The Photo Mistake That Can Ruin Your Squarespace Banner

Avoid costly design blunders with your Squarespace banners by mastering photo composition and ensuring a seamless presentation across all devices.

#CoffeeClip004: How to take photos for Squarespace banners

#CoffeeClip004: How to take photos for Squarespace banners

Most of us have been there: you’ve found the perfect photo, uploaded it onto your homepage, and then you check the result on your phone…and half your star player’s head has vanished. Or perhaps your products look sprawling and dramatic on your desktop, but on tablet or mobile, all you get is a suspiciously cropped corner of a table leg. Squarespace is a brilliant platform for design, but banner images still catch even experienced folks off guard.

Today, I want to help solve a little problem that, if ignored, can quietly ruin first impressions: how to take (or commission) photos for your website banners that actually look good everywhere. If you want your site to look sharp no matter who’s viewing it, read on.

Why This Matters

Think of your website’s banners as the welcome mat for your digital house. It’s usually the first thing people see, and it quietly sets the tone for your whole brand, whether you offer art prints, legal services, or alpaca wool hats. If your banners look strange, stretched or awkward on different devices, you’re sending a subtle message: “We’re not paying attention to the details.”

Why should you care? Poorly composed or cropped banners:

  • Waste your time: You’ll faff around endlessly, re-uploading, cropping, re-cropping, only to discover it looks worse on another device.
  • Eat into your budget: Professional photoshoots or stock images aren’t cheap. If those shots can’t adapt, you’re not getting your money’s worth.
  • Undermine your credibility: If your visuals look off, what does it say about your business or portfolio?

Good banner images serve a practical purpose as well as looking attractive. Get it right, and you save time, money, reputation, and sanity.

Common Pitfalls

Let’s get honest for a moment. Here’s where so many people (including seasoned designers with a deadline looming) trip up:

  • Assuming one size fits all: You fall in love with an image, whack it onto the site, and expect it to look great on every device. Spoiler: it rarely does.
  • Focusing on the wrong area: That epic landscape looks grand on a desktop, but most of it disappears on mobile, revealing only a confusing blur of grass.
  • No breathing space: If the subject almost touches the edges, cropping for banners can leave it feeling claustrophobic—or worse, lop off something important.
  • Ignoring safe zones: Without considering what will be visible where, your key message or face could end up out of frame.
  • Forgetting mobile altogether: Desktop previews deceive you; more people browse on their phones than ever.

There's no need to worry—these issues are fixable with a little strategy.

Step-by-Step Fix

Step 1: Understand and Use the 9 Block Grid

Squarespace banners do not have one simple shape. They stretch, shrink, and crop depending on screen size. To handle this, imagine splitting your photo into a 3×3 grid, a bit like noughts and crosses. This “9 block grid” helps you plan which parts are always safe, and which might end up out of view.

Here’s how to apply it:

  1. Visually divide your frame into nine equal rectangles.
  2. The centre three blocks (the bullseye) are the “safe zone.” Whatever you put here is very likely to appear on all devices, especially on phones.
  3. The side blocks and outer corners may only appear on your banner on larger screens, so don’t put anything essential there.

If maths isn’t your thing, don’t panic: most smartphone cameras and editing apps have a grid overlay. Switch it on before you shoot.

Pixelhaze Tip:
If you’re working with a photographer, send them a rough mock-up or sketch of a grid over a photo. This makes your idea clear. And if you’re taking your own photos, pop a sticky note in the centre of your viewfinder to remind yourself where the critical action should happen.
💡

Step 2: Plan Ahead—Write a Brief for the Shoot

Most wasted photoshoots happen because of poor planning. Perhaps the location looks stunning, but there’s nowhere to stand that leaves plenty of “safe” space. Or you’ve shot a portrait where the subject’s forehead is practically in the top edge, with no wiggle-room for cropping.

Before you snap a single picture, do this:

  1. Decide which banners you need: homepage, About page, or Product categories?
  2. For each, note the size and shape. Squarespace templates vary, but banners are usually wide and shallow.
  3. For every shot, sketch or describe where the subject should sit (hint: IN those centre three blocks).

Example:
If you’re shooting your team in the office, don’t centre everyone right in the middle without any background. Instead, step back, include some space above, below, and to the sides. You’ll be able to crop later without guillotining anyone’s head.

Pixelhaze Tip:
If possible, use masking tape on the wall or floor to create rough markers, so subjects naturally line up within the grid. Or, when taking product shots, put the item in the centre with a generous margin around it. You can always crop it later, but making an image wider isn’t possible.
💡

Step 3: Always Leave Negative Space (Breathing Room)

It’s tempting, especially for close-ups, to fill every pixel with something interesting. Don’t do this—web banners need “breathing space” around your subject. Negative space not only looks pleasing but also means that vital details aren’t lost during cropping.

What does this mean in practice? Take two steps back. If you’re using a phone, physically move back or zoom out a bit. Create a buffer of plain background, sky, or wall around the important part of your image.

Pixelhaze Tip:
Check your image at its widest and its narrowest before uploading (Squarespace’s preview tool is great for this). Imagine a moving window over your photo. If anything critical ends up outside the centre, retake or re-crop.
💡

Step 4: Test on Every Device You (and Your Mates) Can Find

A banner that looks glorious on your shiny new MacBook Pro might be a disaster on your friend’s budget Android phone. As soon as your draft site is live, toggle through Squarespace’s device preview, but don’t stop there. Open the site on your own phone, your partner’s tablet, the old workhorse laptop that’s been gathering dust, and so on.

Watch for:

  • Cropped heads, missing logos or awkward alignments
  • Important text or faces slipping out of view
  • Unintentional closeups (like an ear or coat button dominating the screen)

Pixelhaze Tip:
If you can, call in a few favours and ask friends or colleagues to take screenshots on their own devices. Sometimes, fresh eyes catch oddities you’ve become blind to. Don’t be embarrassed—it’s a common practice among professionals.
💡

Step 5: Edit and Optimise Images before Uploading

High-resolution photos look beautiful, but they can slow down your website and still crop awkwardly if you haven’t composed them with banners in mind. Once you’ve got the shot, do this before uploading:

  1. Open the file in a decent editing app (yes, Canva works).
  2. Crop it using the 3×3 grid overlay.
  3. Shrink the file size. Squarespace recommends under 500kb if you can.
  4. Adjust brightness and contrast for clarity, especially if parts of your photo sit on screens with different colour balances.

Pixelhaze Tip:
Upload more than one version of your banner when possible. For example, use a wider, panoramic one for desktop and a cropped, square-ish one for mobile. Squarespace lets you set different images for each if you want to really control the look.
💡

Step 6 (For the Brave): Think About Text and Overlays

Many banners include headlines, menus, or brand logos overlaid on the photo. Check where these elements will appear to make sure they are legible. Does the background distract from the message? Sometimes, adding a slight fade or dark overlay to one part of the image makes text stand out.

Pixelhaze Tip:
If you’re not sure, choose clarity over drama. It’s better to have a slightly plainer image that’s easy to read than a visually chaotic one.
💡

What Most People Miss

One crucial habit separates casually placing an image from creating a versatile, professional banner: always design for flexibility. The world is full of oddly-shaped screens. Plan every shot so the story lives in the centre third of your image with plenty of margin, and you’ll be ready for every device your next visitor uses.

There’s also value in being unsentimental about cropping. If a photo isn’t working, set it aside and try another. The best designers are selective about banner images. The process is about choosing the images that best serve the design, not using every photo from the shoot.

The Bigger Picture

All of this might sound fussy, but let’s reframe the benefits. By mastering versatile banner photos, you reduce design headaches and also:

  • Save your own time and the designer’s patience (no more 47 rounds of “can you shift the face left?”)
  • Make your site look sharp, consistent and trustworthy
  • Prepare your visual assets for future devices, so your banners will still look great as technology changes
  • Get better value from every photoshoot, as those images will work from mega desktop down to the world’s oldest iPhone

Smart banner images offer excellent returns for your brand, given the minimal investment they require.

Jargon Buster

  • Banner Image: The big, wide photograph usually shown at the top of your website’s pages.
  • 9 Block Grid: Imagining your photo overlaid with a tic-tac-toe board—three rows, three columns—for composition.
  • Safe Zone: The central part of the image that’s visible on every device, even when the sides get cropped away.
  • Negative Space: Empty areas around the subject that make everything feel less crowded and give you flexibility for cropping.

FAQs

Q: How do I know how much “safe space” to leave?
A: As a rule of thumb, keep your key subject (person, product, logo) in the very centre third of the image. Give at least a hand’s-width of space above, below and to each side of the subject. If in doubt, step back or zoom out with your camera.

Q: What if my template crops the banner very narrowly?
A: Some Squarespace templates use extra-shallow banners, making the visible area tricky. Start with images that have lots of space above and below the key subject, and always check previews for different sections or template blocks.

Q: Can I use the same photo for desktop and mobile?
A: You can, but it’s much safer to upload a dedicated version for mobile if your template allows. If you can only use one, prioritise the central details and crop generously. Put the most important elements in the centre and avoid placing anything critical in the corners.

Q: What about text overlays?
A: Always test the photo with mock headlines or buttons in place. If the background makes text unreadable, try a semi-transparent dark strip behind text, or choose another image with more negative space.

Q: I only have stock photos. Any tips?
A: Choose wide images with lots of plain background. Avoid heavily stylised shots where the main action sits on the left or right edge. If you’re unsure, upload and test. Then use basic editing to crop to the right part.

Wrap-Up

Banner troubles can be avoided with a little planning and the right mindset. Use the 9 block grid. Give your subject plenty of breathing space. Never rely on just a single preview—test everywhere. If you build your photo library with flexible, adaptable images, your website will always put its best foot forward, whatever the screen.

Want more helpful systems like this? Join Pixelhaze Academy for free at https://www.pixelhaze.academy/membership.

And remember, Pixelhaze Academy members can request their own #CoffeeClip on whatever topic is keeping them up at night. I’m happy to tackle your challenges and help make your website and visuals shine.

Related Posts

Table of Contents
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Email
Reddit