We have all heard that pictures speak louder than words. And how important it is to use images and other visual content to make our online content more attractive.
When we look at a web page or an online blog post for the first time, the images attract our attention before the text. An eye-catching image or video on a social media post is far more likely to get a click than the same post without it.
The following are just a few examples where we need images or videos to enhance our content online:
If you like to take photos, maybe you can use your own images to illustrate your online articles or blog posts. Or maybe your project has a sufficient budget to hire a photographer or acquire visual content on a traditional online image stock library.
Another alternative is to visit some great online sites with beautiful and high-quality images available for download.
Some of these libraries now also include videos in their catalogue. Maybe you could use a video as background content on your website’s home page main section.
Take your time to find images that really fit in with the content of your post. Browse through the image libraries and search with different keywords or keyword combinations.
Often, credits or attribution to the author is not required, even if it is always appreciated if we link back to the original image. This way, you help the author to reach more people.
Usually, it’s allowed to use the images both with non-commercial and with commercial content. Often these websites use a simple and easy-to-understand license which with a few words explains what is allowed and what is not allowed to do with the images we download.
Some content might also be licensed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. This means that the content has been included in the public domain.
Make sure to read the license carefully before downloading and using the images. If identifiable people, brands, logos or buildings can be seen on the image you download, you might need to obtain consent or a license to use it. Especially if the photo is for commercial use.
Unsplash
Unsplash is perhaps the best known of all the free image online sites. From its beginning back in 2013, it now has over 2 million high-quality images available from 200.000 contributors from all over the world. A selection of photos from renowned institutions like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Photo Library or the British Library is also available for download.
Pixabay
Pixabay is another well-known site with an extensive collection of photographs. On Pixabay, apart from finding beautiful images, you can also find videos, illustrations and vector graphics. The site also has a collection of music and sound effects tracks.
Pexels
If you prefer exploring collections of images and videos on specific topics, Pexels is a good starting point. The large number of photographs brought together in each group makes it very fast and easy for you to find the right image. Needless to say, you can also search for images and videos using keywords or just browsing through trending or newly added photos.
Undraw
Undraw is a lovely website with a collection of beautiful, modern and quite minimalistic illustrations. These images are a great way to illustrate a blog post or make your website more dynamic and engaging.
The illustrations are in black and white or grayscale with one additional colour. And the great thing here is that you can change this colour to any colour you like before downloading the image so that it fits, for example, your website’s colour palette.
Rawpixel
The Rawpixel website stands out a bit from the rest because it also includes other digital resources. You can find vector graphics, PNG images and graphic templates. You can also download PSD mockups so that you can place your own art on, for example, digital devices, t-shirts or on picture frames. They also offer curated topics and a collection of public domain art available under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. Japanese Public Domain art and woodblock prints, paintings by Claude Monet or old maps are some examples.
In short, these websites make it is easy and fast to find beautiful and free images and other graphic resources online. They are also a great place to find inspiration for your media projects.
Credits featured image: Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash.
