5 Websites with Free Images For Commercial Use That You Need To Know About

Enhance the Usability of Your Software Applications with Stock Images

When developing new software, your primary focus is on creating an application that streamlines specific tasks or objectives. Building user-friendly software applications require a strong attention to detail, creative problem solving, and an easy platform to use. But developers often overlook the importance of visual design and using images when creating the user interface.

An application may do a terrific job solving a problem, but frequently it’s a poor visual design that frustrates users and keeps them away.

For example, you may have just baked the most delicious cake for a contest, but you only spent 10 seconds icing and decorating your cake. The truth is that nobody will want to taste your cake because the customer judges its quality on visual appeal first.

This is the same in the world of software development. Taking time to improve your application’s visual design with attention-grabbing colors, photos, and graphics will increase usability and the overall user experience.

Here are the top five websites where you can find free images licensed for commercial use that can enhance your software applications.

1. Pixabay

https://pixabay.com/

Pixabay’s images are all released free of copyrights under the Creative Commons (CC0). They have a massive database of over 1,030,000 photos, illustrations, vectors, and videos that you are free to use within your application. Software developers can utilize Pixabay to find the perfect stock images or vector graphics that fit the overall look and feel of the application.
Licensing information.

2. Kaboompics

https://kaboompics.com/

Kaboompics offers stunning, photoshoot quality free images for commercial use. They allow you to search images by a particular color scheme, industry, and photo orientation. This functionality is perfect for the UI designer or developer with a specific theme or color pattern already in mind. Kaboompics can help you give your software a sleek and professional look, all at no cost to you!
Licensing Information.

3. Unsplash

https://unsplash.com/

Unsplash offers free stock photos from a community of photographers around the world. You can download pictures from specific collections or individually. Their high-quality free images make their selection perfect for web design and software applications. They also have a wide variety of basic background-type photos that will make your app pop and help stay consistent with brand colors and themes.
Licensing Information.

4. SplitShire

https://www.splitshire.com/

SplitShire offers users complete access to their licensed stock images and videos. Their website collects content from around the world and allows it to be shared for commercial use. You can search images by category to match your application’s theme. Their free video capability gives you access to high-resolution stock video to immerse your users in lively content.
Licensing Information.

5. Pexels

https://www.pexels.com/

Pexels also offers free, high-quality stock images that are licensed under the Creative Commons (CC0).  Their mission is to give creative people, like software developers, access to photos that match their overall vision. You can search by color, theme, and size so that your images match exactly what you need as a designer.
Licensing Information.

Bonus!

Snapwire Snaps (https://snapwiresnaps.tumblr.com/)

Snapwire Snaps is a collection of over 200,000 royalty-free photos from the world’s most talented photographers. They offer seven free photos to subscribers every week that is handpicked.

If you want to make the most of their website, you can create custom creative briefs for photographers to plan and shoot for you. You can also purchase industry or theme-specific photo bundles that match your application’s direction. (https://www.snapwi.re/)

Taking Action

Proper design within application development is key to generating and retaining users. Images, vectors, and videos draw users through your work. They help users make connections and associations with the goals and the overall objective of the application.

High-resolution free images that you can download from these sites create a clean and professional look for your project. Vectors or icons allow the user to hint where a button or link will take them. Users don’t like to waste their time, so giving them a visual “heads-up” will help keep them engaged.

For example, if someone is looking to check out from an e-commerce type app, they will look for a shopping cart icon to complete their transaction. Simple additions like that will increase usability and conversions inside your app.

*Pro Tips*

• Choosing from these websites allows you to customize your application’s color scheme and layout.
• If you like a particular photographer’s style but don’t have the images you are looking for, you may be able to hire them! Plenty of photographers would love to put together a brief for your application design.
• Just like the color and texture of a picture, but you don’t like the whole thing? Select the highest resolution they offer and crop the image to capture the color and texture you are looking for.

The best thing about these websites is they are free to use. You can download as many free images as you need to create a memorable user experience for your software application. You know your project is fantastic, so utilize these tips to help make it stand out from the rest!

We hope these websites will help to make your application more user-friendly. Please, feel free to share this article with your team and network!

Take the Steps for Success

Ready to design an attractive, user-friendly application? The experts at QAT Global are here to execute your vision and deliver cutting-edge software to your users that leverages best practices, a modern design, and flexible engagement models. Using an Agile software development approach with proper planning and the right people on your team will put you on the path to success. The development team at QAT Global is experienced in developing all kinds of enterprise applications and SaaS products for clients in a wide variety of industries. Put your next software project on the path to success, start the conversation with our development team today.