We all want our websites to be professional and appealing to our visitors, don’t we?

photographerThe quickest way to make your website look attractive is to use great images from stock photo resources.  Amazing images help set the tone of your site, grab your website visitors’ attention, emphasize your points, and do so much more.

While there are many sites where you can purchase great professional stock photos for a fee, the costs can add up if you need to buy lots of images. Also,  it can be confusing as to what the terms of usage are when you find an image from a stock photo site that you want to use on your own website. (Always remember to check the terms of any website to see how they allow you to use the images provided)

Thankfully, there are lots of free stock photo services available to you. Below, I’ve listed my top 7 FREE stock photo resources with easy-to-understand terms of use.  Hope this list will help you find the perfect images for your website!

My Top 7 Stock Photo Resources:

1. Pixabay (https://pixabay.com)

pixabay - stock photo resources

Pixabay is my go-to place for stock images.  They have a huge library, and they have illustrations as well as photos.  Simple terms make it easy to download the images.  You don’t have to think hard about if you can use an image or not.

2. Unsplash (https://unsplash.com)

unsplash stock photography website

If you want a designer look to your website, Unsplash has gorgeous, professional photos that will make you look like a designer.  All photos are in high-resolution. All public domain images. Their terms are very simple.

3. Morguefile (https://www.morguefile.com)

    morguefile - stock photo resources 

Morguefile’s photo collection is quite big, and I also like the easy search function. When you click on a photo, you’ll also see the terms of use very clearly.

4. Pexels (https://www.pexels.com)

pexels - stock photo resources

This site doesn’t seem to supply their own photos but pulls in a variety of free photos from various sites. Each photo clearly shows the original source along with the usage term, which is very handy.

5. Wikimedia Commons (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)

wiki-commons - stock photo resources

Did you mention a celebrity in your post? It’s normally very difficult to find an image of a famous person or celebrity that is not tightly protected by copyright. Wikimedia Commons is a great place to go to find such an image that you can use (often with attribution).

6. Stocksnap (https://stocksnap.io)

stocksnap - stock photo resources

Easy to search, and when there are many images that fit your search criteria, you can use the handy sort tools they provide. All public domain images. Their usage terms are simple to understand.

7.  Canva (https://www.Canva.com/photos/)

canva homepage

Canva has free and paid images.  And the great thing about the paid images is that they are only $1.  Canva also lets you create your own graphics in all kinds of shapes and sizes.

If you would like to learn more about using Canva, and more about graphics for your website, check out my Graphics Creation Workshop program!

graphcs creation workshop program with christina hills

Please feel free to share your favorite resources in the comment section below!

Here’s to your creativity!

(First published in March 2015)

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