How and where do I find free images or copyright free images for my website?
Websites need images. For pop, color, interest, and direction. Images enhance your website and also if you set them up correctly , they are tools for SEO, (Search Engine Optimization).
I update these sources as needed and add new ones all the time.
Some of these may take you to istock or a paid image source. Many of them are only one to five dollars.
Use Creative Commons-Licensed Images
When googling for an image, add “Creative Commons” to the search.
Use images that have a Creative Commons (CC) license. However, be aware that a CC license is just that: a license. You need to read its terms and conditions and see what it allows or not.? Not all CC licenses allow the same uses. A CC license may allow use as-is, in a remix, or as part of a new work. In some cases a CC license requires attribution of the copyright owner.
Download Free Stock Photos
- Pikwizard.com “We have over 100,000 completely free images on the site, over 20,000 of those are exclusive to us. We are also adding new images to our library daily and our ultimate goal is to get to more than 1 million images.”
- StockSnap.io: StockSnap has hundreds of beautiful high-resolution photos that are free from copyright restrictions. They add new photos every week and can subscribe to have them sent to your inbox.
- Unsplash: Unsplash is built by a community of over 41,000 photographers who aim to inspire. This site has over 200,000 images that companies including Slack, WordPress, Squarespace, and Apple have used.
- Stock.Xchng: With a robust search engine, this is one of my preferred places to “shop” for free images. Stock.Xchng is owned by iStock, so the first row of images are often paid images – but the pictures that follow are entirely free!
- Pixabay: If you’re after high-quality images, Pixabay is where it’s at. Also, you don’t have to create an account to download a picture. Just click “download,” and you’re set to go.
- Flickr Commons :
- WARNING-BE very careful now with Flickr. I just had a client who used an image off of flickr that used to say Creative Common license and now a company that tries to track down photos and scares people with a legal looking letter asking them to pay.
- To learn more about companies sending you scare emails to collect fees, read this Reddit thread.
- Flickr has been bought by Yahoo/Oath and is not the free image location it used to be. They do however have a creative commons area, which is copyright free and contains quite a few very old photos, if you are doing historical or looking for old photos. They have old art work and illustrations with no known copyright and many very fascinating and unique image you can download and use safely. Check it out, it is well worth it if you want unique images or vintage images. It is all about your search words. When doing a search be sure to select creative commons in the upper left drop down. For instance here is what the search word “color” pulled up:
Purchase Stock Photos
If you decide you love certain images and want to pay for them, here are some trusted resources for those.
- Fotolia: Fotolia’s subscription service can save you a lot of money if you plan on using images often.
- iStock: If you have a particular image in mind, iStock’s awesome search box will help you quickly get what you need.
- Cutcaster: Cutcaster gives you the opportunity to pay as you go. Also, their photos are well organized, making finding what you want a pain-free process.
- Getty Images: With one of the largest image databases (over 80 million still images and illustrations), you’re guaranteed to find what you are looking for. The downside: the images are often expensive, and Getty is one of the biggest purveyors of cease and desist emails (so make sure you pay for them!). Getty has a proprietary software they run online 24/7 looking for their images that are not paid for and they do collect. Beware.
Be safe and make sure your images are not copyrighted or buy the ones you love.
When working online, you usually do not a size larger than 300-500 pixels.
That size is usually very reasonable in price.
More resources for copyright FREE images.
Another great source for large copyright free images is screensavers.
Resources and Places for FREE images for the web.
This site has beautiful images, FREE to use!
Burst Shopify- Burst from Shopify, this amazing site offers free images that can be used without attribution.
Free Quality Image Galleries-by Arun Basil Lal
Google Image Search: Google has done a good job in organizing the images on the web. Google image search is awesome place to find images, but there is no guarantee on its quality or copyright, so it’s last on my list. Make sure that you visit the landing page and confirm that the image is free to use before you add it on yours.
Don’t forget to save the images that you find while casual browsing for later use. I have a vast collection of images offline which I have collected over time. Make one yourself.
Always read the terms and conditions before you use images. Some images are free to use, but not free to edit, some need attribution, play it safe. 
Another excellent article from Arun Basil Lal.
