Why your SaaS screenshots don’t work

Product screenshots are everywhere on SaaS websites, but most of them don’t do what you want them to do. They either show too much, show things too broadly, or they present something that never creates that clear “we need this” moment for the right people.

A first-time visitor doesn’t know your system. They’re trying to understand the value and answer one question fast: what’s in it for me?

In this edition, I’m going through four places where screenshots typically fail, and what you can do to make yours sharper, more relevant, and actually valuable for the overall experience.

1) Too much information in one image

A lot of screenshots show the entire UI, but that’s rarely what the visitor needs. The more you include, the less people understand. This is especially true for first-time visitors.

Fix: Remove anything that doesn’t support the value. It’s totally fine if the screenshot highlights something subconsciously, like an “auto-translate” feature. People still get the point: you save time and money.

2) Low contrast and no hierarchy makes it hard to read

You have to treat a screenshot like a marketing element. The problem is that when everything blends together, the image loses its ability to communicate value. Either it looks too advanced to understand, or it disappears into the rest of the page.

Fix: Make sure your visuals have:

• a high-contrast background (easy to see and decode)
• space around the element (whitespace is your friend)
• subtle shadows
• one clear highlight (so people know what to look at)

That makes it much easier to read your visuals while scrolling.

3) Your visuals need to make sense for your audience

There’s this misconception that screenshots should be so simple that “everyone can understand them.”

But a strong visual should first and foremost create recognition for your target audience.

If you sell to data teams, your visual can include real data structures. If you sell to product teams, it can show workflow logic. If you sell to developers, it can be technical.

Fix: Build visuals that highlight what your audience intuitively understands and finds valuable, even if it means other people won’t get it. That’s exactly how you make sure it’s your ICP who chooses you.

4) The One-Glance Rule

A strong visual should be understandable within a few seconds for the right audience. If the eye is searching for meaning for more than a couple of seconds, the image isn’t clear enough.

A quick task you can do right now

Pick one of your current screenshots.
Crop it.
Remove noise.
Add a short label on top that explains the point.

That alone usually improves the communication a lot.

It’s not going to be 100% perfect yet, but even small adjustments can make a real difference.

If you want feedback on one of your visuals, send me a screenshot in a DM and I’ll send a few improvement suggestions your way.

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