Whatever your business, the right images are an essential part of your website so that you can engage your target audience and get them interested in what you are showcasing. If you do not want to go to the expense of buying stock images, which can be very pricey (£10 to £100 per image), you want to know where to source free images from your website.
Many sites that offer you their free images actually require you to attribute the image to them when used or state that you can only use them in personal and non commercial projects, both of which can be difficult to impose, so you should look for images under the heading of ‘Creative Commons Zero’ license which means that they are free to copy, modify and distribute for any purpose without restrictions.
Here are some great sites that should get you started in style:
skitterphoto.com
Since their launch in May 2014, skitterphoto have been uploading a photo every single day. Many are unique and not found on other free image sites as they are created by contributors to the site. There are no subscriptions or premium options. All images are completely free.
stocksnap.io
All photos on StockSnap fall under the Creative Commons CC0 license so you can copy, modify, distribute and use for commercial purposes without asking for permission. They collect the best CC0 images from around the web and have photographers that contribute directly to them also, so their work is of excellent quality.
kaboompics.com
You can subscribe to KaboomPics to receive free updates and you can also access all the images through the website without giving up your email. You can search the images to help you find the image that you are looking for and they are also help under some basic categories. They are truly beautiful and individual images, you’ll be wanting to make content just so that you can use them!
pexels.com
Pexels showcases images collected from many other Creative Commons Zero license website on the internet. There is no subscription fee but they do ask for financial support to allow them to continue their great work.
unsplash.com
With Unsplash you get 10 free images delivered to your inbox every 10 days, but you have to subscribe to get these. The images are held in collections that are stunning and are great for those looking for nature and landscapes and scenic photographs. There are also some wonderful people and lifestyle images.
gratisography.com
Gratisography is your place to look if you are in need of something different! The images are such high quality but are definitely not your run of the mill photos of pretty scenery. You can search the general categories and can download a high resolution with one simple click. The photographer is happy to accept the gift of buying him a coffee if you are happy with his work!
picjumbo.com
You can access many images on picjumbo for free and there are some great images separated into categories, such as business, food or people. If you want to access their premium service you can pay under £4 a month to be supplied with 30 images plus to your email address which represents fantastic value for money.
splitshire.com
There is an excellent quantity of highest quality images on splitshire and the pictures come from a whole host of categories. Many are really great for use in backgrounds as they will show off your text beautifully on your website. All images are free, but you can pay for premium access for just £12.80 for a whole year.
startupstockphotos.com
The ideal site to have a look for images on if you are a start-up business, especially in the creative sector. Startupstockphotos has a really great variety of images of people at work in modern office settings, all free, and bound to be suitable for your purpose.
deathtothestockphoto.com
If you sign up on deathtothestockphoto you will be given a pack of ten free images as a start, and then email you new images on the first of every month. If you want to subscribe (only £9.60 per month) you can gain access to the premium content.
So before you pay out for expensive images that you may only use once or twice, take a good look around as you may find exactly what you were looking for…for free!