When looking for photos for your website, you can’t just use any photo you find online. As tempting as it may be to use any photo you find, each image is subject to Copyright Laws which dictate how you can use them.
The majority of images online usually come under 4 different types of photos, which include:
Right-protected
These images come under copyright licence for one-time use or for a restricted amount of time. Websites like iStock, Shutterstock and Getty Images are rights-protected. Always check the purchase agreement before buying to make sure it’s right for the purpose you are using it.
Royalty-Free
With royalty-free, the user pays a one-time fee which covers multiple uses with no additional charges. Always check the licensing agreement to see how the photo may be used.
Common Free Licence
Images that come with a ‘common free licence’ are protected by copyright but free to use, share, edit and repurpose.
Public Domain
Photos in the Public Domain are not protected by copyright and have no limitations on use, there is no fee to use these types of images.
More often than not, buying photos online can usually be expensive and hiring a photographer to take photos can prove even more costly. But there is another way…. There are plenty of free websites out there that have a variety of images.
Here are a just few of our favourites:
These images available on these websites are far more professional than using your own photos that you’ve taken on your phone on your website.
Professional photos give your website the WOW factor and if your website is more visually pleasing along with being easy to use, then visitors to your site are more likely to engage and enquire.