How do I use the Focal Point tool?
Focal Point lets you mark the most important part of an image — a person's face, a key landmark, the main subject of the shot — so that when the image is automatically cropped for different screen sizes or display areas, that key subject is always kept in frame. Without this, the DCMS crops images from the centre by default, which can sometimes cut off the part of the image that matters most.
How to set the Focal Point on an image
- Go to the entry containing the image you want to adjust, and navigate to the Media tab
- Find the image in question and double-click on it
- A pop-out panel will appear on the right, showing more information about the image along with some editing options
- Click the Edit button on the preview image within the pop-out
- This opens the image editor, where you can see the image and its current focal point
- Click the Focal Point button to toggle the focal point indicator on or off — if you can't see it straight away, click the button again
- With the focal point indicator visible, click and drag it to the part of the image you want to stay in focus. It can take a couple of attempts to get this exactly right, depending on the layout and content of the image
- Once you're happy with the position, click Save or Save As New Asset
- Click the second Save button at the bottom right of the pop-out to confirm your changes
Save or Save As New Asset — which should you choose?
This choice matters, so it's worth understanding the difference:
- Save overwrites the original image with your changes. Because the same image may be used in several places across your site, this updates the focal point everywhere that image currently appears
- Save As New Asset creates a brand new image file with your changes, leaving the original untouched. Use this if you only want the new focal point to apply to this specific use of the image, without affecting it anywhere else it's used on the site
Checking your changes
Once saved, you can check how the image now displays either by using the Live Preview, or by clicking the View dropdown and selecting Primary Entry Page, which opens the live page in a new tab. If the image still isn't cropping the way you'd like, simply repeat the process — it sometimes takes a couple of attempts to land on the right focal point, especially with more complex or busy images.
When Focal Point is most useful
Focal Point is especially useful for images featuring people, signage, or a specific landmark, where losing the subject to a crop would significantly weaken the image. For simpler, more even compositions — like a wide landscape shot — the default centred crop may already work well without needing any adjustment.
💡 Top tip: If an image is used in multiple places across your site — for example a Full Width Image and a thumbnail in an Image Gallery — check how it displays in both contexts after setting the focal point, as the ideal focal point isn't always identical for every crop ratio.