They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Unfortunately, the perfect image to go with your blog post isn’t often so easy to create or even find. Featured images draw attention to your blog post. They are often prominently displayed on the front of your website along with the blog post title. You’re going to want to use an image that stands out. But where do you find those wonderful images? Here are the three main places I look when I need to find great images.
1. Pexels
One of the great things about Pexels is the diversity represented in their stock photos. If you do a search for“drinking coffee“, you’ll see many different kinds of people drinking coffee.
Licensing: All photos are free for any use. They appreciate artist attribution but don’t require it. You may edit the pictures as you like.
2. Unsplash
Unsplash is one of the first sites I ever used to find blog photos. The site wasn’t searchable when it launched, but they have since added a search form. They also have a feature that lets you arrange images into “collections”. This makes it easier for you to categorize those images you like but may want to use at a later date.
Licensing: All photos are free for any use. They appreciate artist attribution but don’t require it. You may edit the pictures as you like.
3. Pixabay
Pixabay provides a photo search and they also allow you to search for illustrations, vector art, and videos that you can use.
Licensing: All photos are free to use in print and digital except for a few specific rules. They appreciate artist attribution but don’t require it. You may edit the pictures as you like.
Other options
There are several other sites that provide similar free photo services as well. You can also use premium stock photo sites that have pricing tiers based on image quality, size, and license type. Some even have an option to buy an exclusive license to use a photo. The downside of that type of license is that it can get very expensive if you write a lot of content. The upside is that your site will have a much more original look because you’re not using the same images that other sites are already using.
What’s next?
I hope you find these sites useful for finding the perfect images to go along with your website. If you’re working on a website and need some help, contact us.