Before being published, our article could benefit from some finishing touches, such as:
- Images to the make the Content Article more interesting and engaging.
- Links to further reading, for the reader to learn more about the topic.
Calls to Action (such as Social Sharing buttons and opt-in forms) will be inserted into the article automatically.
Adding Images
A good Content Article should include one Featured Image at the top of the page, and at least one Content Image every two sections. (Or, if the Content Article does not have sections, one every three paragraphs.)
Determine how many images your Content Article needs, and then start searching for them online.
Important Guidelines for Searching for Images Online
- Always use large images, preferably at least 1000 pixels at the longest side. Make sure they are of high quality and not blurry or obscured.
- Do not use images with text or watermarks over them.
- Do not use illustrations.
- Images that are colorful and pleasing to look at are better. For example, a wide shot of Main Street is preferable over a close-up of a road sign.
Lastly, while searching, use this hierarchy, starting from the top.
- Source Images: Start by looking through your source content for images. For instance, in our article about Downtown Northville’s Twist, there included many images on the page already.
- Google Search: If your source content does not include images, turn to Google’s Image Search. For example, we can search for “northville mi the twist” and come up with lots of relevant images. If not, click the All tab at the top and see if any of the websites that come up have images that are worth using.
- Search for Stock Imagery: Finally, if none of the above works for you, search on Google Images for photos that would make sense to include in the Content Article. For instance, if our search for photos of Northville’s Twist comes back empty handed, try searching instead for “downtown northville mi restaurants” as the article references restaurants in Northville. If that doesn’t work, go even broader with terms such as “suburban downtown district” or “people enjoying downtown nightlife“.
Tips: In Google Images click Tools → Size to specifically search for Large images. Similarly, clicking Usage Rights → Creative Commons licenses should help return more generic stock images rather than ones related to irrelevant articles.
It may take some creativity to come up with a set of images that work for the Content Article you’ve created. But any image at all is better that no image—they turn heads and keep attention better than simply a wall of text.
Featured Image
From the images you’ve found, choose the one that is the most relevant or best portrays the article, and use this as your Featured Image. To add a Featured Image to your Content Article:
- On the right-hand menu, near the bottom, click the Set Featured Image link.
- On the next screen, upload the image from your computer, similar to how we uploaded images to the Customer’s TownSite. Click the Set featured image button once completed.
Content Images
We will need at least one Content Image (an image within the content) every two sections. Or, if the Content Article does not have sections, one every three paragraphs. To add a Content Image:
- Above your content, click the Add Media button.
- Like before, upload the image from your computer.
- On the right of the screen is the Attachment Display Settings. Make sure Size is set to Large or Full Size.
- Click Insert into post to finish.
Don’t worry if the image seems a bit large. Once the Content Article is published, TownSites will position, size and format the image correctly.
