Website Images to Fit Any Budget

Updated January 13, 2023

Finding website images can be a daunting and frustrating task. Even if you’ve set aside a reasonable budget, locating the perfect picture for your post can be problematic. But without them, your site can appear bland (at best) or drive visitors away because text is overwhelming (at worst). Here are some sources we use to find quality and interesting website images for our clients.

Free Website Image Sources

If you’re willing to put a bit of effort into your search for website images, then there are several free sources where you can find photos, graphics, and illustrations that are creative commons.  The price is usually $0 as long as you provide attribution or credit to the artist.  Our all-time favorite source is Flickr. Use the search advanced search function and be sure to select the “Creative Commons-licensed content” as well as website images you can use commercially and can modify/adapt. Doing so will typically yield great results. There are several others like shutterstock.com and  freephotosbank.com. But we like the variety and the social aspect of Flickr. Once you’ve found the perfect image, confirm that it is  actually free. Scroll down to the licensing section to see how you can legally use the image.

Paid Website Image Sources

If money is no object, then Corbis can provide some lovely images you can use. Problem is that many artists won’t let you buy their art outright, so be prepared to lease . If you’re looking to use the image across multiple mediums (e.g., brochures or product packaging), then be prepared to shell out some serious coin.

For more affordable paid website image sources, check out istockphoto.com, fotolia.com and shutterstock.com. Payment is usually a one shot expense, and pricing depends upon image size. We’ve found fotolia and istockphoto to be particularly user friendly. These sites provide a wide variety of images that can be used on websites, brochures or presentations.