Text-Heavy Images and Mobile Display Rules

Text-Heavy Images and Mobile Display Rules

Effective Date: February 11, 2026   Last Updated: February 11, 2026

Hibu Policy

Text-heavy images must remain readable at mobile breakpoints.

This applies to designed promotional graphics such as:

• Flyers
• Coupons
• Financing advertisements
• Sales banners
• Multi-offer composites
• PDF-based layouts
• Any image created primarily for desktop or print viewing

Landscape text-heavy graphics typically fail at mobile breakpoints because embedded text becomes unreadable when proportionally scaled down.

For reference:

• Desktop hero images commonly exceed 1200px in width.
• Mobile screens typically display between approximately 360px–430px in width.
• When a 1200px+ promotional graphic is reduced to mobile width, embedded text becomes too small to read.

If a mobile-friendly version is not supplied, the landscape promotional image must be hidden on mobile.

Text-Heavy Images: At-a-Glance

Landscape Text-Heavy Images (Wide Format)

Landscape promotional images are the most common issue.

On desktop, they may appear readable, whereas on mobile, they typically:

• Scale down embedded text to unreadable sizes
• Compress fine design detail
• Lose clarity when proportionally resized

Because the image must scale to fit the screen width, text becomes too small to function.For this reason, landscape text-heavy images are not approved for mobile hero display unless a mobile-optimized version is  provided. If a mobile-friendly version is not supplied, the image must be hidden on mobile.

What Qualifies as a Mobile-Friendly Version

A mobile-friendly version must be intentionally designed for small-screen viewing and must:

• Use a simplified layout
• Reduce overall text volume
• Maintain clearly readable text at mobile widths (approximately 360px–430px)
• Avoid dense multi-offer or multi-callout compositions
• Prioritize a single primary message

If the text cannot be comfortably read on a phone without zooming, the image does not qualify as mobile-friendly.

Portrait Text-Heavy Images (Vertical Format)

Portrait orientation does not automatically make a text-heavy image mobile-friendly.

While portrait images do not compress horizontally like landscape graphics, they still introduce mobile usability concerns:

• Excessive vertical height in high-visibility placements
• Extended scrolling before key content appears
• Embedded text that remains difficult to read at mobile width
• Dense layouts that reduce visual clarity

If embedded text cannot be clearly read on a phone, the image does not meet mobile display standards.

When text-heavy images fail readability standards:

• Users cannot clearly understand the offer or message.
• Engagement decreases because visitors will not zoom or decode dense graphics.
• Accessibility is compromised, as embedded image text is not readable by screen readers.
• Search engines cannot interpret promotional messaging embedded within images.

Mobile readability is the approval standard.

SUB-RULE: USE AS A HERO IMAGE

Text-heavy promotional graphics may not replace the structured Hibu hero.

We will not:

• Substitute a promotional flyer for the Hibu hero framework.
• Place a text-heavy promotional graphic above the hero.
• Remove the structured H1, H2 GEO, Motivating Factors, and CTA in favor of embedded graphic text.

If a client provides a landscape promotional graphic:

• It may appear on desktop only.
• A mobile-optimized version is required for mobile hero display.
• If no mobile version is provided, it will be hidden on mobile.

Portrait promotional graphics may be included below the hero in a supporting section, provided readability standards are met.

For full hero structure requirements, see: Hero Definition