There is an opportunity to create a Halo Effect each time a website is developed or redesigned. This is important because a Halo Effect impacts a potential buyer’s interest in your company, the decisions s/he makes, and the actions they take.
A Halo Effect is a human tendency to form a favorable impression in one area based on feelings, thoughts or opinions in another. Under the influence of a Halo Effect, we subconsciously bias everything associated with a select person, product or place. Based on a finite amount of information we believe that if X is true, then Y is true – even when there is no evidence or support linking the two. If you think a person is computer savvy, for example, you may also think s/he has the same level of expertise in websites, the Internet or anything technical.
The unconscious alteration of judgment works in both positive and negative directions. Just as when potential buyers that like one aspect of something have a positive predisposition toward everything about it, they also have a negative predisposition toward everything about it when they dislike an aspect of something.
Organizations that understand the premise behind a Halo Effect could activate its power using clean, crisp, and colorful images on their existing or new websites. Professionally taken photos can be the tide that raises all boats, elevating the image of an average website while decreasing negative or neutral impressions.
So honestly assess the value each image contributes to the storyline you want to tell, the impression you want to make, and the Halo Effect you want to create. If a photo on your website is ok, good enough, or just fine it is time to replace those snapshots with something professional.