Product infographics for Amazon and other marketplaces: what to show and what never to claim

A product infographic is a listing image with words on it, such as the product with its measurements, three features labelled with arrows or a chart comparing your sizes, and a good one answers one question a shopper would check. Build it on the real product, keep the words few and large enough to read on a phone, and leave off any claim you cannot prove. Amazon allows infographics after the main image, Walmart allows words without claims, and eBay allows no added text on any photo.

Done well, an infographic answers a shopper's question faster than any bullet. Done badly, it is an image full of small text and big promises, and on some marketplaces it is not allowed at all.

This guide covers what an infographic is for, the kinds that earn their place, how big the words must be, the claims to leave off, and where words on images are welcome and where they are not. It ends with a plan for a full set you can adapt to your product.

What is a product infographic for?

A product infographic is for one fact a buyer checks, and the best infographics answer one question each:

• How big is it? A size image.
• What does this part do? A feature image with the part labelled.
• Which one do I need? A comparison of your sizes or models.
• What is in the box? A contents image with each piece named, so nothing is a surprise on delivery.
• How do I use it? Numbered steps beside the product, in the order a buyer follows them.

Amazon asks for exactly this kind of image. Its update on how detail page images are selected says each page needs, among its first three images, one that shows product information, such as dimensions or nutrition facts.

A test for every infographic: cover the words with your hand. If the image still shows the product and the thing being explained, it works. If it becomes a blank background, the words are doing all the work, and they might as well be a bullet.

How do you make a size and dimensions image?

Make a size image on the real product, with real measurements and lines on its real edges. The size image is the most useful infographic for almost any product, because size is the question photos answer worst. The rules for making one:

• Use the real product. The measurements describe your product, so the image must show your product, not a drawing of something like it.
• Use real measurements, taken with a tape measure or from the specification, with units.
• Place the lines on the real edges. A height line that stops short of the lid tells the wrong story.
• Give a sense of scale where it helps: the product in a hand, or beside a familiar object.

For products sold in several sizes, a side-by-side image of each size with its measurements answers "which one?" in a glance.

How do you make a feature image with callouts?

A feature image with callouts shows the product with two to four parts labelled: a headline, short points, and lines or arrows to each part. The habits that make them work:

• Point at real parts. An arrow should end on the thing it names: the zip, the vent, the hinge.
• Three points, not ten. An image crowded with labels is read by nobody.
• One style throughout. The same fonts, colours and arrow style on every infographic in the listing.
• Facts, not adjectives. "Fits a 15-inch laptop" helps. "Spacious" does not.

What should a comparison chart compare?

A comparison chart should compare your range only, in facts. If you sell a product in several sizes, capacities or models, a comparison image saves shoppers from opening every listing. To make one that helps:

• Compare your range only. Each column is one of your products, shown with its real photo.
• Use the rows shoppers decide on: size, capacity, weight, what is included, the feature that differs.
• Use facts in every cell. "750 ml" and "1 litre", not "good" and "better".
• Mark the product on this page, so the shopper knows which column they are looking at.

A chart that compares your product with another brand's is a different thing: it is a claim about their product, and several marketplaces treat it as one.

When do contents and how-to images help?

Contents and how-to images earn their place for products with several pieces, assembly, set-up or a technique:

• What's in the box. Every piece laid out, nothing overlapping, each named if the names are not obvious. This image prevents the "missing parts" message after delivery.
• How to use it. Three or four numbered steps, each an image of the real product at that step, with a few words under each. Useful for anything with assembly, set-up or a technique.

Both should be built from photos of your real product and its real pieces. A drawn piece that is not in the box is worse than no image at all.

How big should text be on a product infographic?

Text on a product infographic should be large enough to read at phone size, because most shoppers see your images on a phone, where a 2,000-pixel image shrinks to the width of a hand. Text that looks comfortable on a monitor becomes unreadable. Amazon's A+ guidelines reject "images with watermarks or small text", and the same caution suits listing images.

Rules of thumb:

• Fewer words, larger type. A headline of a few words and short points.
• Strong contrast. Dark text on a light area, or light on dark, never over a busy part of the image.
• Check at phone size. Shrink the image to the width of your phone's screen and read every word. If you have to squint, enlarge the text or remove some.

Should every infographic in a listing look the same?

Yes. Infographics work best as a set. When every image uses the same fonts, the same two or three colours and the same arrow style, the listing reads as one brand, and shoppers can scan from image to image without working out a new layout each time.

• Two fonts at most: one for headlines, one for points.
• Colours from your brand or your product, with one accent colour for arrows and highlights.
• The same position for the headline on every image, top or bottom.
• Plenty of space. An image with room round the words looks more confident than one filled to the edges.

When is an infographic the wrong choice?

An infographic is the wrong choice for the main image, for eBay, and wherever words would only repeat the title or the scene:

• The main image, on every marketplace that asks for the product alone.
• Any image for eBay, where added text is not allowed on any photo.
• Images whose words would only repeat the title. "Premium water bottle" over an image of a water bottle tells the shopper nothing new.
• Lifestyle scenes where the scene already shows the point. An image of the bottle in a cyclist's cage says "fits a bike cage" without a label.

Which claims should a product infographic leave off?

A product infographic is advertising, and the words on it are held to the same standards as the words in your listing:

• Certifications you do not hold. No "certified", "tested" or "approved" badge without the certificate behind it. Walmart bars FDA logos and false FDA claims.
• Health claims. For health products, regulators judge an ad by its whole impression, images included, and claims need evidence. An infographic that says a supplement "boosts immunity" makes the same claim as a bullet.
• Numbers you cannot prove. "Lasts 10 years", "99% of users", "3x stronger" are claims. Use only figures you can show.
• Environmental claims. "Eco-friendly", "biodegradable" and "compostable" need evidence, and Walmart restricts some of them.
• Comparisons with other brands. A chart against a named competitor is a claim about their product.
• Badges that imitate the marketplace. A "best seller" or "choice" badge in your image misleads shoppers.

Which marketplaces allow words on images?

Amazon allows words on the images after the main image and Walmart allows them without claims, but eBay allows no added text on any photo:

Google Merchant Center can also remove text, watermarks and logos from product images automatically, and disapproves images where promotional overlays cover the product. If your Shopify store feeds Google Shopping, keep a clean main image for the feed.

So an infographic set made for Amazon cannot be copied straight to eBay. Plan for each marketplace: the infographics for the marketplaces that want them, plain photos for those that do not.

What are the most common infographic mistakes?

Too many features, text too small for a phone and unproven claims are the most common product infographic mistakes:

What should a full infographic set include?

A full infographic set for a typical product listed on Amazon is six images, the last two only when the product needs them:

1. Main image: no words.
2. Size: the product with its key measurements.
3. Features: three labelled parts on the real product.
4. In the box: every piece, named.
5. How to use: three or four numbered steps, if the product needs explaining.
6. Comparison: your sizes or models side by side, if you sell several.

Every image after the main image carries one idea, in words large enough to read on a phone, with nothing it cannot prove. For eBay, the same plan works with the words removed: the size, features and contents shown in photos, with the measurements and names moved to the item specifics and description, where eBay wants them.

How Commicorn helps

• Size images from your measurements. The Dimensions image places the lines on your real product, using the measurements you give us.
• Callouts on your real product. Feature images with a label, headline and points, written from your details, with the words on a separate layer you can change at any time.
• What's in the set and how-to images, with pieces and steps cut from your photos.
• Words sized for a phone. Text on our images is set large enough to read on a phone screen.
• Each marketplace's rules on export. Callout images stay out of your eBay folder, and comparison charts against other products stay out of your Walmart folder.

Commicorn makes callout and size images from your real product. Start free.

Questions sellers ask

Are infographics allowed on Amazon?

Yes, in the images after the main image. Amazon's main image must be the product alone on white, with no text or graphics.

Can I put words on eBay photos?

No. eBay does not allow added text, artwork or borders on any photo, so move measurements and names to the item specifics and description.

How many features should one infographic show?

Two to four, and three suits most products. An image crowded with labels is read by nobody, so put the other features in the bullets.

Can an infographic compare my product with another brand?

Avoid it. A chart against another brand is a claim about that brand's product, and several marketplaces treat it as one. Compare your range only.

Does Google Shopping allow text on product images?

Not as promotional text or overlays covering the product on the main image. Google Merchant Center can also remove text, watermarks and logos from product images automatically.