12 sources with royalty-free and free images (CC0)

Images are important, even on the web. Everyone who is active in this segment knows that.

[Picture credits: Autumn motif, CC0, Pixabay]

Be it that you manage your own projects or those of customers. The image material loosens up the postings, awakens emotions and may therefore increase the time spent on the website or the responsiveness of the reader: either when buying or subscribing to newsletters.

It must have become known by now, however, that you are not allowed to simply download any pictures and then embed them in your own weblog or on the website, because you can get legal problems faster than you would like.

Those who can come up with their own picture material have a clear advantage. But if you don't have the time, the equipment or the talent, you have to rely on image directories.

These in turn have their own hooks. Often the pictures offered there cost money. That is not a problem with few pictures, because there are also favorable offers, but if you blog a lot, then this adds up with the time to a considerable sum.

A much bigger problem, however, is the sometimes very restrictive usage conditions: Photos may only be shared in blog articles, but not in social networks, on your own website, yes, but not on Twitter, and so on.

This then becomes increasingly complicated and confusing and hardly practicable in everyday life.

Solution in the form of free and royalty-free images: CC0

For some years now there have been various directories offering images known by various names: Common Free, Public Domain, Royalty Free or Creative Commons Zero (CC0).

What does CC0 actually mean?

CC0 means on the one hand that the picture is free. You may also use it for private and commercial purposes, you may change it and you are not even obliged to mention the name of the photographer or the illustrator.

Whereby one pointed out me with the latter to the fact that one is obligated at least in the German right always to call the name of the author. As a non-lawyer I cannot say whether this statement is so accurate, but I think that it is already the courtesy to mention the author.

The CC0 images are practical for several reasons, because you can use the same image for example in the web article, for the corresponding Facebook and Twitter post and for the video on YouTube, without having to worry about whether you got the right license.

I personally, regardless of whether one is obligated or not, will always make sure that I name the author of the picture. Either directly below the picture or at the end of the article. A listing in the imprint is also possible if you use the pictures on your own website.

A few directories with CC0 images

Here are twelve of the directories that offer such images. I'm pretty sure there are more:

1. Pixabay – a very large and well known directory with CC0 images
2. Free Nature Stock – Landscapes under CC0
3. Public Domain Archive – many public domain images
4. Stokpic – further directory with CC0 images
5. CC0-Fotos.de – Photos under the CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication License
6. jaymantri.com – a number of further CC0 images
7. New Old Stock – old photos for which the property rights have already expired
8. ISO Republic – Directory with thousands of CC0 images
9. Unsplash – more than 200,000 public domain images
10. Gratisography – Another large collection with many pictures. The license is not mentioned exactly, but the description corresponds to CC0
11. Skuwak – also images which are offered as CC0 or Public Domain
12. Pexels.com – also many CC0 images