfolio gallery on /work page with 12 images in a 3-column grid. Images should be square (400x400px) with 16px spacing. Add lightbox popup when clicked."
Product Images
Prompt template:
"Display product image on /products/[id] page. Main image should be [size], with [number] thumbnail images below. Add zoom on hover."
Example:
"Show product image on the product detail page. Main image 600x600px on the left, 4 thumbnail images below for different angles. Add zoom effect when hovering over main image."
Responsive Images
Make sure images look good on all devices.
Automatic responsive images:
"Make all images responsive - they should scale down on mobile devices and maintain aspect ratio."
Specific breakpoints:
"For the hero image: show 1920x1080px on desktop, 1024x768px on tablet, 750x500px on mobile."
Different images per device:
"Use hero-desktop.jpg on screens wider than 768px, and hero-mobile.jpg on smaller screens."
Lazy Loading for Performance
Lazy loading defers image loading until they're about to be viewed.
Enable lazy loading:
"Add lazy loading to all images on the /blog page. Images should only load as user scrolls down."
Benefits:
Faster initial page load
Saves bandwidth for users who don't scroll
Better performance scores
Smoother user experience
Image Alt Text for SEO and Accessibility
Alt text helps visually impaired users and improves SEO.
Good alt text:
Describes what's in the image
Under 125 characters
Includes relevant keywords (naturally)
Omit "image of" or "picture of"
Examples:
❌ Bad: "image123.jpg"
✅ Good: "Blue running shoes on wooden floor"
❌ Bad: "pic"
✅ Good: "Team meeting in modern conference room"
❌ Bad: "photo of logo"
✅ Good: "Acme Company logo"
Add alt text with prompts:
"Add alt text to all product images: describe the product, color, and key features."
Background Images
Add background image:
"Set a background image for the hero section using this URL: https://mysite.com/hero-bg.jpg. Add a dark overlay so the white text is readable."
Parallax effect:
"Add a parallax scrolling effect to the hero background image. Image should scroll slower than the page content."
Pattern backgrounds:
"Add a subtle pattern background to the features section. Use a light geometric pattern that doesn't distract from content."
Image Placeholders
Placeholders are useful during development.
Common placeholder services:
Placeholder.com: Simple colored boxes
Unsplash: Real stock photos
Lorem Picsum: Random images
Using placeholders:
"Add 6 product cards with placeholder images (400x400px). I'll replace them with real product photos later."
Handling Image Errors
Broken Image Prevention
Add fallback images:
"If a product image fails to load, show a default 'no image available' placeholder instead of a broken image icon."
Image Not Found
Debug prompt:
"The product images on /products aren't loading. URLs are correct, but showing broken image icon. Check if the image paths are correct."
AI-Generated Images
Generate custom images when you don't have photos.
When to Use AI-Generated Images
Need unique hero images
Creating concept art or illustrations
Don't have photography budget
Want specific style/mood
Building prototypes quickly
Writing Good AI Image Prompts
Include these elements:
Subject: What's in the image
Style: Photorealistic, illustration, minimalist, etc.
Colors: Color palette or mood
Composition: Portrait, landscape, close-up, etc.
Lighting: Bright, dark, natural light, etc.
Example:
"Generate a hero image: Modern coworking space with diverse team collaborating around laptop, bright natural lighting through large windows, professional but friendly atmosphere, blue and orange accent colors, landscape orientation, photorealistic style."
Image Best Practices
✅ Do:
Compress images before uploading
Use WebP format when possible
Add descriptive alt text
Use lazy loading for below-the-fold images
Test images on mobile devices
Use appropriate dimensions (don't upload 4K for a 400px thumbnail)
Use SVG for logos and icons
❌ Don't:
Upload uncompressed 5MB images
Forget alt text
Use images without permission/license
Rely only on images for important info (accessibility)
Use text in images (bad for SEO and mobile)
Ignore loading performance
Use low-quality pixelated images
Common Image Scenarios
Scenario 1: E-commerce Product Images
Prompt:
"Create a product page with main image (600x600px) on the left. Below the main image, show 5 thumbnail images in a horizontal row. When clicking a thumbnail, it becomes the main image. Add zoom on hover for the main image. All images should have alt text describing the product."
Scenario 2: Team/About Page
Prompt:
"Add a team section to /about page. Display 8 team member photos in a 4-column grid (desktop) and 2-column on mobile. Each photo should be circular, 200x200px, with name and title below. Photos are placeholders for now—I'll upload real team photos."
Scenario 3: Blog Post Images
Prompt:
"Add a featured image to each blog post. Image should be 1200x630px (good for social sharing), display at the top of the post above the title. Add lazy loading. Alt text should be the blog post title."
Troubleshooting Image Issues
Why are my images loading slowly?
Images are likely too large. Compress them to under 200KB for hero images, 100KB for regular images. Use WebP format and enable lazy loading. Check file sizes—anything over 500KB is too big for web.
Images look blurry on retina displays. How to fix?
Provide 2x resolution images for retina displays. For a 400x400px image, upload an 800x800px version and scale it down with CSS. Or use SVG for logos and icons—they scale perfectly.
Can I use Google Images or any image I find online?
No! Only use images you have rights to: your own photos, purchased stock photos, free stock from sites like Unsplash/Pexels, or AI-generated images. Using random images from Google can result in copyright violations.
How do I add a watermark or logo overlay to images?
Tell the AI: 'Add my logo as a watermark in the bottom-right corner of all product images. Logo should be semi-transparent (30% opacity).' Upload your logo first.
What's the best image format?
WebP for most photos (best compression). SVG for logos/icons (scalable). PNG for graphics with transparency. JPG is acceptable but larger than WebP. Avoid GIF for photos.
How many images is too many on one page?
Keep it reasonable. A homepage might have 5-10 images. A blog post 2-5 images. Product page 5-8 images. More than 20 images on one page will hurt performance. Use lazy loading if you must have many images.
See also: AI Art Generation | Performance Optimization
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