For an ecommerce website, image files, videos, and product specs are commonplace. However, most of the time, you start the file creation process with extremely large files.
We're talking bulky images from Photoshop, graphics that get degraded when sent through email, and product videos that can't even be sent or stored in many programs.
Since sending and transferring large files is big part of running an ecommerce store, it makes sense to find tools to make this process more efficient.
In addition, it's critical to understand why large file sharing is so important for ecommerce in the first place. So, keep reading to see the areas in which you'll be using large file storage and transfer tools.
Table of contents
Accepting Large Images (And Other Files) from Freelancers
As with any business, an online store requires the help of freelancers. You also may be working with full-time employees who are in the field or working from home.
Regardless, files must be sent and stored on a regular basis.
Let's say you set up a photo shoot for a new line of outdoor apparel. You get your favorite photographer, she edits the photos in Lightroom and Photoshop, then sends them over to you.
This wouldn't be possible through email, and the same goes for many sending and storage services. So, it's best to have a solution that can support those kinds of huge files. It's also nice to get your photos as quick as possible.
Once the photographer has access to your sharing account, you can be sitting in a completely separate location while still having cloud access to the photos.
Overall, there are numerous ways to share larger photos batches online–including cloud storage, file sharing services, and dedicated storage space. Some are better than others, but for ecommerce, we're fond of the cloud storage option.
Editing Large Graphics
Whether you have someone editing or you like to complete minor edits yourself, you'll often find that graphics created in the past can be repurposed for future use.
For instance, it's rather common for online stores to have a branded template for posts on Instagram or Pinterest.
You can't take a JPEG or PNG and edit it on your computer, so you have to maintain the highest quality photos with layers and editing components.
Image credits: Shutterstock
Overall, it's best to have basic knowledge with tools like Photoshop or Illustrator. This way, you're not constantly relying on freelancers for minor tweaks.
Sending Videos
Product videos are becoming the norm for ecommerce. The only problem is that videos are a monumental pain to share with other people. The person who takes the video might have to give it to you on a flash drive.
Then, you share it with others through email but then you realize the quality is greatly diminished, or you can't send such a large file. Overall, you're better off working with a large file storage and sending app that supports the robust file sizes that come along with videos.
Sharing Media with Company Stakeholders
Stakeholders typically include anyone that works for your company or has some sort of shared interest in it. This might be an investor, owner, employee, freelancer, or your mom who calls you after work every day.
Feedback is crucial when creating media files for an online store. You don't want to publish an image or video that lets off the wrong message or simply doesn't look appealing to the eye.
Therefore, you may send each media file to a few people connected to your organization. This type of rapid-fire sharing gets slowed down dramatically by email, texting, and other inefficient sharing methods.
Instead, you're better off having a tool that provides a simple link to all, or some, of your online files.
That link gets shared through email, text, or you can even write it down. After that, every person with the link gains access depending on who you have specified can edit or read the files.
Protecting Your Valuable Files
As many ecommerce store owners know, large files have value. Whether it's because these files represent your brand (think logos and Instagram photos) or because you spent lots of money on them (for an infographic design or a batch of professional product photos) you should consider protecting everything that other people might want to steal.
You may think that it doesn't matter if a blogger or smaller ecommerce store takes your product videos or pictures, but if someone pulls your photos from Google you're basically paying for another company or individual to make money – and potentially compete with you.
Storing your larger files in a safe place isn't going to completely remove the risk of stealing, but you at least know that your larger, editable files are not open to the public.
This way, any thieves that come along would be stuck with whatever smaller files you have uploaded to your website and don't get the benefit of things like Photoshop files.
In addition, you don't have to go digging around on your local hard drive–it's all stored online where you and your coworkers can find it.
Are you ready to improve your ecommerce efficiency with large file storage and sharing?
Large file storage and sharing won't make you tons of money overnight. Rather it's a wise, longterm investment for ensuring that your digital assets are protected and being shared efficiently.
There's nothing more frustrating than having to spend a few hours just to receive or send a few images or videos. And after that, you typically end up with a compressed result anyway.
That's all we have for improving your workflow with the help of large file sharing! Please comment in the section below if you have any thoughts about some of the best reasons for doing this.
Also, let us know if you have any questions about getting set up with large file sharing or storage.
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