In e-commerce, customers can't touch, smell, or try on the product. The photo is the only sensory contact available before the purchase — and industry research shows that 75% of consumers consider photo quality the most important factor in an online buying decision, even above price.
Each platform has different algorithms and interfaces that favor or penalize product images in different ways. Understanding these requirements isn't a technical detail — it's directly tied to appearing in top search positions on each marketplace and converting more visits into sales.
What every platform has in common
Before getting into each marketplace's specific requirements, there are universal principles that apply across every platform:
- Product as the star: the item should take up 85–90% of the frame. Excess empty space wastes resolution and makes the product look smaller than it is.
- Even lighting: no harsh shadows on the product or background. Studio lighting (light boxes, a ring light, or diffused natural light) is the minimum standard.
- Sharp focus: no visible part of the product in the main image can be blurry or show motion blur.
- No extra elements in the main image: accessories, decorative props, hands holding the product, store logos, prices and promotional text are banned from the main photo on every platform.
- Additional photos for context: the main photo shows the product in isolation; secondary photos can show details, use in context, scale comparisons, packaging and variations.
📸 Golden rule: always shoot at the maximum resolution available — your phone camera is usually enough. Reducing is easy; enlarging a small image destroys quality. Filter, optimize and resize afterward with the right tools.
Requirements and best practices
Technical specifications
Background requirements
Mercado Livre doesn't require a mandatory white background in its general guidelines, but the search algorithm favors images with a white or light background — listings with a light background appear more often in featured results and the homepage carousel. In practice, a white background (#FFFFFF or very close to it) is the recommended standard for the main photo.
Photos with a colored, textured, or scene-based background are accepted as additional photos, but tend to lower the listing's quality score.
What Mercado Livre's algorithm values
- Main photo with the product centered, white background, product taking up 80%+ of the frame
- Multiple photos per listing — the algorithm favors listings with 6 or more images
- High-resolution photos — Mercado Livre offers automatic zoom for images above 900×900px
- Consistency between the image and the listing title — keywords in the title that are visibly confirmed by the photo
Mistakes that get penalized on Mercado Livre
- Watermarks, store logos, or overlaid text in the main photo
- Images copied from other stores (Mercado Livre detects duplicates)
- A generic supplier photo used by dozens of sellers — hurts the listing's visibility
- Colored borders or decorative frames around the image
Requirements and best practices
Technical specifications
Background requirements
Shopee has a more flexible background policy than Mercado Livre. White backgrounds are strongly recommended for the main photo, but the platform accepts other colored backgrounds as long as the product is clearly visible and there are no policy-violating elements (promotional text, competitor brand logos).
Shopee has an automatic background removal feature in its own seller app, but the result is inconsistent for products with complex edges. Using the Background Remover externally and then uploading the resulting PNG delivers more precise results.
What Shopee's algorithm values
- Main photo with a white background and the product highlighted — directly influences the listing's quality score
- Load speed — very heavy files hurt the mobile experience, which dominates on Shopee
- Varied secondary images: product in use, color variations, material details, packaging
- Visual consistency across the listing's photos — excessive style variation between images reduces conversion
Shopee-specific tip
Shopee's audience is mostly mobile, with smaller order values and high price sensitivity. Photos that show the product's real scale and size (using a ruler, the seller's hand as a reference, or a comparison with a common object) significantly reduce returns for "product smaller than expected" — one of the most common complaints on the platform.
⚠️ Watch the 2 MB limit: Shopee silently rejects images over 2 MB in some contexts, with no error message. If an upload seems to fail for no reason, check the images' file size with the Image Compressor before trying again.
Requirements and best practices
Technical specifications
Background requirements — the strictest in the market
Amazon has the strictest image policies of any marketplace. The main photo (main image) must have a pure white background (#FFFFFF). This isn't a recommendation — it's a rule, and non-compliance results in listing suppression (the product becomes invisible in search until it's fixed).
The white must be completely pure: off-white or light gray backgrounds, or backgrounds with shadows, are rejected by Amazon's moderation system. The product must take up 85% or more of the image area. Cast shadows from the product on the white background are accepted as long as they're soft.
Additional Amazon rules for the main photo
- No text, logos, watermarks, or overlaid graphics
- No accessories that aren't part of the product being sold
- No mannequins (for clothing, it must be flat-lay or an invisible mannequin — ghost mannequin)
- The product must be the exact version being sold (color, size, configuration)
- No borders, frames, or multi-colored backgrounds
What Amazon allows in secondary photos
Additional photos (positions 2 through 9) have much more freedom: they can show the product in use, infographics with technical specs, comparisons with competitors, material and stitching details, packaging, and box contents. Sellers with good secondary photos that show benefits and differentiators convert significantly better than those who only use isolated product shots.
Why Amazon requires a minimum resolution of 1000px
Amazon automatically enables hover zoom when the image is at least 1000px on its shortest side. This feature lets customers magnify any part of the product with their mouse — and Amazon's own internal studies show products with active zoom have a conversion rate up to 10% higher. Always use the maximum resolution of 2000×2000px to ensure zoom quality.
Requirements and best practices
Technical specifications
TikTok Shop is different from the others
TikTok Shop works differently from traditional marketplaces. Products are mostly discovered through videos in the feed — and the product photo is secondary in the buying journey. Still, when a user visits the product page after watching the video, a professional photo is what seals the decision to buy.
The platform accepts both white and colored backgrounds, but the photos that perform best on TikTok Shop are those that communicate the lifestyle associated with the product — especially in categories like fashion, beauty, home decor, and food and beverage. A "lifestyle" look works much better here than on other marketplaces.
Vertical aspect ratio for integrated content
Besides square product photos, TikTok Shop lets you add images in a vertical format (9:16 ratio) for use as a mini-video or product card in the feed. For these materials, the recommended size is 1080×1920px — the same format as TikTok video. This puts the product directly into the platform's visual context.
What TikTok Shop's algorithm values
- Products with their own demo video perform well above average — the photo complements the video, it doesn't replace it
- Photos with real models (not mannequins) convert better in fashion and beauty
- A clean background, but not necessarily white — modern minimalist settings work well
- Consistency between the photos' visual style and the tone of the store's profile/videos
🎬 TikTok Shop priority: if you're only going to invest time in one type of content, invest in video — not photo. A 30-second demo showing the product in use converts far better than the best static photo on this platform.
Quick platform comparison
| Platform | Recommended resolution | Main background | File limit | Secondary photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercado Livre | 1200 × 1200 px | White (recommended) | 8 MB | Up to 12 |
| Shopee | 1024 × 1024 px | White (recommended) | 2 MB | Up to 9 |
| Amazon | 2000 × 2000 px | Pure white (required) | 10 MB | Up to 8 |
| TikTok Shop | 1200 × 1200 px | Open (lifestyle accepted) | 5 MB | Up to 9 |
The complete workflow for preparing product images
Regardless of the platform, the image-preparation process follows the same sequence:
- Shoot at the highest resolution available. Rear phone camera in portrait mode or a DSLR — what matters is having enough pixels to work with. Don't shoot with the final size already in mind.
- Remove the background if needed. For photos with an improvised background, or to meet a white-background requirement, use the Background Remover to isolate the product as a transparent PNG. Then place it over a white background (#FFFFFF) for the final export.
- Resize to the platform's dimensions. Use the Resize Image tool to set it to 1200×1200px (Mercado Livre and Shopee), 2000×2000px (Amazon), or the specific size for your target platform.
- Compress to the platform's file size limit. Use the Image Compressor to reduce the file with no noticeable visual loss — especially important for Shopee (2 MB limit) and for improving mobile load speed.
- Check the result before uploading. Open the final image at 100% zoom and check: product is sharp, background is correct, no visible compression artifacts around the product's edges, correct dimensions.
Prepare your product photos now
Remove the background, resize and compress — all free, no sign-up, nothing to install.
Advanced tips to boost conversion with images
Use photo 2 as an infographic
The listing's second image is often the customer's second point of contact — and an infographic with the product's main benefits (dimensions, material, differentiators) converts much better than a second product photo that's just a different angle. Include real measurements, compatibility, and technical specs in a clean visual format.
The "before and after" or "in context" photo as the third image
Showing the product being used, installed, or consumed in the third position answers the main question the customer still has after seeing the isolated product: "will this work in my context?" A photo of a drawer organizer inside a real drawer, a supplement next to a glass of water, a framed print hanging on a wall — this level of context reduces cart abandonment.
Packaging photo always in the last positions
Customers who make it to the 7th or 8th photo are usually already convinced about the product and want to confirm purchase details — what will arrive, how it will arrive, whether it's genuine. A clear photo of the packaging with the product inside reduces doubts and post-sale support requests about delivery.
Consistent style across all of a store's listings
Stores with a consistent visual identity across products — same lighting, same background, same proportion of product in the frame — have a higher conversion rate among followers. When a customer visits the store's profile and sees a visually consistent grid of products, the perception of professionalism increases and trust in the brand grows.