Best Sites to Download Free Images for a Non-Profit or Commercial Website

Chukwumah Ezeobika
Finding and downloading images for use on your website can be a time-consuming, costly and exhausting venture. It is also a tricky process as you have to deal with the numerous and diverse license terms and conditions attached to the images you wish to use or purchase. Thankfully, there are photo websites on the internet that allow visitors to download images absolutely free of charge and without the complex licensing terms that are ubiquitous on most other photo websites. Here are some of the best sites to download free images for your website (whether personal or commercial).

morgueFile

- Has a collection of free photos that are available for use on both non-profit and commercial websites.

- You are allowed to modify an image and you are not required to give credit to the author.

- You may not resell, redistribute or claim ownership of an image in its original form. You may do these if you have altered/modified the image.

- Can be found at www.morguefile.com

PhotoEverywhere

- Has a collection of photos of places (travel images).

- All its images are free to download for both non-profit and commercial use.

- High resolution images.

- You are allowed to use its images in any way such as printed use, redistribution, alteration, and so on.

- Its one requirement is that you include a credit to its website with any use of an image.

- Can be found at www.photoeverywhere.co.uk

Freerange

- Free download from its collection of photos at no cost.

- It requires that you register with them for free.

- Allows you to use its images on your non-profit and commercial websites.

- All its images are in JPG format and high resolution.

- Does not require you to give credit to the photographer or the site.

- You are not allowed however, to claim ownership of the images, resell or redistribute them.

- Can be found at www.freerangestock.com

Stock.Xchng

- Extensive collection of free images for use on non-profit and commercial websites.

- You are required to register with the site for free.

- You may not resell or redistribute the photos.

- Can be found at www.sxc.hu

Image Base

- The photos on this site are free to use for both non-profit and commercial websites.

- Images are high resolution.

- You are allowed to modify and redistribute any images as long as you give credit to the author.

- Can be found at www.imagebase.davidniblack.com

Studio7Designs

- Collection of free nature photos.

- All images on this site are free for non-profit and commercial use.

- There are no requirements for use or restrictions to the use of its images. You may (if you like) give credit to the website

- Can be found at www.studio7designs.com

Photogen

- Free images for both non-profit and commercial websites

- You are required to register with the site for free

- Images may be altered to fit your use

- Does not allow you to resell or redistribute its images

- Can be found at www.photogen.com

Photo Rack

- All its images are free to use for both non-profit and commercial websites

- There are no requirements for use or restrictions to the use of its photos

- Can be found at www.photorack.net

Free Pixels

- Photos are free to use on both non-profit and commercial websites

- Requires that you that give credit to the website. All its images have a "freepixels.com" logo. If you choose to remove this, then the credit must be stated beside the image you have downloaded (on your website).

- Does not allow you to resell or redistribute its images.

- Can be found at www.freepixels.com

Public-Domain-Photos.com

- Has a collection of 5000 photos and 8000 clip arts which are all free for both non-profit and commercial use

- All its images are public domain

- Can be found at www.public-domain-photos.com

Cepolina

- Its images are free to download for both non-profit and commercial use.

- All that is required is to credit the site by linking back to it with any use of an image.

- Can be found at www.cepolina.com

Vintage Pixels

- Large collections of historical photos that are free to download and use.

- You are required to register with the site for free.

- You may not resell or redistribute its images.

- Can be found at www.vintagepixels.com

Mayang's Free Textures

- Collection of thousands of textures that are free for non-profit and commercial use

- You may modify these images

- You are allowed to redistribute images but you have to credit the site when you redistribute them.

- You may only resell them if significant modifications have been made to the textures.

- Can be found at www.mayang.com/textures

Turbo Photo

- Thousands of free photos for download.

- Require that you register with the website for free.

- Images may be modified to fit your use.

- Does not allow you to resell or redistribute its images.

- Can be found at www.turbophoto.com/freephoto

FreeStockPhotos.com

- Photos are free to download and use for both non-profit and commercial websites.

- Your use of its images is restricted to 10 photos on any one website.

- Require that you that give credit to the website. All its images have a "freestockphotos.com" logo. If you choose to remove this, then the credit must be stated beside the image you have downloaded (on your website).

- Can be found at www.freestockphotos.com

Other websites from which images can be downloaded for free include

- Government website domains for NASA, Department of Defense, Library of Congress, the White House, etc.

- AarinFreePhoto.com

- Free Stock Photography

- PD Photo

- Geek Philosopher

- Bigfoto.com

- BiblePlaces.com

Points to Note with the Use of All the Above Sites

1. If any of the points listed above are not clear to you, you can always read the Terms of Use or FAQ section of the concerned site. They are usually basic and easy to understand since they deal with the free use of images.

2. Endeavour to read the Terms of Use or FAQ sections if you want to download images from any of these sites because the licensing terms may have been modified since this article was published.

3. You can always contact the photographers or websites to clarify issues or gain further permission for the use of their images.

Published by Chukwumah Ezeobika

I am a medical doctor. I love the internet and the freedom of information that comes with it. Thus, I like to write about the internet; particularly about things that can be gotten for free on the interne...  View profile

2 Comments

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  • Sullivan Rose2/23/2011

    Thanks! I've found some easy to use and great for my needs.

  • Claudeen Kembro3/7/2010

    Great info. Most helpful. Thanks.

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