From the dawning of time humans found ways to communicate. Before letters and words were created the ancient peoples used pictures and images. From the prehistoric cave drawings made by illiterate peoples to the Egyptians using hieroglyphs. Communicating through visuals hasn’t changed over the centuries. It is still important to find the right images that tells your story. In our world of open-source sharing, finding free images for website is easier than ever. You can tell your visual story.
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Free Images for Website—A Picture Speaks a 1,000 Words
The written word advanced greatly since these first drawings, but a picture still speaks a 1,000 words. Think about how you respond to a story. If you were told a story about a little girl whose family farm was devastated by a horrendous dust bowl. The dust came in so thick it blocked the sun. And it kept coming through every crevice of the house. The dust was in her hair, her ears, her nose, and all in her clothes. Their crops were destroyed, and they were forced to leave the land they worked so hard to build on. They labored hard for a better life and in one moment everything was destroyed.
This is a compelling story, but what if you saw a picture instead? Dorothea Lange (you may not know the name, but I guarantee you’ve seen her pictures) documented the survivors of the dust bowl. People were so compelled by the images that they reached out to help these families in the middle of the Great Depression. She didn’t use a 1,000 words, but one image communicated more than words ever could. And the result was that people were moved to act.
Why Images for Your Website are so Important
We are highly visual people. Although, you are engaged quickly with a story and remember the information better than a lecture. You actually process visual information 60,000 times faster than written information. Visual information can be taken in much faster.
Graphic design , advertising, art, and any other visual element has always been used to sell products, explain how to use an item, make people laugh or cry, and ultimately evoke an emotional response from the viewer. This is why it is so important to use the right image when you are writing for your website, telling people about your business, or marketing on social media. You can communicate more with 1 image than with 1,000 words (but words still help, so keep reading).
Using Free Images for Website—Everything has a License
Let’s talk about using images. Just because an image is found on Google or the clipart section of your Word program, it doesn’t mean it can be used. Now, I am not a lawyer, so this is not intended to be legal advice. I just want to make you aware of the terms of use when looking for free images for website, so you can make sure you are using it correctly.
Each image website has terms of use specific to their images. So it is important to never assume, you should always double-check. Also, keep in mind that even if you buy the image there will still be restrictions on how it can be used. You may be able to use it on a book cover but not for a logo (most sites don’t allow you to use images for a logo).
There are a number of free images for website that allow you to use it for commercial or non-commercial use no attribution required. If you can find images with this license, you hit the jackpot. This is a great license and there are a number of websites that allow this use.
Find out more about terms such as creative commons, royalty free, and public domain.
15 Places to Find Free Images for Website
1. Pixabay
This is one of my favorite sites to find free images. They have more than a million images, so a lot to choose from. The license is free for commercial use no attribution required. They do have a what’s not allowed section. So be sure to read that as well. Pixabay also has royalty-free music that is free for commercial and non-commercial use. YES!
2. Unsplash
This site is very similar to Pixabay. However, it was recently purchased by Getty Images (a premium stock photography site). Unsplash will still maintain its free content model, so that is good news. Unsplash also has some prohibited uses for their free images, so make sure to read their license agreement.
3. Canva
This is more than just a stock imagery site, it is a full design program. They do offer images in all their accounts, but make sure to follow their usage terms. You can’t trademark images, so if that is your plan you probably don’t want to use it for a logo. You can use the images in Canva design for personal and commercial use.
These are my top 3 go to sites for images for my blog, client websites, and virtual assistant site. Here are a few more imagery sites you can check out.
4. Pexels
5. Stocksnap.io
6. Stock free images
7. Every pixel
8. Pic monkey
9. Pxhere
10. Free Images
11. Kaboompics
12. Freepik
13. Crello
Another Canva-like program
14. New Old Stock
15. Depositphotos
Conclusion
Have fun creating your visual story for your business. There are so many free resources out there, you can really go wild. If you have a favorite, let us know in the comments below.
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