Many customers looking to create their first website often ask “can’t you just get the images from Google?” However this is not best practice and could quite possibly land you in trouble due to copyright issues. There are also more issues to consider:
COPYRIGHT LAWS
It’s illegal to use any image which holds a copyright without the owner’s permission or by purchasing a licence which grants permission.
From the moment a photographer takes a picture, they own the copyright, they don’t need to register it to a specific organisation.
If discovered you may face fines for thousands of pounds per image. For more information about copyright laws visit http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Copyright-Infringement.
THAT’S THE LEGALITIES OF TAKING IMAGES FROM GOOGLE, BUT WHAT ABOUT OTHER ISSUES?
NOT HAVING THE RIGHT SIZE FOR WHAT YOU NEED
Without being able to specify the sizes you require some images simply won’t work for the parts of the website you need them for. Stretching images make them pixelated and therefore gives off a blurry look. Trimming images may remove some important visual parts, making it difficult to understand.
YOUR WEBSITE MIGHT LOOK SIMILAR TO A COMPETITOR
Another issue with simply taking images from Google is that they could potentially be used on your competitor’s websites. This makes you look pretty similar, creating confusion for customers and devaluing your content.
Creating unique content and having your own related images are likely to help boost your rankings within google.
SO I UNDERSTAND I CAN’T TAKE ANY IMAGES FROM GOOGLE, WHERE SHOULD I GO?
WHERE CAN I FIND IMAGES?
We often advise to avoid stock images as it gives your website a fake feel. Photography however can be expensive or a difficult skill to get right. Therefore we recommend some of the following options:
Pexels: https://www.pexels.com – Free images which you can download in various sizes including custom. Lower number of images compared to stock websites.
Fotolia: https://en.fotolia.com – Stock image websites with a wide range of images to purchase, different sizes available at different prices.
Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/en/ – Wide range of images available for free, details of copyrights available when selecting image.
If you wish to provide your own images when we create your website, then please make sure that you have the rights to the images. If you need us to add images we shall usually use photos from stock image websites at an additional cost.
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