What is a Stock Image Website?
Stock images are photos that are already captured, edited, and available for use. There are two types of stock images: photos that require you to pay a licensing fee and images that are free to use (aka. royalty free images).
The majority of images which you can source from stock image websites are royalty free, which means that you can use them anywhere without having to credit anybody. When you use stock images, you can also edit them to your liking and even distribute them in marketing campaigns — they’re perfect for ecommerce entrepreneurs.
When you’re searching for stock images, you’ll need to choose between two different options; free stock image websites and premium stock image websites. Both premium and free stock image websites have advantages and disadvantages which you’ll need to take into consideration when you’re sourcing images for your business.
Best Free Stock Photo Sites
If you’re an ecommerce entrepreneur who is running your online store with a relatively low budget, then it’s critical that you avoid unnecessary expenses. If you’re faced with the choice between spending some of your budget on stock images or growing your business with marketing campaigns, you’ll need to prioritize the latter.
Free stock photo sites offer a wide range of images and graphics which you can use without any charge– they’re invaluable for ecommerce entrepreneurs who are working with a tight budget. They don’t have a colossal library of images, like premium stock image websites do, but you’ll certainly be able to find high-quality, copyright free images which fit your ecommerce store’s design.
We’ve listed the top 7 free stock photo sites for ecommerce entrepreneurs below
1. Unsplash
Unsplash is another essential free stock image site for ecommerce entrepreneurs. The site is constantly updating its database, adding 10 royalty-free photographs every 10 days.
The images which you can find on the site are of the highest-quality and would fit into any part of an ecommerce store, or any marketing campaigns which you create.
The downside to Unsplash is that their search function is relatively limited, meaning that it can be difficult at times to find what you’re searching for.
2. Shopify Burst
Shopify Burst is a free stock image website that is primarily aimed at entrepreneurs. The website is clean, with a modern design, making it easy to find free high resolution images.
Shopify Burst’s best feature for ecommerce entrepreneurs is their ‘Business Ideas’ section. In this section, you’ll be able to view categories of images which are dedicated towards specific types of ecommerce stores, like yoga products, or enamel pins.
3. Pexels
Pexels offers a wealth of stock photos for free. These cover a wide spectrum of topics, so you’re sure to find something suitable for your business..
Pexels’ search function is what really makes it stand out from the crowd– it’s simple to use and has multiple useful parameters, which make it one of the easiest stock photography websites to use.
Pexels’ library of images contains plenty of aesthetically pleasing images, most of which are stunning landscape photos, so they could be ideal for the backdrop of your ecommerce store.
4. Gratisography
Gratisography is a free stock image website which was created by Ryan McGuire, an artist and designer.
This free stock image site has plenty of royalty-free images which were all taken by Ryan, so the images are truly unique. You can use the content from this website to make your online store stand out from the crowd.
Ecommerce entrepreneurs can also use Gratisography to find free stock images for commercial use.
5. Shutterstock
Shutterstock is one of the most successful premium stock image websites. Their image library boasts millions of royalty free stock photos, illustrations, and graphics. They’re constantly working to ensure that their library is filled with the highest quality content possible.
Every day, Shutterstock adds ten thousand new high-resolution images, which means that you’ll be spoilt for choice if you use this platform. Shutterstock’s images can be expensive if you purchase them individually, but they’re more affordable if you purchase any of their bundles.
6. iStockPhoto
iStockPhoto is one of the longest running premium stock image sites. It was originally founded in 1999 and has been at the forefront of design ever since.
iStockPhoto has an intuitive search function which enables users to find images quickly and easily. Even if you aren’t technically proficient, you’ll be able to access iStockPhoto’s wealth of images, graphics, video, and audio.
This stock image website’s pricing plan is amongst the most expensive on this list, but you’ll be paying for high-quality images which you can use for your store. They also have a unique reverse search function, which enables you to check if any of the images you’re interested in have been used by other ecommerce businesses.
7. Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock (formerly Fotolia) has one of the largest libraries of content out of the premium stock image websites on our list. You’ll find millions of royalty-free images which you can gain access to for a relatively cheap price. The website has an intuitive design which is easy to navigate around.
Adobe Stock has also incorporated a ‘collections’ system into their website, which is great for ecommerce entrepreneurs. The collections which are available are named core, infinite, and instant. Their core and infinite collections include images which are tailored to desktop use, whereas their instant collection features images which are tailored to mobile users.
Summary: The 7 Best Websites to Source Stock Images in 2022
Now you know various different stock image websites, it’s time to nail the design of your ecommerce store. Remember, you aren’t limited to using just one of these stock images platforms, you should take advantage of all of them.You may also want to see Beginner guid on internet marketing, and how to create a landing page with WordPres
Leave A Comment