Photo files that work

Most photos from a phone or camera work as they are. This page lists what the builder takes, and what it changes before a photo goes on your site.

File types

• Works: JPG (also called JPEG), PNG, WebP and GIF. An AVIF file works if you drag it onto the window.
• iPhone photos (HEIC): These work on the iPhone itself, and in Safari on a Mac. Chrome, Edge and Firefox on a computer cannot open them. In those browsers, save the photo as a JPEG first, or add it from the iPhone.
• SVG files: Not taken, even for a logo. Export your logo as a PNG instead. See Change your logo.
• Video files: Not taken in a photo window. See Add a video.

Size

• A photo can be up to 25 MB.
• Big photos are fine. The builder shrinks every photo so its longest side is 1,800 pixels at most. That is sharp on any screen and quick to load.
• A small GIF, under about 600 KB, keeps its animation. A bigger GIF becomes a still picture.

What the builder removes

A phone writes the place a photo was taken into the photo file. The builder draws each JPG, WebP and iPhone photo again before it goes on your site, so that location is not kept. Your visitors cannot see where a photo was taken.

The Site images tab

The Site images tab in the photo window holds the 26 photos that came with your template: the congregation, a church building, baptisms, classes, sermons and more. Type a word like “baptism”, “class” or “sermon” in the search box to find one. The search looks at each photo’s file name.

Photos you uploaded before do not appear there. To use one of your own photos again, upload it again.

Describe each photo

When you add a photo, type a few words in Describe this photo (alt text). Say what is in the picture, like “Our congregation singing on Sunday morning.” People who use a screen reader hear these words, and Google reads them too.

The first time you publish with photos that have no description, the builder asks about them. Click Let me add them first to go back and add them, or Publish anyway. Leave a description empty on purpose only for a photo that is just decoration.

If it does not work

• “That is not a photo we can use. Choose a JPG, PNG, WebP or GIF file.”: Save the file as a JPG or PNG and try again.
• “That photo is … MB, larger than a browser can work with.”: Export it from your photo app at a smaller size, for example 2,000 pixels wide, and choose that copy.
• “This browser cannot open HEIC photos from an iPhone.”: Use Safari, or add the photo from the iPhone.
• “SVG files are not a photo format we can publish.”: Export your logo as a PNG and choose that.
• “That file is empty. It may not have finished downloading yet.”: Wait for the download to finish, or download the photo again.
• “That photo could not be prepared for the web.”: Try another photo, or save it again as a JPEG.

Still stuck?

Email info@project-go.com. Tell us your church name and what you tried.