Amazon main image requirements: the checklist that keeps a listing live

Every Amazon listing has one image that has to follow a strict set of rules: the main image, the one shown in search results. Get it wrong and Amazon can suppress the listing from search until it is fixed. The other images have far more freedom, and most of the selling happens there.

The main image rules

Background

• Pure white: RGB 255, 255, 255. Off-white, light grey and gradients do not pass.

The product

• The product fills at least 85% of the image.
• The whole product is in the frame, not cropped by the edge.
• It shows the actual product for sale, as a photograph. Drawings, illustrations and mock-ups are not accepted as a main image in most categories.
• One view of one unit, unless the product is sold as a multi-pack.
• Nothing in the picture that is not in the box: no props, no accessories that are sold separately.

What may not appear

• Text, logos, badges, borders, colour blocks or watermarks added to the image
• Inset images or multiple angles in one frame
• Amazon’s own badges or anything that imitates them (Amazon’s Choice, Best Seller)

Technical

• At least 1000 px on the longest side, which is what switches on zoom. Amazon recommends 1600 px or more; 2000 px leaves room for every device.
• No more than 10,000 px on the longest side.
• JPEG is preferred. PNG, TIFF and non-animated GIF are accepted.
• In focus, evenly lit, true to the product’s real colour.

Why listings get suppressed

Most suppressions come from a short list of mistakes:

1. A background that is almost white. A phone photo on a white table is grey to a colour picker. The background has to be replaced, not brightened.
2. The product is too small. A bottle photographed with generous margins can fall well under 85% of the frame.
3. A “free gift” or an accessory in the shot that is not part of the offer.
4. Text on the image: a flavour callout, a “NEW” burst, a size label that is not printed on the actual pack.
5. A render instead of a photograph, in categories that require a photo.

What the other images are for

Amazon gives most listings room for several more images, and none of the main-image restrictions on text or background apply to them. This is where a shopper decides:

• Lifestyle: the product in use, at its real scale
• Infographic: three to five benefits, with callouts to the pack
• How to use: the steps, in order
• Ingredients, materials or dimensions: the facts people zoom in to read
• Back of pack or label: for anything people check before buying

A rule of thumb that holds up: every image should answer one question a shopper would otherwise have to ask.

Checklist

• Background is RGB 255, 255, 255 edge to edge
• Product fills 85% or more of the frame and is fully visible
• A photograph of the real product, nothing added, nothing extra in shot
• 2000 px on the longest side, JPEG
• Every remaining image slot is used, each for a different question

Where Cobalt12 fits

Cobalt12 generates the main image from one phone photo: the background is replaced with pure white, the product is scaled to fill the frame, and the label, shape and colours are preserved rather than redrawn. The same run produces the lifestyle, infographic and how-to images for the remaining slots. You can try it on your own product; the first listing is free.

The copy has its own rules: see the 75-character title rule and how bullet points are checked.

This article reflects Amazon’s published image requirements as of September 2026. Some categories, clothing and jewellery among them, add rules of their own, so check the style guide for yours.