As we all know the most important part of content of any website, blog posts etc. is its images. It can make or break a layout. It improves user-experience. A website feels empty when it lacks relevant images and does not please the eye. When utilized properly, images can increase the number of visits and clicks to your website, encourage social sharing, add aesthetics and eventually help you achieve business objectives. But, what if images are not loading on your website?
Why are images important?
According to research, 65% online viewers prefer local searches that include images.
Another research proved that you can get 92% more views through compelling images as compared to plain content
Research proves that 68% of the population is made up of visual learners that makes images mandatory to capture a large population.
Reasons Why Images Wont load:
So, what could be the possible reasons why images are not loading on your website?
1. Incorrect Image file path
When you add an image to a website’s HTML or CSS file, You create a path where the files are stored. This is from where the browser picks up the image. If the path of this image is incorrect images may not load properly because the browser will not be able to fetch it from that location. Check to see if the file path you coded is exact. Maybe you listed the path to that directory incorrectly or you specified the wrong directory.
2. Outdated browser
You may experience a browser failing to load images due to its outdated version. For example, Google Chrome may fail to load images on your website if you are running an outdated version. It offers automatic updates to fix bugs and improve performance for any other issues so keep it enabled.
3. Wrong File Extension
Make sure you’re searching for the right image format for example, if your image is a .jpg file and your browser is looking for a png file you won’t be able to find or load them because a browser wouldn’t look for best possible searches like google. It would look for the exact file name which you enter.
Check for caps as well like if your file ends in.JPG, all capitals, but your code references.jpg, all lowercase most browsers will perceive the two as separate files even if they include the identical set of alphabets which you could say is a misspelled word problem which takes us to our next possible issue..
4. Misspelled file name:
This is the most simple yet common cause for images not loading as we are humans and there’s always room for simple errors like spelling a file wrong. A browser won’t load an image until the file name is exactly how it was saved. It wont recognize the file even if one character is missing or you have added spacing that is not in the actual file name or vice versa.
5.Transfer Issue
Whether an image file is loaded from your domain or an external source, there is always a possibility that when the browser first requests a file, there may be a transfer issue.
The server being overloaded and unable to deliver all of the page content in time for the request to expire.
This shouldn’t happen frequently. If so, you might need to hunt for a new hosting provider.
6. Corrupt File
This is also one of the most common yet simple reasons why images won’t load. Check to see if you have uploaded the images. If it’s still not showing on your website, reload your page and it should immediately display the images immediately. Even if this doesn’t work then your file may be corrupted during transfer so delete and re-uploading would most probably solve the issue.
7. Database Issue
Database issues can also cause images to not upload. Web applications like WordPress hold data about every element of a website, including the images. If images on your website aren’t loading, there’s a possibility that the database is having some trouble. There’s also a chance that your database may be corrupted or unreachable.
8. Website is Down
The majority of the time, your website’s photos will be stored on your server, but If you’re using images that are located elsewhere. Your images won’t load if that website hosting the image is down. External sources should always be reliable for images loading on your website.
Final Word
To make your images load efficiently and friendly in terms of SEO, proper use of ALT(Alternative Text) is crucial. Every image on your website should have ALT to make it accessible. Heavy images may be another reason as these heavy files take much more time to load. You can always count on The Web Vital for helping you with such concerns or any web related services as they are one of the best in the industry.
