WooCommerce product photography: sizes, shot list and setup
WooCommerce has no fixed photo size: your theme sets it, under Appearance → Customize → WooCommerce → Product Images (main image width, thumbnail width and thumbnail cropping). Shoot square, at least twice the main image width, keep one aspect ratio across the shop, and give every product a hero, an in-use shot, a detail and a scale shot.
WooCommerce requirements
| Where sizes are set | Appearance → Customize → WooCommerce → Product Images (classic themes), or the theme's own settings; block themes size images in the Site Editor |
|---|---|
| Core defaults | Main (single product) image 600 px wide, uncropped; shop thumbnail 300 px, cropped 1:1; gallery thumbnail 100×100 |
| Thumbnail cropping | 1:1, a custom ratio such as 4:5, or uncropped (uncropped gives a ragged grid unless every photo shares one ratio) |
| Large uploads | WordPress scales any image wider or taller than 2560 px down to 2560 px and keeps the original |
| Formats | JPEG, PNG and WebP (WordPress 5.8+), AVIF (WordPress 6.5+) when your server supports it |
| Images per product | One product image plus a product gallery; core WooCommerce gives each variation one image |
- Upload larger than the display width: the zoom on single product pages only works when the image is bigger than the space it's shown in. 1200–2000 px square covers most themes.
- After changing image sizes, WooCommerce regenerates thumbnails in the background; on large shops, give it time before judging the grid.
- Fill each image's alt text in the Media Library: it's what image search and screen readers read.
- If the shop feeds Google Shopping (through Google for WooCommerce), the main product image has to meet Merchant Center's rules: no promotional text, watermarks or borders.
AI-generated images: WooCommerce itself has no rule on AI images, since the store is yours. The channels it feeds do: Google Merchant Center asks that AI-generated images keep IPTC metadata marking them as AI-made.
Platforms change these specs and some vary by category or country: check WooCommerce's own help pages before a large upload, or run your files through the image spec checker.
Packs for WooCommerce
Shopify Product Pack
Despite the name, built for any store's PDP: hero, four lifestyle, two detail and a founder-holding shot at 2048×2048, gallery-ordered.
You get: 8 photos · 1:1 · 2048² · ~12 min
How it worksProduct UGC Photos
Six lifestyle shots of the product held, worn or used, for the gallery and ads.
You get: 6 photos · 4:5 · 2048² · ~10 min
How it worksProduct Feed Carousel
Reads your WooCommerce shop's address and makes new-in, top-picks and sale carousels at today's prices.
You get: 4–12 slides · 9:16 · 1080p · ~2 min / carousel
How it worksA WooCommerce product photography shot list
Every product page has to do the job of a shop assistant. These six images answer the questions shoppers ask, in the order they ask them.
1. The hero
The product alone, front-on, on a plain background, lit evenly. This is the product image: the one the shop grid, related products, cart and Google Shopping show.
2. In use
The product doing its job, in the hands or setting of the buyer. This is the image that sells; a lifestyle shot from a generated scene fits here.
3. Detail
A close-up of the material, finish, stitching or label: what justifies the price. Upload it large enough that zoom shows something new.
4. Scale
The product next to something everyone knows the size of, or on a person. Pair it with the dimensions in the description.
5. Other angles
The back, the side, the inside: whatever a shopper would turn the product over to see in a shop.
6. What's in the box
Everything that ships, laid out. It prevents 'missing part' returns and support emails.
Setting up your images in WooCommerce
Pick one ratio for the whole shop
Square (1:1) is the safest, since every theme handles it. If you choose 4:5 for a fashion shop, set the thumbnail cropping to match and shoot everything at 4:5.
Set the sizes once, then shoot to them
Check the main image and thumbnail widths in the Customizer, or in your theme's settings when it overrides them. Upload at least twice the main image width so zoom and high-density screens stay sharp.
Use variation images for every colour
Each variation takes one image in core WooCommerce, and the gallery switches to it when a shopper picks the option. Shoot every colourway; a gallery plugin is needed for several images per variation.
Name files and write alt text
A file name like oak-side-table-natural.jpg and alt text that says what the image shows help image search and accessibility; WordPress stores alt text per image in the Media Library.
Compress before upload
Export JPEG or WebP at high quality. WordPress makes the smaller sizes itself, and an image plugin or CDN can convert to WebP or AVIF on the fly.
What it costs
ppl.studio is $1.99 a week, and your first 10 photos are free with no card. Photos and videos generate on your own Google Gemini API key, so Google bills the model usage directly at its rates; a few video packs can also use a fal key. There is no per-pack fee and no usage-rights fee: every image and video comes with full commercial rights. See pricing.
Questions
What size should WooCommerce product images be?+
Your theme decides. Check Appearance → Customize → WooCommerce → Product Images, or your theme's own settings, for the main image width, then upload square images at least twice that wide. 1200–2000 px square works for most themes.
Why are my WooCommerce product images blurry?+
Usually the upload is smaller than the size the theme displays, or the thumbnails were generated before you changed the size settings. Upload larger originals and let WooCommerce regenerate the thumbnails.
Why does my shop grid look uneven?+
The photos have different aspect ratios and thumbnail cropping is set to uncropped. Set cropping to 1:1 (or your chosen ratio), or reshoot so every product shares one ratio.
Can I add several images to one WooCommerce variation?+
Core WooCommerce gives each variation one image. For several images per variation you need a variation-gallery plugin.
Can ppl.studio make WooCommerce product photos from one product image?+
Yes. Upload a clear photo of the product and run a pack: the Shopify Product Pack's eight images suit any WooCommerce product page, and the Product Feed Carousel reads your shop's address for social carousels.
Further reading
Make a UGC video for WooCommerce.
Paste your product URL: Creator UGC Video writes the script, picks a persona and renders a 9:16 ad with captions in about ten minutes.
Other platforms
Shopify
2048×2048 squares, a full PDP shot list, and the pack that makes it.
Amazon
Pure-white mains, lifestyle secondaries and A+ Content, made to spec.
TikTok Shop
A real main image, AI lifestyle in later slots, and video that meets Shop rules.
Etsy
2000 px photos, the real item first, AI scenes for scale and gifting.
Meta Ads
1:1, 4:5 and 9:16 creative with safe zones, and AI disclosure rules.
2:3 pins at 1000×1500, product in a planned setting, AI labels.
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