best stock photos for website designers

Images for Web Design – where to find them?

With images being the most popular and influential part of your webpage, finding unique photos that help to tell your story and improve user experience can be tough. But as of today, images are your website, it's that relevant, so finding the right photo for the right message is even more important, and challenging.

Where is the best place to find photos for my new web page?

Web development and web design are tough enough, there are text, design, and navigation issues that need to be addressed to grant a great user experience. Hiring a photographer to capture the right image, at the right time can delay your graphic design and web creation process more than you would like. So where do you find quality photos that are compelling, unique, and tell your story?

Web Designers, graphic designers, and business owners have been using stock photos for years. Having access to millions of photos that can be easily searched and downloaded, is a web developer saving grace.

For a business, it is a cost-effective way to get high-quality photos that support their vision and mission of their company through photos and images. Instead of having one photographer shooting all the images needed for a website, web designers and businesses search through thousands of photographers' work and pick the best image that tells their story, or represents their brand. If you are dealing with a personal website, stock photos are a great way to keep your project fresh with new photos without being bogged down in image creation or trying to find the perfect photo or illustration for our website.

Stock photography is the perfect ally for website design, especially for low-budget projects or startups, because of the mix of the huge variety in content, instant availability, affordable pricing, and flexible license that enables commercial use across multiple mediums (meaning you can use the same photos on your webpage and on your social media channels, without paying extra).

Which stock agencies can help you with your website design and image needs?

All the stock photo agencies can help you but finding the right stock photo agency for your web needs and budget needs can entail a bit more research. Photocase, Stock Photo Secrets, iStock and Shutterstock, and are all great stock photo sites that provide slightly different services and will meet your website and design needs.

Be it curated content, advanced search bars, useful plugins (for WordPress or other web development tools, for example), these stock photo sites excel in high-resolution images that are perfect for responsive web design that hits the mark with your viewers.

Stock Photo Secrets Shop is our very own stock photo agency, with offers specifically tailored for small and medium-sized businesses working on limited budgets. We have a great selection of high-quality images that would brighten up any web design you can imagine. With multiple annual and monthly subscription plans, and on-demand image packs available, we have some of the lowest prices in the industry for royalty-free stock photos. Do check out our Stock Photo Secrets Shop review for more information, and make sure to get the spec on our amazing 99club plan!

Shutterstock is the daddy of stock photo agencies with great quality photos, great subscription rates for all your photo needs, and flexible subscriptions to get all the photos you will need for your new website. Designers use Shutterstock for this reason, and also love the selection and variety of images they can download through their subscription. All photos are in high-res, but they are great photos that will for sure tell your story through illustrations and images. Check out our review of Shutterstock to learn it all about this company. And don't hesitate to grab our exclusive Shutterstock Coupon to save on your purchase!

Photocase is a German stock photo agency with a unique approach to imagery. Their clear European vibe makes their images the perfect fit for websites catering to European markets, and their straightforward, on-demand buying system is as simple as one can ask. Add the fact their images come with Royalty Free license and at very affordable prices, and the result is that Photocase is one great place to buy images for web design that will be original, special, and won't break your bank. Check out our Photocase review for more info, and make sure to grab our exclusive Photocase Coupon for 5 free credits plus 10% off on your purchase!

iStock is one of the pioneer stock photo agencies on the web and one of the most renowned too. Backed up by the prestigious Getty Images and dotted with a large library full of professional images, including millions of exclusive files, this site is ideal to find cool stock images to use on your website. It's one of the very few places where you can buy photos by the unit, even just one at a time. And between credit packs and subscriptions they have very convenient offers to fit into every budget. Read our iStock review for further details, and don't forget to use our special iStock Promo Code to save in your purchase!

Are you wondering why aren't we recommending free photo sites for this purpose? There is a good reason we don't: free stock images are simply not as legally safe, and that is crucial when it comes to using them in your website, all the more if it's a commercial-oriented one. Free images are often issued under generic licenses such as Creative Commons, but they're not verified, so you're at your own risk. There are more serious sites like Unsplash or Pixabay that issue their own custom licenses and are fairly more reliable, but nothing beats professional, stock photography providers.

Web design is easier and faster when you use stock photos

Web design becomes much easier when you have access to high quality photos and images 24/7 during the design and updating process of your website. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional, stock photos, stock vectors and stock images are the best way to coordinate your design efforts, tell your story, and find color coordination in your website design.

Check out some free images in our online photo gallery to see the quality of free images you can use through these stock photo agencies, or browse through each stock photo agency website and decide which stock photo agency is best for your design needs and budget.