Listing Photos: Requirements and Best Practices

Photos are the most important factor in listing performance on WATTSHIP. Listings with 12+ photos receive significantly more watchlist additions and deal room inquiries than listings with the minimum 6.

Technical requirements

Minimum: 6 photos required to publish a listing (maximum 24)
Minimum resolution: 800 × 600 pixels
Orientation: Landscape only (wider than tall) — portrait photos are rejected automatically
File formats: JPEG, PNG, or WebP
Maximum file size: 10MB before compression
After browser compression: files are automatically reduced to approximately 500KB WebP

The upload pipeline

WATTSHIP processes photos client-side before upload: the browser validates dimensions and orientation, compresses to approximately 500KB WebP using the browser-image-compression library, applies an “wattship.xyz” watermark in the bottom-right corner, then uploads to R2 storage.

This means: the file you select can be up to 10MB in any supported format, and the uploaded file will be a compressed WebP regardless of input format. The watermark is applied automatically — no action required from you.

What photos to include

Essential shots: front 3/4, rear 3/4, driver’s side, passenger side, interior front, interior rear, dashboard (instrument cluster running), engine bay, odometer close-up.

Auction-specific: any visible damage close-ups, auction sheet photo, all four tires, undercarriage if accessible.

EV-specific: charging port, battery charge level display, climate control settings.

First photo is the hero

The first photo you upload becomes the hero image — the main photo shown in browse grid thumbnails and at the top of the VDP. Drag to reorder photos in the listing builder to set your best exterior shot as position 1.

Auction sheet photo

If you have the auction sheet, upload it as the last photo or use the dedicated auction sheet URL field in the listing builder. This enables buyers to run the Auction Sheet Decipher directly from your listing.