Images are essential when it comes to producing effective marketing and advertising material, whether social media or content marketing. Research has suggested that coloured visuals increase a person’s willingness to read a piece of content by 80%, while 65% of people say they are able to retain information far better when the copy is accompanied by an appealing image. Also, if you are harnessing the power of social media – which of course you should be – then images are even more vital. Content that has an image attached gets 94% more views than content without, which begs the question: where can you get your hands on these stock images that will swell your exposure levels and increase your work’s worth?

Luckily, we’ve trawled the internet so you don’t have to. See below for a comprehensive list of the best websites for grabbing stock images that will enhance your content, and hopefully increase the effectiveness of everything you produce.

Oh, and all of the listed websites are FREE stock images and have no copyright regulations. You’re welcome.

Websites offering free stock images

1. Unsplash.com

Unsplash uses the Creative Commons Zero licence, which means no credit is required to be given when using an image. However, should you use a photo, the website encourages that credit be given to the photographer. This is entirely up to you, though.

2. Pexels.com

Pexels provides users – whoever they may be, and whatever their intentions – with high quality and completely free stock photos. All photos are tagged, so they can easily be found via the site’s impressive search function.

3. Gratisography.com

Gratisography is a website set up by photographer Ryan McGuire to give advertisers, artists and designers access to high quality, free images relating to all manner of topics and subjects.

4. Lifeofpix.com

Free hi-res photos with no chance of users incurring the wrath of any copyright holders. Images can be used for either personal or commercial use, and new photos are uploaded regularly.

5. Finda.photo

Rummage through thousands upon thousands of images that will cater to your needs, however niche.

6. Pikwizard.com

They have over 100 000 free images on the site (20 000 exclusive to Pikwizard) and adding new images to their library daily. Their ultimate goal is to get to more than 1 million images.

There are many sites out there offering users the opportunity to get their mitts on top drawer images for free – and you’re more than welcome to try them all!

Enjoy the content creation journey, and happy image hunting!