Images have become the most important factor in website content creation. The reason is simple. Visual materials are getting the maximum response on the internet and social media. Blog posts that include well-designed images along with relevant text contents create 650% higher engagement than regular text posts. This interaction drives significant direct and referral traffic to the websites.  

In this series of posts, we will cover all aspects related to using images on your websites and blogs. Using images on your blog is not as straightforward as it appears. There are many layers to it. These layers are easy to understand, but bloggers/website owners tend to overlook it.

Here’s the list of all the topics that we will cover in this series of Tips & Tricks on Using Images on Your Website.

  1. Finding and using the correct images for your website – Part 1
  2. Optimization and SEO of pictures – Part 2
  3. Making awesome and amazing graphics – Part 3

And now, without further ado, let’s start with the first article of this series –

Finding & Using the Suitable Images for your Website

1. Using images and copyright issues

The most common practice to find images is to use Google search. Just type what you are looking for and hundreds of pictures are displayed. You find an image that suits your idea. You either download it or grab the link to directly use it on your website or your social media profiles.

Can it get easier than this!

This entire sequence is faulty and surprisingly many bloggers (new & experienced) consistently follow this method.

If you notice carefully, you will find the following instructions below the images.

By randomly downloading and using images from the internet on your website/social media profiles or hotlinking images from other sites you are in direct infringement of copyright laws.

Most of the times bloggers or website owners assume among millions of websites and social media profiles, nobody is going to notice the use of an image. If you are a casual blogger, then it might not be a big issue for you.

But if you are a professional blogger or an online business with a website, then it can get serious. The actual owners and creators of the images can file copyright infringement complaint against you.

If you are residing in the USA, then the copyright claims will directly come under the purview of DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). If you live outside the USA, then complaints can be filed against your website to Google. The social media platforms can flag your social media profiles (where you have posted copyrighted photos).

What are the potential risks to your website and business due to copyright violations?

If you are a full-time blogger or an online business owner, then you have a lot of risks.

  1. Google can flag or put a ban on your website. That will block you out of the search results and Google advertising revenue system.
  2. Social media platforms can ban the social media profiles of your website and business.
  3. There are also possible chances for you or your venture to pay a large sum of money as intellectual compensation.

Can you use ask permission to the image creators to use their image?

Yes, you can. Many bloggers think that sharing an image and giving a link back to the creator is sufficient. It can be unless the author does not feel so and files for a copyright violation citing the reason that he/she was not informed.

So, if you want to use a particular image on your main website, then it is always better to email the creator asking for permission. If your site is of high quality and standing most of the website owners will be happy to give you the authorization to use their image, with credits linking back to their site. It is going to provide them with an inbound traffic which is good for the SEO of their website.

So, just ask!

Online copyright issues are tricky, and we have discussed just the basics on it. If you want to have a more detailed technical reading on it, then you can read the article here.

2. Online sources to find royalty and copyright free images

At present, many online resources can provide you royalty and copyright free images which mean you can download or use them on your website/ social media profiles without worrying about copyright violations.

You can use them for personal or commercial use with no attribution required. You can use the images freely because they are released without copyright under the Creative Commons CC0 license.

Here is the list of the websites to get copyright free images:

  1. Pixabay 
  2. Pexels
  3. Sitebuilder Stock Up
  4. Stocksnap
  5. Unsplash

Point to note: All these websites have a license page. Therefore, always refer the license page for more clarity on the usage permission.

Paid Stock Photo Websites 

There are also many popular paid stock photo websites where you can pay for individual photos or membership to use them. The extent of usage permission associated with your license will depend on the type of membership you have purchased.

For example, have a look at the membership page of one of the most popular stock photo and footage websites in the world.

For many bloggers and small business, it can cost significant money. Around $49 for five images or per image around $10.

Benefit: The images you buy from official stock websites are royalty free and can be freely used depending on your license. For example, Shutterstock provides two types of licenses to users who buy the membership. For most of the bloggers, a regular license is sufficient, and one can use it on websites without worrying about copyright violations.

3. How DesignBold makes it easy for users to create unique images without copyright issues?

From the above explanations, you can see that using images on your blog, website or social media is not as simple as it appears. It has the potential to get complicated. Hence, it is essential that you are mindful when using images from the internet

At DesignBold we have made this seemingly complex issue very comfortable.

When you use DesignBold you get two major benefits:

  1. You get to use an excellent online drag & drop image editor. DesignBold is light to use & is full of features. You can create amazing designs in the shortest time with DesignBold just sitting in front of your laptop. To know more on the marvels of DesignBold image editor check here. 
  2. DesignBold also brings tonnes of free to use photos for its users. All the users (free or paying) get access to more than 200,000 stock photos, vectors, icons & illustrations (along with more than 7000 professional templates). You can drag and drop them on the layouts and easily create unique designs for your websites or business.

A subscriber (pro or team) along with 300,000 free stock collections gets access to DesignBold premium stock library with 40 million items. Pro and Team users can use 20 to 100 monthly premium stock images. Beyond that per premium stock will cost less than $1.

All the stock photos are royalty free. The designs you create using DesignBold image designer, and stock collections can be used freely on blogs & websites. You do not need to worry about copyright violations or credit attributes.

Also, from the price aspect, it is great value for money for everyone. For example, yearly Pro membership of DesignBold just costs $15. With that, you get access to:

  • An online drag & drop image editor.
  • 300,000 free stock collection.
  • Access to DesignBold premium with 40 million Premium Stock collection.
  • Complete peace of mind of designing photos and using them on blogs & websites without any worries about copyright violations and legality.

Conclusion:

Images have the power to elevate the reach of your contents and also to increase the traffic to your blog/business.

But as the saying goes “With great power comes great responsibility.”

You need to be responsible for the images that you put on your blog and business. Copyright issues are real, and many bloggers are knowingly or unknowingly taking chances with their online properties by using any image they find on the internet (without verifying its ownership).

In this modern age, it is time to take control of image creation and design original pictures for your blog & business. DesignBold lets you do that.

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