# Google Shopping image requirements and how to brief product renders

Google Merchant Center requires the main image to show the exact product you sell, with no added text or logos, and from 31 January 2027 at least 500 x 500 pixels. It also recommends one image per variant. The rules say nothing about renders, but a render built from the real product model and checked against a sample can meet them and produce every variant from a single scene.

[Web version](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/google-shopping-image-requirements-product-renders/)

By David Monje, crida studio · Published 2026-11-04 · Updated 2026-11-04

## Does Google Shopping accept product renders?

Google Merchant Center's rules do not mention renders or photography. They describe what the main image must show, which is the exact item being sold. They reject placeholders, logos used instead of the product, and mockups, line art or illustrations that do not depict the physical product.

So the useful question is whether the render is accurate. If it comes from the product's 3D model or drawings and the finishes have been checked against a sample, it shows what the customer will receive. A generic mockup where only the colour changes is closer to what Google rejects. Generic images and illustrations are only allowed in three categories, hardware, vehicles and parts, and software.

## What size should product images be?

Google will require at least 500 x 500 pixels for all products from 31 January 2027. It recommends images of around 1500 x 1500 pixels or more so they perform well in every format. The upper limit is 64 megapixels and 16 MB per file.

It accepts JPEG, WebP, PNG, GIF, BMP and TIFF, and warns that the file extension must match the actual format. With a render, size is rarely a problem, because the same scene can be exported again at a larger size. Put it in the brief so you are not left with only the small web versions.


### Can I use renders instead of photos on Google Shopping?

Google Merchant Center's rules say nothing about photos or renders. They require the main image to show the exact product being sold and reject mockups and illustrations that do not depict the physical product. A render built from the product's model and checked against a sample shows what the customer will actually receive.

## What the main image cannot include

The main image has to show the product on its own, with nothing added in post-production. It is the first thing shoppers see across Google. If it contains any of the following, Google disapproves the product, does not show it and flags the issue in the Diagnostics section of Merchant Center.

- Sales text such as “Buy now”, prices, discounts or “Free shipping”.
- Words such as “New” or “Best”, or the number of pieces in a set.
- Store or manufacturer logos laid over the image, watermarks, and barcodes or QR codes.
- Borders around the image, or an image that is just a square of colour.
- Other products that are not sold together with the main one.

## One image for every colour and finish

If a product comes in several colours or finishes, Google recommends a dedicated image for each variant, showing the exact colour, material and finish, and only one variant per image. It advises against group shots with every colour together. Google also recommends that the product fills between 75% and 90% of the image.

This is where a render saves the most work. Once the model exists, each variant is a material change in the same scene, with the same lighting and framing. What you cannot skip is checking. Every colour needs comparing against the real sample before it goes live.


### What is the minimum image size for Google Shopping?

From 31 January 2027, Google will require at least 500 x 500 pixels for every product. It recommends images of 1500 x 1500 pixels or more, with a maximum of 64 megapixels and 16 MB per file. If you are commissioning renders now, ask for them at the recommended size from the start.

## Additional images and lifestyle scenes

Besides the main image, each product can carry up to 10 additional images. Google suggests using them for other angles, the contents of the box or the product in use. There is also a separate attribute for lifestyle images, which show the product in a real-world setting, such as furniture staged in a room.

Lifestyle scenes are the other classic job for a render. A chair can be placed in a dining room without finding one or organising a shoot. Plan the whole set at once, with the clean main image, two or three angles, a close-up of the finish and a scene, so that they all come from the same model.

![Wooden spindle-back chair lit by a spotlight in a dark studio, with a video camera and a stepladder in the background](https://www.crida.studio/recursos/assets/cadira-fusta-plato-fotografia.434467bc119e.webp)

A product shoot needs a studio, lights and set-up time. A render can place the same chair in a scene without moving it.
Philip Waern / Unsplash — https://unsplash.com/photos/LVCWCaGk3mo

## If generative AI is involved, keep the metadata

Google requires images created with generative AI to carry metadata that says so, such as the IPTC DigitalSourceType tag, and asks merchants not to remove it. That includes images made with Google's own tools, such as Product Studio, which can remove backgrounds or generate scenes.

Ask whoever produces your images whether any part of them, the background, the scene or a retouch, comes from a generative AI tool. If it does, check that the software compressing images for your site, or the plugin sending your catalogue to Google, does not strip that metadata.


### Can I add my logo or a promotion to the main product image?

Not on the main image. Google disapproves store or manufacturer logos added in post-production, watermarks, and text about price, discounts or shipping. A logo can only appear if it is part of the physical product itself. Keep designs with text for social media or banners on your own site.

## What to put in a product render brief

With these requirements in hand, the brief can be written before any work starts. Take a chair maker in la Selva, near Girona, selling through its own online store and Google Shopping. It is a made-up example with no client data. The maker has four models, each in three finishes.

For your own website, Google Search Central recommends short, descriptive file names and alt text that explains the image. If you localise images for other languages, it also recommends translating the file names. Ask for the files to arrive already named that way.

Google Merchant Center requirements and what to put in the brief, using the chair example

| Requirement | What Google says | What to put in the brief |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Size | At least 500 x 500 pixels from 31 January 2027, 1500 x 1500 recommended | Export at 1500 x 1500 pixels or more |
| Main image | Product only, with no text, added logos or borders | One clean view per model, with little margin |
| Variants | One image per variant recommended, with the exact colour and finish | Twelve main images, one per model and finish |
| Additional images | Up to 10 per product | Two or three angles, a close-up and a scene |
| Files | Extension matches the actual format | Descriptive names such as oak-chair-natural.jpg |

## References

- [Google Merchant Center, image link [image_link]](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324350?hl=en)
- [Google Merchant Center, additional image link [additional_image_link]](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324370?hl=en)
- [Google Search Central, image SEO best practices](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/google-images)

## The crida perspective

We are a marketing, brand and technology studio based in Girona. We bring identity, content and development together so a digital experience makes sense from beginning to end.

crida studio, Caldes de Malavella (Girona, Spain). David Monje, founder and director.

## Shall we look at your catalogue images?

Tell us how many products and variants you have, where you sell them and what images you use today. We will tell you what renders can solve and what is better photographed.

[Tell us more](https://www.crida.studio/en/#contact)

## More on web design

- [Product renders for catalogues, brands and online sales](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/3d-product-renders/)
- [Product renders or photography for your catalogue](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/product-render-or-photography/)
- [What to prepare before commissioning a 3D render](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/prepare-3d-render-brief/)
- [3D and rendering](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/3d-renders/)
- [Paid search and Google Ads campaigns](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/paid-search-google-ads/)
- [Google Ads for a local business in Girona. When it makes sense](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/google-ads-local-business-girona/)