At the end of the day, your website pages need a cover because by creating a page, you are putting it up for viewers on the bookstore that is Google, Facebook, Twitter or some other large traffic source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having good images also allows you to rank on Google\u2019s image search, so that gives you another source of traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n
Stock photos for websites (free and paid)<\/h2>\n\n\n
Depending on how much money you want to spend, here are some of the places where I\u2019d recommend people to get their images from.<\/p>\n\n\n
Free stock images<\/h3>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/xyzcreativeworks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/image-1024x523.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAdobe <\/a>Stock <\/a>(Free)<\/a> – Adobe Stock is a professional-grade stock photo provider and they came out with some free offerings of photos, videos and illustrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPexels <\/a>– mostly for photos and videos. The quality here is very good. No illustrations or vectors. Pexels\u2019 photos are generally very good, but they don\u2019t have the same diversity in content.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPixabay <\/a>– you can get free photos, vectors, illustrations here. The best part about Pixabay is that they host a lot of varied content. The worst part is that the quality can be quite low.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGo to these sites and find the image that you need and download them. You might have to sign up in order to download full-res images.<\/p>\n\n\n
Copyright caveat emptor<\/h3>\n\n\n
I\u2019d definitely get photos from Adobe Stock\u2019s free collection before I continued down the list. One of my previous clients got hit by a copyright troll who went through his website and asked for the licences of his images. He was able to produce most of them, except one image. He ended up paying the troll a few hundred bucks as a settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Pexels and Pixabay claim that their images are CC0\/no attribution\/commercial OK, it\u2019s a bit harder to know what to do if a copyright troll comes your way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the end, it\u2019s all about faith and crossing your fingers, and it\u2019s easier to do so with Adobe behind you.<\/p>\n\n\n
Entry-level paid stock images<\/h3>\n\n\n
I personally subscribe to Envato Elements and I can wholeheartedly recommend them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I paid US$198 for a year\u2019s subscription and I get a whole bunch of photos, videos, Photoshop actions, brushes and other assets that help me do my marketing work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the graphics on the blog come from Envato. It really saves me a lot of time from designing my own assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I personally would recommend Envato wholeheartedly.<\/p>\n\n\n
High-end paid stock images<\/h3>\n\n\n
If you want the largest variety, then consider paying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Generally, stock image companies like iStock or Adobe Stock charge you by a monthly subscription (e.g. $100 for 30 credits) or you can prepay for your credits ($200 for 30 credits).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The upside to the former system is that you get credits at a cheaper rate. The downside is that they expire. You can usually roll them over for a month and then they get wasted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The upside to the second system is those credits don\u2019t expire but you do pay a higher rate per download.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have used iStock and I can say that you do pay for what you get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you compare the monthly subscription cost of Envato versus Adobe or iStock, you\u2019ll see the cost is significantly more on Adobe or iStock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, iStock photos are generally 3 credits, which is $36 CAD. That\u2019s a whole month\u2019s subscription to Envato.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But having access to stock images from these premium sites can sometimes save me time because they really have almost everything you can imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n
Free emojis<\/h2>\n\n\n
If you know how to do image manipulation, you might find these emoticons provided by Twitter to be very useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I use Twitter\u2019s <\/a>Twemoji <\/a>in my images to express a certain feeling, and I also like using the pointing finger to highlight certain things. The finger is certainly more eye-catching than a nondescript arrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe only thing you need to know is that Twitter requires you to attribute them. You can view the full text on their website, but here are the important lines: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe graphics are licensed under the CC-BY 4.0\u2026 [we] will accept a mention in a project README or an ‘About’ section or footer on a website<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\nHow to download Twitter emojis<\/h3>\n\n\n- Go to <\/a>this <\/a>link<\/a><\/li>
- Click the \u201cCode\u201d button and click \u201cdownload ZIP\u201d<\/li>
- Once downloaded, extract it. You will probably want to examine the 72×72 folder or the SVG folder for the vector images.
- If you have software that can open vector files, use the SVG files first.<\/li><\/ol><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
![](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/TK5Dcchd20OVdpg8L-MVz9MtkVHnvX3TsXTEJszS_kCrpoKV6PVRGOsWaODvUkxcwtZTE4IAGT3DdMOEF87pRLtzZWcwkU7GNzG5RMGkw5tfjoeNxM5GIZtEg7JtECJVChDbZm6q\")
<\/h2>\n\nHow to find the perfect Twemoji<\/h3>\n\n\n
One of the challenges I faced was that the Twemojis weren\u2019t easy to search through. They were all serial numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, by using this <\/a>search <\/a>engine<\/a>, you can enter some keywords and find the correct serial number to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn order to do so, go to this website and type in what you\u2019re looking for in the search bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/L_CLBIgNmo7YB6QCt4P2IEI2j7Py4cSWGX9E7CbStzjYdeJaMuHo59yEjrI0qT0AEyBwrKocDWqfXrkHTV4N18sBMg6FodmBcWrb32J4SiuseKKFEe8tK_RH-tkly-1XpTIYDp9A\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThen, click on the search result you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scroll down until you reach the Codepoints. It will likely be U+[XXXX].<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Find the XXXX serial number in the SVG\/72×72 folder you just downloaded. That\u2019s what you\u2019d want to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/Ml7NtXl-j3K2XfA6RTXujegN9OFkTrCfXQ182c92BNftEJ9HcfpBygq566LcuNQkrKxpfjgx_NhBO6W-m1sm1r7IlKHd_MwCVHAVt9nXo_5bhmtgKjxpt9ssiSKi39EoVPVFHqod\")
<\/figure>\n\n\nHow to put text and other edits on your image<\/h2>\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/7WwqNwwj0IJcEH4iFDjZK6z8Y6T_Bkwqj26bEQu9nrfLK33xYHX6PHoh7b4KUIUktS5seRv8TRUYF-qx4HiTJdgptkGL72oYEeueR0Lvl-LzKED8gmNQTC4yblAynKgQHdDjn0Uz\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOnce you have found the image that you want to use, head to Canva<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nI find Canva to be very easy to use and I use it sometimes for inspiration and for the ease of being able to do a lot through the browser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can also find a whole page <\/a>of <\/a>tutorials<\/a> there if you want to achieve something more complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou might be asking, is it worth learning Photoshop\/Illustrator? I\u2019d say yes as I use it a lot for my professional work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But they do take a while to learn and you can accomplish much of the same on Canva without paying the high subscription cost for the Adobe suite.<\/p>\n\n\n
Optimization before uploading<\/h2>\n\n\n
If you are going to upload your pictures, you definitely would want to optimize them before they go online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This helps you ensure that your website will load quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are using WordPress, it automatically sizes images for you, but ultimately it\u2019s still ideal if you uploaded an image that is already compressed because it reduces the space requirements on your server and also reduces server load during upload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can use a desktop tool like Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Bridge. I personally use Picasa, which is no longer available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I try to keep images to less than 2000 pixels on the wide side, but usually websites can work with 1200-pixel images. This is a good rule of thumb, but if you can find out how wide your images are displayed on your website, that would be ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some online options you can try<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bulk <\/a>Resize <\/a>— not only can you resize, you can also watermark, crop and compress images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAdobe <\/a>Stock <\/a>(Free)<\/a> – Adobe Stock is a professional-grade stock photo provider and they came out with some free offerings of photos, videos and illustrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pexels <\/a>– mostly for photos and videos. The quality here is very good. No illustrations or vectors. Pexels\u2019 photos are generally very good, but they don\u2019t have the same diversity in content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pixabay <\/a>– you can get free photos, vectors, illustrations here. The best part about Pixabay is that they host a lot of varied content. The worst part is that the quality can be quite low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go to these sites and find the image that you need and download them. You might have to sign up in order to download full-res images.<\/p>\n\n\n I\u2019d definitely get photos from Adobe Stock\u2019s free collection before I continued down the list. One of my previous clients got hit by a copyright troll who went through his website and asked for the licences of his images. He was able to produce most of them, except one image. He ended up paying the troll a few hundred bucks as a settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Pexels and Pixabay claim that their images are CC0\/no attribution\/commercial OK, it\u2019s a bit harder to know what to do if a copyright troll comes your way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the end, it\u2019s all about faith and crossing your fingers, and it\u2019s easier to do so with Adobe behind you.<\/p>\n\n\n I personally subscribe to Envato Elements and I can wholeheartedly recommend them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I paid US$198 for a year\u2019s subscription and I get a whole bunch of photos, videos, Photoshop actions, brushes and other assets that help me do my marketing work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the graphics on the blog come from Envato. It really saves me a lot of time from designing my own assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I personally would recommend Envato wholeheartedly.<\/p>\n\n\n If you want the largest variety, then consider paying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Generally, stock image companies like iStock or Adobe Stock charge you by a monthly subscription (e.g. $100 for 30 credits) or you can prepay for your credits ($200 for 30 credits).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The upside to the former system is that you get credits at a cheaper rate. The downside is that they expire. You can usually roll them over for a month and then they get wasted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The upside to the second system is those credits don\u2019t expire but you do pay a higher rate per download.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have used iStock and I can say that you do pay for what you get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you compare the monthly subscription cost of Envato versus Adobe or iStock, you\u2019ll see the cost is significantly more on Adobe or iStock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, iStock photos are generally 3 credits, which is $36 CAD. That\u2019s a whole month\u2019s subscription to Envato.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But having access to stock images from these premium sites can sometimes save me time because they really have almost everything you can imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n If you know how to do image manipulation, you might find these emoticons provided by Twitter to be very useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I use Twitter\u2019s <\/a>Twemoji <\/a>in my images to express a certain feeling, and I also like using the pointing finger to highlight certain things. The finger is certainly more eye-catching than a nondescript arrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only thing you need to know is that Twitter requires you to attribute them. You can view the full text on their website, but here are the important lines: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe graphics are licensed under the CC-BY 4.0\u2026 [we] will accept a mention in a project README or an ‘About’ section or footer on a website<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n One of the challenges I faced was that the Twemojis weren\u2019t easy to search through. They were all serial numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, by using this <\/a>search <\/a>engine<\/a>, you can enter some keywords and find the correct serial number to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to do so, go to this website and type in what you\u2019re looking for in the search bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, click on the search result you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scroll down until you reach the Codepoints. It will likely be U+[XXXX].<\/p>\n\n\n\n Find the XXXX serial number in the SVG\/72×72 folder you just downloaded. That\u2019s what you\u2019d want to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have found the image that you want to use, head to Canva<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I find Canva to be very easy to use and I use it sometimes for inspiration and for the ease of being able to do a lot through the browser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also find a whole page <\/a>of <\/a>tutorials<\/a> there if you want to achieve something more complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might be asking, is it worth learning Photoshop\/Illustrator? I\u2019d say yes as I use it a lot for my professional work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But they do take a while to learn and you can accomplish much of the same on Canva without paying the high subscription cost for the Adobe suite.<\/p>\n\n\n If you are going to upload your pictures, you definitely would want to optimize them before they go online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This helps you ensure that your website will load quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are using WordPress, it automatically sizes images for you, but ultimately it\u2019s still ideal if you uploaded an image that is already compressed because it reduces the space requirements on your server and also reduces server load during upload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can use a desktop tool like Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, Bridge. I personally use Picasa, which is no longer available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I try to keep images to less than 2000 pixels on the wide side, but usually websites can work with 1200-pixel images. This is a good rule of thumb, but if you can find out how wide your images are displayed on your website, that would be ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some online options you can try<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bulk <\/a>Resize <\/a>— not only can you resize, you can also watermark, crop and compress images.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCopyright caveat emptor<\/h3>\n\n\n
Entry-level paid stock images<\/h3>\n\n\n
High-end paid stock images<\/h3>\n\n\n
Free emojis<\/h2>\n\n\n
How to download Twitter emojis<\/h3>\n\n\n
How to find the perfect Twemoji<\/h3>\n\n\n
How to put text and other edits on your image<\/h2>\n\n\n
Optimization before uploading<\/h2>\n\n\n