Do you happen to find yourself in the realm of Google amidst a storm of images you can’t use for your blog? No problem, I’ll guide you to some sites to download copyright free images.
Your ship would be insignificant without the pirate flag, which is why it’s important to choose the right images that best represent your purposes.
However, you can’t just use the first images you find – you’ll have to follow a few rules this time.
Why images are important for your blog
Whether they are for your site or more specifically for your blog posts, images are very important as the visual content communicate with the newly arrived adventurer, by conditioning his behavior.
Imagine you have to buy a bottle of rum: good packaging will make it even more inviting than an anonymous bottle with no pictures, don’t you think?
In addition, the main image of the post created in your blog can be taken from the different social: if in fact you paste the link of an article on Facebook, much of the space will be taken up by the image.
This way the image draws attention of the reader, influencing their choice, who may decide to click the link and browse your blog content.
However, it doesn’t just grab the reader’s attention but. it conveys meaning, enriching the user experience.
So, the choice and theinserting images in your site are decisive steps: let’s find out together which images to choose and which could be your safe harbors.
Image types
Each post must have amain image or a cover, an opening photo.
However as already mentioned images can also be used within articles to help the user understand them better.
So before you look for the images you need, you need to understand what their purpose should be and what type of image to use. If you already know what to do and all you need to do is find the images I suggest you navigate to the next paragraph.
The main purpose of an image can be of two types:
- descriptive, meaning I try to describe what I’m saying;
- evocative, through an image I evoke a different but related thought.
Finally there are different types of image that you can use within articles, such as:
- introductory images, the cover image that summarizes the article;
- screenshots, photos of the screen used to explain something;
- infographics, graphic summaries often informative;
- graphs, used for statistics and results;
- GIFs and memes, used to encapsulate different meanings and images.
Finally, keep in mind that in view SEO it is very important that the images are optimized best to make your article and your site increase their visibility on Google.
Are you ready to find out what images to use and what sites to use? Let’s get on with our adventure.
What images to use
Now that you’ve chosen your target and type, you should know that you can use three categories of images without fearing that the sharks will devour you:
- personal images, or images created by you and your crew such as photos, infographics, collages, illustrations;
- licensed images Creative Commons, which allows you to download content for personal use and share it by citing the source and linking to the site.
- uncopyrighted images, or images without copyright, in the public domain or for which the authors have waived their rights, making them available for use by all.
We don’t always have the doubloons, knowledge or tools at our disposal to be able to create and use high quality images, so the best solution is to search for photos directly from pages where you can find them for free.
However, it is necessary to pay attention to the rules of each site in order not to run into problems on the copyright of the images: most of them, in fact, are subject to limitations that, if not respected, can create legal problems for those who use them without permission.
So today I’m going to introduce you 5 sites you can use to download free copyright-free images and without having to spend an arm and a leg, called:
Pixabay
This is the main screen that will appear once you log in to Pixabay.
In order to download full resolution images, you will have to create an account and log in with it. To do this, just click on the top right of the screen on Join (next to the button Upload) and choose whether to sign in with Facebook, Google or your Pixabay account.
You will then be able to browse for photos, illustrations, vectors, video e music FREE.
Freepik
This is the main screen that will appear once you log in to Free Pik however to download the images it is not necessary to do so.
In this site you will be able to navigate in search of photos, illustrations e vectors.
Keep in mind, though, that almost all images are free for personal and commercial purposes with attribution, i.e. you must link and paste the proposed link wherever it is visible in your article, next to the resource used.
If this is not possible, you can insert it in the footer of your website, blog, newsletter or in the credits section.
The link must also be used and visible for:
- Printed items such as books, clothing, flyers, posters, invitations, advertisements;
- online video platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo;
- Apps, games and desktop apps.
Pexels
With Pexels you can download for free photo e video.
Signing up is not necessary however it might be useful to save your download history.
As well as being free no attribution is required so no credit to the photographer or Pexels, however quotes are always greatly appreciated.
Finally you can edit downloaded photos and videos without ending up drifting.
Picjumbo
Picjumbo allows you to download images free high resolution.
Photos may be used for both personal and commercial use.
Unsplash
As in the case of Pixabay, also on Unsplash you can download images free in high resolution without attribution.
Usually, in fact, they can even be used for commercial purposes, without needing to ask permission or include the name of the image’s author.
Some of these sites allow you to get the Premium version which gives you access to many more images, in this case for a fee.
However remember that, even if we buy a photo, we can find different types of licenses, as in the case of the royalty free which allows you to use an image or any other resource with limited restrictions on its use and by paying a small fee.
Now that I’ve advised you of some safe harbors to land in, all that’s left for you to do is look for the images you need most.
