The perfect website design needs good pictures to make it more attractive. Images need to be updated as well to keep the look fresh and interesting. For most novices, there is an assumption that it will cost a lot of money to get pictures.
This is not necessarily the case. There are plenty of options for you to explore that won’t cost you a cent. It might take some time and visits to different sites, but the right image is out there!
Factors that should affect your choice of images
Relevance to the site
Grabbing any old stock photo that has some sort of link to your website won’t serve you well. There’s always the temptation to find something free and choose the first photo you find. If you upload photos that aren’t suitable to website design, or relevant to the message you want your site to convey, it will put visitors off.
Color Counts
Look for images that include the colors in your brand. This is a pay of continuously showing your reader your brand colors. It will stick in their minds the more often you show it to them.
Utilize space wisely
Pictures should not be so huge that they drown out the text. At the same time, they shouldn’t be so small that they’re impossible to see. Have a good balance between text and images as both are equally important.
Now that you know what you’re looking for, it’s time to go and find it! There are plenty of places to go and look for images to use on your website. You can browse through the photo gallery and see what stands out for you. If the photograph meets the criteria for your website, it’s one click away.
When searching for the right images to upload, bear this in mind about free pictures:
- Referred to as creative commons, these pictures are less focused. The subjects in the images are more creative. They are ideal for backgrounds and mood pictures to establish the tone of your website.
- The quality may not be as good as those on paid websites. Some pictures may appear pixelated or blurred.
- You are still required to give credit to the owner of the picture even if it is free.
Paid images are more specific and taken for commercial purposes. If you look for candid shots of people running through a park, paid photo sites will give you a wider choice. The quality of the photographs tends to be better.
Don’t give up hope! There are free images you can use to add the finishing touches to your website. It’s only a matter of looking in the right places. Here are some initial suggestions:
Free Image Resources for Website
Take your own photographs
There are certain photographs that you can take to augment your website and make it exclusively yours. Most of us are by no means expert photographers. Bear in mind, though, that there are lots of apps and programs online that you can use to edit your photos.
Take to image hosting
Image hosting is the process of uploading your photos and images onto an image host’s server. With the image hosted on the server, it is available for others to see. This allows you to manage your media and to create photo galleries and slideshows for your website. There are lots of free image hosting sites to choose from.
Research one that suits your needs to ensure that you’re aware of the terms and conditions of use. If you’re looking for good-quality free stock photos, try some of these sites:
Sites for free stock images
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Unsplash.com
The quality of the photos you can download for free from Unsplash.com is remarkable compared to a lot of other sites. Experienced designers looking for free images confess that Unsplash.com is their first port of call.
The photographs are not going to be specifically created for commercial purposes. You’ll find landscapes that will work well as backgrounds on your site. Images of everyday objects are available on Unsplash.com.
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500px.com
This site offers free, high-quality images you can use. It is a website that sells images, but it also offers some free images. The range of free images is small compared to the paid images range. However, you’re likely to find something that will work for you in the free section.
The images on this website come across as less ‘canned’ and posed which creates a more authentic feel, which can add a pretty appealing content to your website.
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Rawpixel.com
This is another free image site. You’ll need to supply your email address to sign up to use the images. They offer contextual photographs of people going about their daily lives that you might find attractive. Such images are often hard to find in free image galleries.
Contextual photographs like these have the potential to be used for commercial purposes. Take the time to browse through them, and you might be surprised by what you find.
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Unprofound
There are a variety of good images you can use on this site. It’s a non-profit site that doesn’t make use of advertisements. The restrictions on the use of their images are few.
There’s no need to register with Unprofound to use their images. Acquaint yourself with the terms and conditions, regardless of how minimal they are. You don’t want to find yourself on the wrong side of a dispute over your use of an image.
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FreeMediaGoo
This site has a small library of free images you might find helpful. Don’t be fooled by its small size. The library offers some good images. There are also textures and audio samples on the site that you can download. You don’t need to register to use FreeMediaGoo.
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Pixel Perfect Digital
The collection of digital art and photographs on this website numbers over 4,000. This gives you a wide selection of images to use. The website is easy to use as it is divided into categories that are easy to navigate.
This site is well worth the time to view its galleries. The images it offers are unique, and you’re unlikely to find anything similar elsewhere.
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Flickr
This website is the largest photo-sharing site you’ll have access to. Some world-renowned photographers display their photographs there. Before you immerse yourself in the myriad of images and photographs available, here’s a word of caution. Not all the images can be used for commercial purposes.
Be thorough when you find an image you like. Check out the restrictions regulating its use and make sure you adhere to them. this site has great images you can use for a slideshow on your homepage.
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Getty
Most of us would be forgiven for thinking that Getty images all cost money. This is not the case. The site does offer some free stock images. It is easy to use and offers a wide variety of images.
Bear in mind that different images have different restrictions on their use. Check out the specific image you want so that you know if you can use it or not for your site.
There’s no need to shell out a fortune for the right pictures for your site. Free images on the web can work just as well as those you must pay for. The secret is knowing where to look. After that, it’s merely a matter of making the right choices.
