Visuals requirements and policies
Studies have shown that using images, videos and other types of embedded content is highly effective for increasing traffic, shares, engagement and time spent on the page.
Visuals should:
illustrate the process.
illustrate the main point (person, institution, service), etc.
provide proof of your claims.
Training on visuals
Images
Find and use some cool images for your article that are not protected by copyright (free stocks like those listed here, Wikipedia local news websites are also okay in some cases (contact editor in this case). Provide credits using proper formatting and rules that are given further in the course.
General requirements for images
There should be at least one picture per 2k characters without spaces;
There should be at least 5 images in a gallery article (example);
Images must be of high quality, relevant and creative;
Images should be RELEVANT, must contribute to a positive user experience and help understand the subject of the article better;
Images should be mostly horizontal;
The image width must be at least 1200px. If there is a need to use an image that is smaller/bigger than 1200px, it is necessary to resize it first.
The content creator should use third-party tools whenever possible to create their custom-made images that are not found in any other source;
Images must not contain watermarks or other symbols. In other words, images must be clean of any logos, semi-transparent texts or symbols;
If you’re explaining a step-by-step process in a guide, add your screenshots (high-quality) at all times;
Images must not promote other people or businesses that are not our partners. In other words, images should be free of any promos and ads;
Images should serve to improve the overall impression that will cause only a positive response from most of the readers and be in compliance with Google Policies.
Images must be placed evenly throughout the body of the text. They should not interrupt the easy consumption of textual information;
Alt-text
Alt-text helps search engines (Google) to understand what is shown in the picture. Use alt tags to rank higher and get traffic from pics.
Alt-text should describe what is exactly depicted in the picture + keyword, if relevant:
Bad (missing alt text):
<img src="puppy.jpg"/>Bad (keyword stuffing):
<img src="puppy.jpg" alt="puppy dog baby dog pup pups puppies doggies pups litter puppies dog retriever labrador wolfhound setter pointer puppy jack russell terrier puppies dog food cheap dogfood puppy food"/>Better:
<img src="puppy.jpg" alt="puppy"/>Best:
<img src="puppy.jpg" alt="Dalmatian puppy playing fetch"/>
Good example:
One more example, alt text for a photo of Justin Trudeau in New York City for Global Citizen:
Try this: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gets off a plane in New York, the Global Citizen summit.
Avoid this: justin trudeau bio.
Tips for effective alt text:
Provide semantic meaning to an image, be specific and succinct (around 125 characters). Tell readers the type of image to help understand context (if it’s a headshot, illustration, chart, screenshot, etc., those details are useful).
If a screenshot includes text, transcribe it in the alt text.
Avoid phrases like “image of” or “photo of.” When screen readers pick up alt text, readers will know it’s an image.
Try Bing for describing pictures. It helps create great alt-texts.
Captions
Images need an explanation for readers. They must be supplemented with explanatory text in captions.
Describe briefly the picture in the caption - if it’s a collage or it’s not clear who this person is and what he/she is doing. It’s just a clarification of what the person is doing and who she/he is, or how it is related to the article. It helps Google and the reader understand the picture and the context better.
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Rules of crediting images
All images must be supplemented with proper credits and attributions without exceptions.
Credits are added to the image caption AFTER the explanatory caption.
Choose UGC source for infographics, gifs, collages, stock images. In other cases, please choose appropriate sources like Facebook, Instagram, Getty Images, etc. E.g. [Source: Facebook] should not be a part of the caption. It’s generated automatically under the caption when you choose it in the gallery.
Credits mention the domain name and the name of the author / user (whenever this information can be obtained from the source);
Credits for original unmodified images are formatted as ‘Photo: xxx, yyy’ where xxx is the author’s name (if available) and yyy is the domain name. E.g. Photo: Nina Rikudo, unsplash.com.
Credits for collages (combined images) should be formatted as ‘Photo: xxx1, yyy1 / xxx2, yyy2 / xxx3, yyy3 (modified by the author) means that you made changes to original images, e.g. combined them into one collage or added any special effects or texts.
For custom bio pics, choose:
Source: Original (without watermark).
Caption: Top-5 facts about Jack Dafoe. Photo: Paul Bruinooge/Getty Images (modified by author).
Visual information copyright and reuse
In order to avoid breaking copyright laws, contributors must give preference to images that are not protected by copyright and can be reused. We have several options:
Use Getty Images. Please contact the line manager to get the login details.
Use Google filters to find images that are not protected by copyright and can be reused, but still need to be credited (you won’t find any good pics most of the time):
Using images from free image collections like (most preferred option):
Using images from Wikipedia.org (make sure to credit the author):
How to take high-quality screenshots
Make sure the window you're taking a screenshot of takes up the whole screen before you take the screenshot to enhance your screenshot and provide a clearer result:
On a Mac, hitting Command+Plus
Ctrl+Plus will do the same on Windows.
Take a screenshot:
Windows: Win+Shift+S together. The screenshot will show up as a thumbnail in the top right corner; you can modify or save it by clicking on the thumbnail.
Mac: Cmd+Shift+4 or Cmd+Shift+5.
Save the image: PNG is a better option than JPEG for preserving the quality of your screenshots.
Use
Use software to improve quality.