Let me help you find the best free images to download for your website and marketing materials!

The images that you choose for your website and marketing materials can make or break the overall aesthetic of your brand. When hiring a full time photographer to supply you with appropriate and timely photos is out of the budget, most turn to using free stock photos. There are so many options to choose from when choosing where to get the best free images to download for your site, how are you supposed to choose?

Here’s a quick list of considerations when choosing which free stock photos and free images to download for your marketing materials:

1. Price
2. Usage License
3. Attribution
4. Modification
5. Fit

First, let’s talk about price.

Some of the traditional stock photo sources can cost hundreds of dollars for a single image with limited usage rights. Other sources are free, have zero limitations, and can be used for any purpose. For the purposes of this blog post we’re going to focus on the free stock photo sources that are truly, absolutely, 100% free.

Why? Because not every project requires the exactly perfect photo that costs an arm and a leg. Many blog posts, marketing materials, and websites are completely fine with using free stock photos.

Second, it’s time to cover usage license.

These free images you download, aka free stock photos, must be used based on their license agreements. Some sources say that you can use the images in any way you’d like, for whatever reason you’d like. One of the biggest differentiators is whether your project is commercial or non-commercial. Most allow you to use the images for any personal reasons if you are not generating a profit. Some limits may be imposed by sources if you plan to use the free stock photos for commercial reasons.

Wherever you choose to get your free images to download, be sure to check the license requirements BEFORE you actually use them. The last thing that you want to do is get your website up and running or marketing materials printed, then find out that you can’t use any of the free stock photos that you downloaded. That would be incredibly frustrating!

Third, what the heck is attribution?

When using free stock photos, one of the things that some sources require is attribution for the images. This means that you must give the photographer credit when you use the photos. For some things like blog posts, attribution is super simple. You just add a little link in there or a quick credit line beneath the photo. This isn’t as easy when you’re designing brochures or using images on the home page of your website.

If attribution is required for the free stock images that you want to use, you need to really do your homework and credit the photos properly or you may even want to find a new source. It depends on how good you are at paying attention to details and following the rules.

Fourth, modification.

Yep, always a concern when it comes to any type of photography. Once you’ve found these free images to download, you need to know what you can do with them. Some sources add limitations to how they can be used (no editing including cropping, changing the colors tc.) while others say have at it, do whatever you want.

Modification rights is something you have to keep in mind even if you hire a private photographer to come out and do a photoshoot for you, specific to the needs of the project. Some photographers will give you full rights to do as you please where as others will take major issue if you do any type of editing to the final images that they deliver.

Fifth, fit.

Are free stock photos the right fit for your project? The answer lies in the photos that you find and all of the considerations listed above. Before you start searching, you should have some type of vision in mind for the free images that you want to download.

Are you looking for a person, place, or thing? Should there be some type of action involved? What colors should the photo include in order to add to the aesthetic of your project? Having a vision in mind for what fit you need the free images to download for will help you find the right photos to do the job.

Ready to start looking for free stock photos?

We’ve compiled the ultimate list of sources for free stock photos, which is detailed below. Keep in mind that all sources are updated at different rates and include different licenses. You’ll need to sort through each to make sure that they work for your needs. Once you’ve found the perfect free images to download, get to work and create something beautiful!

The Complete List of Free Stock Photos Collections:

1. Pexels

All images included on pexels.com are absolutely free for commercial and personal uses.

Here’s a quick snapshot of their free stock photos license. Be sure to check their website for full details!

• All photos on Pexels can be used for free for commercial and noncommercial use.
• Attribution is not required. Giving credit to the photographer or Pexels is not necessary but always appreciated.
• You can modify the photos. Be creative and edit the photos as you like.

Pexels is my personal favorite, as I love the general aesthetic of the images on their site.

2. Stocksnap.io

Photos on Stocksnap.io are free, but governed by the Creative Commons license.

Here’s a quick snapshot of their free stock photos license. Be sure to check their website for details!

• The Creative Commons license that StockSnap uses is the CC0 license. Specifically, that license means you can do any and all of the following:
  • Download the image file
  • Publish, revise, copy, alter, and share that image
  • Use the image (as-is or as you’ve altered it), in both personal and commercial contexts
• Moreover, you can put StockSnap CC0 images to any of these usages without buying the right to do it, acquiring written permission from the image’s creator, or attributing the work to the image creator.

Learn more about the Creative Commons CCo license.

3. Shotstash

You are allowed to use photos for personal and commercial uses, but the copyright remains that of Shotstash.

Here’s a quick snapshot of their free stock photos license. Be sure to check their website for full details!

You can:

• Bundle in HTML/PSD templates & themes.
• Illustrate articles or blog posts.
• Print in t-shirts, phone cases and book covers.
• Post in social networks.
• Distribute in your design.
• Keynote or Powerpoint presentations.

4. mmtstock

MMT offers free stock photos and videos, along with premium upgrade paid options. For details on their license details and how they apply the Creative Commons license, click here.

This free images download resource also allows users to upload photos of their own for sharing.

5. Realisticshots

Here’s a quick snapshot of their free stock photos license. Be sure to check their website for full details!

• All photos published on Realistic Shots are licensed under Creative Commons Zero which means you can copy, modify, distribute and use the photos, even for commercial purposes.
• Attribution is not required, but appreciated.

The website mentions that new photos are added every week, which is very nice if you like the style of their photos and require new free stock photos to add to your blog or website regularly.

6. Foodiesfeed

Here’s a quick snapshot of their free stock photos license. Be sure to check their website for full details!

• Food photographers from all around the world share their photos under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license to help accomplish the ultimate goal of Foodiesfeed, to make the online space related to food more beautiful and eliminate all the ugly sterile stock photos that people still keep using.
• Whether you’re a hobby or professional photographer, food blogger, passionate foodie or there are just some food photos hanging in your cloud drive that could be used by other modern creatives, join the community and help us with our mission.

This collection of gorgeous free stock photos is a foodie’s dream! They have everything you might need and update the site regularly, so there’s bound to be something new you’ll love.

7. NewOldStock

If you’re looking for historic images and aren’t too picky about what you get, this may be the perfect opportunity for free images to download for you. The website says that these photos come from public archives and are free of any known copyright.

8. StyledStock

A super trendy option that gives you a handful of free stock images along with a plethora of paid options. Check their usage agreement for details on how you can move forward with using the free images you download from the site.

9. Burst by Shopify

This collection of photos was designed for Shopify stores but can be used for free for personal or commercial purposes. Usage terms are pretty detailed. Check them out here.

10. Gratisography

According to the website, you can do almost anything with the free images to download contained on their site for both commercial and personal uses.

Here’s a quick snapshot of their free stock photos license. Be sure to check their website for full details!

• You may use Gratisography pictures as you please for both personal and commercial projects. You can adapt and modify the images and get paid for work that incorporates the pictures.
• This includes advertising campaigns, adding your logo or text to an image, printed in any size print runs (e.g., book covers, magazines, posters, etc.), on your website, blog, or other digital mediums, and on merchandise as long as the picture itself is not the merchandise.

The free stock photos on this site are less traditional than others and may appeal well to personal blogs.

11. FreeImages

Here’s a quick snapshot of their free stock photos license. Be sure to check their website for full details!

• You may use content in digital format on websites, blog posts, social media, advertisements, film and television productions, web and mobile applications
  • in printed materials such as magazines, newspapers, books, brochures, flyers, product packaging
  • for decorative use in your home, office or any public place
  • or personal use
• The rights granted to you by FreeImages.com are:
  • Perpetual, meaning there is no expiration or end date on your rights to use the content.
  • Non-exclusive, meaning that you do not have exclusive rights to use the content. FreeImages.com can license the same content to other customers.
  • Unlimited, meaning you can use the content in an unlimited number of projects and in any media.

The collection includes a HUGE amount of free images to download for your marketing materials. The images seem generally vibrant and sharp. Lots of animals and architecture, along with many other free stock photos subjects.

12. Reshot

Known for being unique, non-stocky photos, Reshot is an excellent resource for bloggers and website designers who want a unique look and feel for the brands they are developing.

Here’s what Reshot has to say about the license for their free stock photos:

• All photos published on Reshot are free to use, both for commercial and noncommercial purposes. Go crazy!
• More precisely, Reshot grants you an irrevocable, nonexclusive copyright license to download, copy, modify, distribute, perform, and use photos from Reshot for free, including for commercial purposes, without permission from or attributing the photographer or Reshot. This license does not include the right to compile photos from Reshot to replicate a similar or competing service.
• Questions? Check out our FAQ or read the legal jargon in our terms.

While I typically use Pexels, Reshot may be my new go to resource for free images to download for my blog.

13. Freestocks.org

Freestocks.org features a collection of images that are free to use under the Creative Commons Zero license. Here’s what they have to say about the use of their free images to download.

• All photos on freestocks.org are free and licensed under CC0 (Creative Commons Zero). You can copy, modify and use them both in personal and commercial projects. However, you can not sell the photos themselves.
• Please do not redistribute our photos on other free stock photos websites without our permission. Instead of doing that, you can use a thumbnail photo and simply put a link referring to our single photo page, for example: http://freestocks.org/photo/tie/.
• Remember to respect registered trademarks, intellectual and private property. It is in your best interest to use the photos in a lawful way.

14. Picography

Similar to other free stock photos sites, Picography has a use license based on Creative Commons Zero. Here are the details about how they say you can use the photos:

All photos on Picography come with a CC0 license, this means that you can:

• Use, copy, edit, or share that photo.
• Use it for personal or commercial purposes.
• And to do so without purchase, permission, or giving attribution to the creator of the work. While we do always encourage attribution, it is not required.

Their collection of free images to download includes a variety from moody to vibrant and everywhere in-between.

15. picjumbo

On top of offering a wide variety of free stock images, picjumbo also has a premium membership option that gives members exclusive access to even more stock photos (100+ premium collections) delivered directly to their Dropbox accounts each month.

Free images you download from picjumbo can be used personally and commercially, but they do ask that you respect registered brands and trademarks (as usual). Here are the details and FAQ for image use.

While there are many different options for downloading free stock photos, I absolutely love that the guy who created this did so out of need. He was rejected by other stock sites due to ‘lack of quality’ and decide to create this project (free stock photos download site) on his own. I’d love for you to support his work and download a few photos, maybe even sign up for a premium membership! Here’s a link to his story if you’re interested in learning more.

Location specific free stock photo collections:

Detroit Stock City

You guessed it. All photos of Detroit. Images on the site are available for personal use only, so be careful businesses!

Here’s a quick snapshot of their free stock photos license. Be sure to check their website for full details!

• The content from Detroit Stock City is free to use for personal, editorial, and other non-commercial use. Use it in articles, blog posts, school projects, as your desktop wallpaper – or plenty of other non-commercial purposes.
• The content found here on DSC is totally FREE, so spread the word.
• We simply ask that you…
  • credit the photographer and DSC collection
  • do not redistribute or host the content on your own page
  • do not use the content in any offensive or unlawful manner

There’s a full infographic created just for those trying to sort out whether or not they can use the photos from this site.

Throughout this post you’ll notice that we discuss a lot of what you CAN do and not a lot of what you CAN’T do. Please be sure to check the terms for each individual free stock photos website before you download and use the images. That way you can ensure that you won’t be in violation of their terms or use license. Please do NOT rely on the contents of this blog post as a way to find out if you’re using the images properly.

Free Stock Photo Resources Update

Last updated October 2018. We’ll continue to update this list as additional sources for free stock photos become available. If you know of something incredible that isn’t listed, please leave a comment below and I’ll be sure to add it.

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At least that’s what I thought.

12 years ago I hired a professional photographer for the first time ever. Gone were the days of the Olan Mills and JCPenny photo shoots that I’d grown up with maybe once a decade. I’d decided to embrace this whole adult thing and capture my ‘now’ with professional photos.

My ‘family’ at the time was made up of myself, my boyfriend, and our combined four dogs.

In order to make sure I was getting the most for my money, I did all kinds of researched. Checked directories, scoured through website after website, emailed and gathered all of the appropriate intel.

Once I found a photographer that fit my budget and my style, I dug in a little deeper. I clicked on every page of her portfolio (even those gorgeous newborn baby photos that I knew nothing about), dove into session pricing options including digitals and prints – becoming wildly familiar with what she offered and what she did not, and of course…

I stalked her blog!

Photo day finally came. I wore a black knit sweater, stiletto heeled knee boots, and skinny jeans. My guy (now my hunky husband) loathes having his photo taken, so he reluctantly grabbed two of the leashes and headed out to the session with me.

We went to a nearby park and then back to the house to have a snuggle session on the sofa. Before we had the opportunity to take photos sans dogs, we were both covered in dog hair and appeared to be a hot mess. Nonetheless, we persisted.

We took a few cheesy pre-engagement pose ‘love’ photos near my neighbor’s tree and the entire time I just prayed that the photographer would be able fix the dog hair that covered me head to toe.

The hour we spent with the photographer was a non-magical barking mess where I struggled to restrain four dogs and keep my guy at least partially smiling.

After the session, I expected this kind woman to run home and immediately publish some type of post on her blog that lovingly doted on my family. The words would be flowery and kind. I’d blush, smile, and then read it over and over again.

I must have hit the refresh button on her blog a thousand times over the next few days.

And nothing appeared.

No new blog posts. Nothing mentioning my name. Nothing saying how much she loved spending time in my home and with my family. No sneak peek photos because she ‘just couldn’t wait to share’. Nada. Zero. Zip.

Even worse, like a solid punch to the gut, other posts were published. Other clients were getting all of the digital attention that I anticipated. These people weren’t as cute as my family. They didn’t grace the pages of her blog like I knew our images would.

Then one day. Finally, right at the deadline stated in our contract, she published it.

A blog post. All about my family. Only our photos. And it felt….

Lame.

It mentioned the fact that I asked to include the dogs, which was unusual but something she loved. Other than that, there was no personal shout out. None of the butterflies and glitter that I had imagined in my brain a thousand times. Just very basic words that said ‘we had a photo session’ followed by a selection of photos.

I was so happy to have my images. Seriously happy. She did a good job. The images were consistent with her portfolio and represented us well.

However.

I felt like I got the short end of the stick. Like I had missed part of the experience.

I expected (for some weird reason?!) her to dote on my family. To gush over the time spent with us. I know it sounds a little crazy (especially now, a zillion years later), but I thought that her publishing beautifully written and of course, wildly flattering, words about my family would just be the icing on the cake. That it’d top off my experience and make the purchase worth every penny I spent.

Who doesn’t love a nice pat on the back every now and then, right?

I expected that a pro would just make this magically happen, but it did not.

Fast forward 15 years and I totally understand what happened, I think.

My photographer was BUSY. She was bouncing around to a zillion sessions throughout the week and by the time she got home after ours, she was ready to put down her camera and hang with her own family. I’m pretty sure that the last thing she wanted to do when she got home that night was to immediately pop her memory card into the computer and post a sneak peek on her blog after a few ‘quick’ edits.

My photographer was OVERWHELMED. She was (is) really good at her art and the business was run by her and her only. There was no team backing her up. No processes that took place when she got back to the office with dozens of little elves just waiting for her to say go. When you’re a one-man-band, business life is hard and you often have to just make sure the basics are covered in order to keep things moving on a daily basis. You are spread thin and don’t always have time to do the ‘extras’.

My photographer was likely NOT SURE WHAT TO SAY. Let’s face it, the session she did with my family was probably a little overwhelming. With four dogs involved, we didn’t have a ton of time to make a personal connection and become BFFs in the matter of an hour. As much as my pride wouldn’t have wanted to admit it back then, she probably didn’t have anything flowery and flattering to say.

Here’s the funny part…

I now spend the majority of my days gushing over photography clients as a ghostwriter.

What does being a ghostwriter mean?

I write the words that you see on blogs, websites, and brochures but get zero credit.

For photographers, I write the flowery, kind, loving, generous, doting notes that you see connected to the client session sneak peeks on their blogs. This isn’t something that is required in any photography session contract, but I can tell you from first hand experience (ah hem, story above) that a simple blog post can make clients feel special, loved, acknowledged. That it will keep them coming back and leave you with happier clients and most importantly for your business – return clients.

For others, I write blog posts that help educate their clients, grow their overall brand awareness, and boost their search engine optimization (ranking). The goals are the same for the pieces that I am a ghostwriter for. We want happier clients and return clients.

So why should you, as a business owner, find a ghostwriter?

Here are four reasons that you should find a ghostwriter for your business today:

1. You want to get stuff done.

Not you personally, but you want your business task list to shrink rather than grow. If you need help checking things like blog posts or other content writing off of your list, find a ghostwriter today. You’re not going to believe how much stress it can take off of your plate!

2. You’re spread too thin.

If you know things need to happen but you just don’t have the time (too busy?!) then you need to find a ghostwriter. What you should know is that when you find a ghostwriter, it will allow you to hand things off in a way that doesn’t require you bringing on a full time employee. Ghostwriting is typically completed on a contract or per project basis, which allows you to keep costs affordable and controlled.

3. You don’t know what to say.

If you know you need content and see the value in what it does for your brand and what it can do to help evolve your customer relationships, but just aren’t sure what to say – find a ghostwriter now. Seriously. The thing about ghostwriting is that the writer does all the work and you get all the credit. All of it. People will think that you’ve got all the right stuff in all the right places, even if you don’t.  

4. You know the value of excellent content.

Whether you’re focused on the client relationship benefits (we’ve talked about that, right) or just love what solid content does for your search engine optimization (SEO) and overall ranking on Google, you need content. Right? If so, you need to find a ghostwriter that fits your style and budget, and get a writing project started today!

Convinced that you need to go out and find a ghostwriter?

Let’s move on to the next question that I know you’re going to ask… how do I find a ghostwriter that knows my niche, fits my budget, and can write in a voice that represents my business well?

The answer is pretty simple here. The first thing you should do, is connect with me. Here’s a basic form that you can fill out to help us connect about your ghostwriting project. It makes the process of you finding a ghostwriter super simple and allows us to  get straight to business. (Don’t worry, we will still chat and make sure our energies work well together before any $ are exchanged or formal projects are assigned.)

Okay, now that the form is complete, here are a few things you need to consider while you’re on the hunt to find the perfect ghostwriter for your project.

1. Does your project require technical expertise?

If your writing project needs a formal degree, certification, or some kind of knowledge outside of what can be gathered with a reasonable amount of research – please be up front about it. You need to find a ghostwriter that is a good match with your project requirements, not just your budget.

2. What is the purpose of your ghostwriting project?

I mentioned a few reasons above, but here are a couple more:

• Establishing a consistent online presence with your blog.
• Letting potential clients know that you are still in business and ready for their business.
• Boost your SEO and overall ranking.
• Create backlink opportunities for possible sponsorships.
• Create excellent content for any affiliate relationships you might have in place or may want to implement in the future.
• Educate your clients and potential clients.

If you don’t know the reason why you’re writing, it’s going to be a tougher pill to swallow when it comes to paying the bill. It’s easier to invest in something when you see the value in it, trust me.

3. Are you ready to find a ghostwriter?

I don’t mean ‘do you need one’ because chances are you do. I’m referring to your digital assets here. Is your website live and ready for new content? Are your social media channels prepared for sharing content and connected in a way that allows everything to work together to support your overall brand and clients?

4. Do you want your clients to love you?

It happens. I hope you’re okay with that. When you start creating content that clients will love and feel supported by, you’re going to find that your products and services will sell themselves. Ideally, your clients will start selling for you! How, though referrals. Word of mouth. Shares on social media. You get it! It’s all good stuff.

Okay, let’s cut to the chase now – you need to find a ghostwriter.

I want you to reach out to me so that we can connect and see if I’d be a good fit as a ghostwriter for your business. I’d love to write for you! To make things super easy and get the process started, I’ve already compiled a collection of writing samples for you to easily review.

Here’s the link:  atterbie.com/writing

Have you already worked with me and are ready to start another project? Let’s do it! Standard blog posts are available for purchase (individually and in bulk) in the store here. If your project is outside of these parameters, email me at amy@atterbie.com and I’ll reply ASAP so we can get to writing.

I can’t wait to hear from you!

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Like other social media management platforms, Social Champ has the basic functionality that you’ve come to expect. These features include:

#1 – Click Once – Share to Many

Similar to HootSuite or Buffer, Social Champ gives you the ability to enter your content once and choose which platforms you’d like to share it on. Basic but absolutely necessary.

#2 – Content Suggestions

I’ve seen platforms offer general suggestions before, but Social Champ gives you the ability to easily navigate through searchable content making it easy for you to find and share stories that you love (or that best fit your brand).

#3 – Image Editor

Edit your images by applying filters and stickers right within the Social Champ browser. This makes dressing up your posts super easy and the content more appealing to your audience, win-win!

#4 – Draggable Calendar

If you’re more of a visual person when it comes to organizing content, a draggable calendar can be a total life saver! I hate clicking in and out of screens, constantly hitting copy/paste and would much rather just drag to edit. Thanks, Social Champ, for making this basic feature something that’s easy to use!

#5 – Queue Custom Timings

Don’t get stuck inside the box with scheduling on the hour or in 15 minute increments. Schedule your content for when you want it to be published, no questions asked. Sounds easy enough, right?

#6 – Link Shortening & Tracking

Another way to save you time ands to the madness when it comes to clicking between screens. Having the ability to shorten your links is super helpful when characters are limited (hello Twitter) and you want to keep an eye on which links get the most interaction. Social Champ does both, right from within the main dashboard.

#7 – Groups

Group your favorite social networks or organize by brand. Either way, you can select a group of networks to save yourself time from clicking through each of them one by one.

#8 – Analytics

Social Champ tracks clicks, likes, retweets, and favorites, and exports them into a .csv file for you to review.

#9 – Chrome Extension, iOS, and Android App

No matter where you are or what device you are on, connect with Social Champ to get your posts published. You’ll never have to worry about your audience hearing crickets again!

#10 – Team Collaboration

Whether you’re a team of 2 or 50, collaboration makes things so much easier. Invite your team members to join you on Social Champ and share your social profiles without sharing your password. Perfect for small teams who outsource social media posts or for business owners who just aren’t comfortable giving out all the details. It’s nice to know that there’s an option out there that will help keep your social channels growing and your passwords safe.

Now for the wildly powerful tools that you just don’t see across the main platforms. Are you ready to find out what makes Social Champ stand out among the competition? Start reading and get ready to sign up!

#1 – Bulk Uploads

If you prefer to create a long list of posts in a .csv file, this feature will be worth its weight in gold to your team. Quickly upload all of the posts that you’ve created in one swoop without having to enter each on individually. #Yaaasssss

#2 – Auto Post Content via RSS Feed

Do you have blogs or websites that you absolutely love and you’ve actually taken the time to subscribe to their RSS feed? If you have a beautifully curated RSS feed that you’re ready to share with the world via your social media channels, skip the copy/paste method for every article’s link and set up auto posts to keep your audience up to date in real time.

Don’t worry, if you decide that you’re just not feeling a certain feed – turn it off! You don’t have to delete it all together (who wants the pain of going back to add it eventually), simply toggle the button over and you’ll stop feeding the updates from that publisher through to your social channels.

#3 – Repeat on Twitter & Facebook

Sometimes you need to say something more than once, but why type it more than once when you can just click ‘repeat’? This feature allows you to repeat content on a customized schedule so that all you have to do is enter it once, schedule it appropriately, and you can send the same message to your audience over and over again.

This may sound like you’re becoming a total nag but in reality, the tool is super helpful. Think about the last time you hosted an event. How many times did you have to reach out to individual guests to find out if they’d be attending? How much easier would it be if you could just set up a simple piece of content asking for an RSVP and set it to repeat? Social Champ can help you make that happen!

#4 – Recycle Content

Social Champ does more than make it faster and easier for you to schedule posts to your social channels.

It also provides you with detailed analytics to help you understand what content your audience responds to and what it doesn’t seem to like. With this knowledge, you’ll know exactly which posts you should use again and which to avoid in the future. Using the ‘recycle content’ feature allows you to create a collection of your favorite content and save it in one place so that it’s ready for you to share whenever you’d like.

Here are my final words on my experience testing Social Champ: If you need a powerful tool that can save you time and help avoid headaches, Social Champ is an excellent solution to consider. It’s a pretty basic platform (not a lot of bells and whistles on the website) but you can tell that the primary focus was creating an incredible collection of tools that will serve as a one-stop-shop for all of your social media management needs. I look forward to using Social Champ as my go-to platform for scheduling posts and finding excellent content to share with my audience.

Ready to get started? Here is the pricing table provided on Social Champ’s website. If you’re looking for details on what the individual plan types offer, check out the feature comparison chart here.

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Let’s start with the basic Snappa Vs. Canva introductions.

SNAPPA – the fast and easy to use Canva alternative.

Seriously. That’s the description used on their website. So what does that mean? They saw the platform created by the Canva team and decided to make it better, to meet the needs that their team saw a demand for.

Here’s what you can do with SNAPPA:

1. Edit graphics. 

Use the super simple drag and drop editor to create highly engaging content. Their built-in image effects give you more control over customizing your graphic and make the process quick and easy.

2. Take advantage of their visual assets.

SNAPPA offers a huge HUGE collection of visual assets. We’re talking 500,000+ photos, 70,000+ graphics, and 200+ fonts. But here’s the best part… each of these are 100% royalty free and licensed for commercial use. This means that you don’t have to worry about an angry photographer or illustrator coming after you for some kind of copyright issue. #Phew

3. #TemplateLove

The in-house team of designers at SNAPPA has created hundreds of templates that are pre-sized and ready for you to use. Just find the one that best fits your needs and customize away.

4. Resize your graphics.

SNAPPA is throwing around the fairy dust here, as they allow you to magically resize your graphics. We’ll talk about this a little more later when we do the SNAPPA vs. Canva comparison, but let me just give you a little preview by telling you that this is a BIG DEAL. Magic resizing is way more than adjusting the # of pixels or cropping the graphic to fit your needs.

5. Upload your own images or graphics.

Go ahead and create gorgeous graphics, then brand them with your logo or a client’s logo. Maybe you’re a photographer and have a collection of images that you want to use for a marketing campaign. Perfecto! SNAPPA lets you upload your own images and use them when creating graphics.

6. Organize your work.

If you’re sick of scrolling through long lists of graphics that you’ve created, SNAPPA has the answer. Simply organize your files in folders. It’ll save you time and so much headache when you need to refer back to something you’ve created.

7. Import custom fonts.

There are over 200 built in fonts on the SNAPPA platform, but if you can’t find what you need – no worries. You’re allowed to upload your own custom font in order to create the graphics of your dreams.

8. Share to your social media platforms.

No download and wait time. Create your graphic and share it directly from the SNAPPA platform. Not only can you share instantly, but you can also schedule posts. They’ve created SNAPPA to become your one-stop-shop for all graphic needs.

9. Collaborate with your team.

With everything stored in the cloud and the ability to create and share from one platform, why waste time with emails and other communications? Link your team members to your SNAPPA account to make collaboration easy. You’ll be able to share files, fonts, you name it – you can share it.

10. Check out the tutorials.

SNAPPA wants to make it easy for you to create whatever you’ve envisioned. If you need help with one of their features or just can’t seem to sort out how to do something within their platform, no worries. Browse through their knowledge base or library of video tutorials and you’ll find the answer in no time. Check this out… (below)

As you can tell from the pretty hefty list above, SNAPPA offers a very powerful graphic design software solution. The features are robust and all-inclusive. If you need still graphics, they’re an excellent Canva alternative that should definitely be considered. Don’t worry, they offer a free trial. From there, there are two plans available – pro for $10 per month and team for $20 per month.

Now let’s talk about Canva – simply great design for you and your team.

Often auto-corrected to Canvas (such a pain), Canva is the leading online graphic design software solution. It’s well known amongst graphic designers, bloggers, business owners, everyone who wants to make something pretty. What you can do with Canva is very similar to the details listed above for SNAPPA.

“I love Canva and all the options available (let’s face it, they’re kind of endless) for digital use! When it comes to printing products created in Canva, however, I feel there’s big room for improvement. I’ve printed business cards, paper newsletters, and invitations created in Canva, and have been really disappointed. Luckily the local printing company I use has a graphic artist who’s a rockstar and has fixed all the alignment and funky sizing issues that came with my Canva downloads.” – Jessica Pennington, www.mrspenningtonforyourthoughts.com

Here’s a quick breakdown of the bonus tools offered by Canva:

1. Photo editor.

Within Canva, you have the ability to crop, rotate, and filter any images that you upload to your library.

2. Color palette generator.

Similar to the color matching tool at any hardware store, the color palette feature allows you to define your brand’s color scheme by uploading a single image. It’s a pretty cool feature that can help with design ‘block’ – check it out here.

3. Font combinations.

‘Typography Made Easy’ – this tool helps you find font combinations that will fit your brand. Begin with a starter font that you already know and love, then pick from one of four accent fonts provided by Canva. What makes this tool incredibly helpful, is that it doesn’t just show you the name of the font that will look nice with the original one you chose. Instead, it gives you a visual (of course) of what it will look like within your design. That way you can choose from a limited number of excellent options.

Another interesting feature about Canva is that they offer a pretty vast marketplace where you can find all kinds of templates, photos, and icons that you don’t see within the platform on a ‘usual basis’. Once signed up, you’ll also receive regular emails that include designs curated just for you. It can be super inspiring when you’re having a less than creative type of day.

“Canva is an easy and free way for anyone to design graphics. This intuitive program helps you step by step create gorgeous graphics with your photos in the background or their photos.” – Sarah Lafountain, www.cookwith5kids.com

“I’ve been using the free version of Canva for my blog and for my husband’s online business. I am so impressed with how quickly I can come up with designs that look and feel professional. I love playing around with new ideas and, once we can generate enough income, I look forward to upgrading my account to a paid version.” – Ingrid Snydal, www.mysomethingwonderful.com

Let’s be honest, Canva is the leading graphic design software for a reason… the platform is amazing. Its design is simple and easy to use. The templates are gorgeous. The font combinations are beautiful and the selection of illustrations and photos available for use sometimes seem endless.

“If you are still looking I would love to add a quote! I am currently working in social media marketing and I love using Canva to create quick and easy images to post on Facebook, Instagram, and twitter! The images are always super eye appealing and their templates are great but also super easy to customize! I have gotten lots of complements on the graphics I have made using Canva!” – Kaylee Richard

“I love how easy canva is to use and how that you don’t have to know a lot but can still create beautiful graphics, posters etc. I also love that I can use the app on the go to add my watermark before adding photos to social media.” – Arjaye Breuer

But here’s the thing, there are Canva alternatives for a reason. Graphic design software is not a one-size-fits-all solution. If that was the case, we’d still all be using Photoshop with limited design options and files trapped on our computers. Ready to start the SNAPPA vs. Canva comparison? Let’s go!

Both SNAPPA and Canva offer excellent solutions for any general graphic design software needs. But what exactly is different and why should you choose one over the other? Here are a few factors you should consider when making the choice of…

SNAPPA vs. Canva – which is the best graphic design software?

1. Membership price.

Both SNAPPA and Canva have free account options. Where they differ is with what’s included in the free plan.

SNAPPA is all-inclusive. There are no micro-invoices within the platform. This means that you get to use all of the photos, illustrations, fonts, and templates that you want without having to pay extra fees. Here’s the catch. The free plan only includes one user, five downloads, and two social media accounts. So you’re quite limited with what you can do once you’ve created gorgeous graphics.

Canva on the other hand can be used to download as many graphics as you’d like every single month. There are no limits. There are, however, micro-invoicing opportunities for the ‘premium’ photos and illustrations included within the visual assets library. You may find yourself paying for small upgrades within the platform but at least you aren’t limited to five downloads.

SNAPPA offers two upgraded membership options. $10 per month for PRO (1 user) and $20 per month for Team (up to 5 users). Both allow you to download an unlimited number of graphics each month, save your designs in organized folders, upload custom fonts, and integrate with your Buffer account.

Canva offers an upgrade to a pro membership which is $12.95 per month, per team member. This gives you access to the premium collection of photos and illustrations, allows you to organize your designs within folders, magically resize designs, save color palettes, and gives you priority support.

2. Resizing designs.

This seems like a pretty basic thing. You create a design and it’s not the right fit for where you’re using it. Simply go back and adjust, right? Wrong. Well, depending.

With SNAPPA, you can go in and magically resize your designs when using the free account. This means that each of the elements will be automatically adjusted within the new constraints of your pixels in a way that should generally look and feel ‘right’. (That’s the magic part.)

Canva has the same feature, but you have to pay for it. Not just for the magic, but for any kind of resizing at all. So let’s say you create a basic 3×3 design and you now want it to be 3×4, no bueno. If you’re in the free account you’ll either need to upgrade to the pro plan or start over from scratch within the constraints of a new design. #PainInThe____

Why does this feature matter? It’s more than just the ‘oops’ when it comes to sizing. Resizing your designs is incredibly helpful if you are creating multi-purpose graphics. Let’s use this article as an example. If I want one graphic for Facebook, one for Twitter, one for my blog, and one for Instagram – I’ll have to create four different files with a paid account in Canva in order to optimize my presence on each platform. If I upgrade my Canva account (or just use SNAPPA), I can ‘magically’ resize my first design and create four separate designs without having to do all the foot work. Get it? #ProblemSolved  

3. The user experience.

So SNAPPA has this section of their website where they actually take Canva customer feedback and address how they are better. Something we’ve all likely wanted to do but never actually implemented, right? haha. Anyways… here are a few of the items reported as ‘reasons why customers switched’ that define the SNAPPA vs. Canva debate.

Canva is clunky.

Basically saying that the Canva platform is slow and tough to navigate. I’ve not found this to be a serious issue unless dealing with very large images, but to each her own, I suppose. SNAPPA claims to move ‘as fast as you do’ without cursors that freeze and images that take forever to render.

Share to social media instantly.

It’s true. You can’t share graphics directly from Canva instantly or share future posts. If this is something that you find to be an important feature or something you’d really like to take advantage of within your graphic design software, then you’ll need to turn to SNAPPA which gives you the option to connect your account with Buffer and share or schedule all kinds of social posts.

Free templates that are easy to find.

Canva doesn’t give you the ability to search through templates without being on the featured plan, so spend a lot of time scrolling through $1 photos, graphics, and icons. I typically end up downloading free images from a separate site and importing them into Canva. Now that I realize there’s an option, I may have to reconsider my choices and how I spend my time. SNAPPA allows you to easy search through their collection of over 500,000 visual assets that are all free to use.

No learning curve required.

This is something that both platforms claim but can only be verified on an individual basis. SNAPPA does not have a ‘design school‘ which can be considered good or bad depending on your design abilities. If you need inspiration or tutorials, you’ll be grateful for all sources of inspiration – be it from blog posts, newsletters, or templates within the design platform.

All inclusive.

We talked about membership pricing but this is a little different. You should know that with SNAPPA, everything is included. No extra charges here or there. Canva has extra charges built into their business plan. They expect you to want to upgrade to use their collection of ‘better’ visual assets. The price isn’t high (typically $1 each) but you should be aware of the built in micro-charges before you start relying on Canva as your go-to graphic design software.

Who wins in our SNAPPA vs. Canva debate?

The two platforms are very similar and offer an excellent product. When it comes to choosing the winner for SNAPPA vs. Canva, it comes down to one thing. How many designs will you need to create? If it’s 5 or less, head over to SNAPPA. If you create designs on the daily and need to download regularly, Canva is the choice for you.

What do you think? Do you agree with our winner choice? Tell me in the comments below.

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The post 2018-07-08_08-15-00 appeared first on Atterbie.

Canva is a total powerhouse when it comes to digital design software that allows you to create gorgeous work in minutes. The platform is super easy to use and they make the design process even easier by providing a comprehensive library of amazing templates that are super easy to customize.

Their template types include; posts, cards, postcards, flyers, invitations, business cards, letterhead, social media posts, business documents, presentations, book covers, desktop wallpapers, photo collages, infographics, album covers, marketing materials, logos, menus, and so much more.

“I like the various templates that canva has. It allows me to create my own from scratch or I can choose from hundreds of templates and change it to fit my needs.”  – Sheryl Anderson, asmidgeofsouth.com

In addition to the standard templates that you can access through their main menu page, as a registered member (even with a free account) you’ll receive emails with custom templates that fit your brand and product design needs on a regular basis. While it sounds simple, I love the inspiration it provides.

The first thing you should know is that Canva is absolutely free to use. There are zero fees to use any/all of their templates and design elements, including a seemingly unlimited library of stock images. If you do decide to use elements that are not free, you will either be required to upgrade to a pro account ($9 per month) or pay a per-download fee (around $1 per element), which gives you permission to download that item for 24 hours.

“Canva is an awesome design and marketing tool that has become part of my photography business week in and week out. Not only are many of the options free, but it’s also extremely easy to use.  I use Canva for emails, newsletters, social media posts and even to design a welcome banner for my sister’s bridal shower.  There are tons of templates, but I can also design on my own so the options are virtually limitless.”  – Courtney Ucker, LovebugByCourtney.com

While there are a zillion reasons to absolutely love Canva, it’s not for everyone. Here are a few reasons that Canva alternatives may be a better choice for your graphic design needs.

#1 – You’re a professional designer.

If design is all you do and the majority of what you get paid for, chances are that you need a super powerful tool that’s capable of doing absolutely anything your creative heart desires. While Canva has gorgeous templates and a collection of stock images / illustrations, some Canva alternatives have more powerful editing tools that many pros require on a daily basis.

#2 – You need more file format options.

With Canva you get the choice to download a .jpeg, .png, or .pdf (print or standard). This is a solid fit for social meia graphics and general sharing, but if you plan on using these graphics for printing on a larger scale or just need other file formats, a Canva alternative like Photoshop will likely be a better fit.

#3 – You hate things that make life easier.

If you need work to fill your day and prefer to start every project from scratch, Canva is totally not for you. Their platform makes creating gorgeous graphics super easy and that will not help keep you occupied from 9-5 on the regular.

In this case, you’re better off signing up for a graphic design course and then picking a Canva alternative that doesn’t include any templates, stock images/illustrations, or video tutorials. Being forced to download the program on your computer and only access those designs from one place is a bonus for you, friend!

As you can (hopefully) tell, I’m a huge Canva fan but I totally understand if you are not. The world relies on options and there are plenty of Canva alternatives available to you – most for free!

If you’re on a super tight budget but still need incredible graphic design software to create gorgeous graphics that will properly represent your brand, there are many free Canva alternatives out there.

Most graphic design saas (software as a service) platforms provide some type of entry level account that gives you free access to the site. There are of course limitations on any of these free Canva alternatives, but I’m sure there’s at least one (if not more) that will fit your needs and help you create the graphics you need.

The one that stands out from this list is Photoshop Express. Something new that I actually added after this initial post was written, Photoshop Express is an app that you download to your phone for free. Unlike Canva and some of the other platforms, it allows you to do some serious photo editing right on your phone.

The major difference here though, is that like the paid versions include with Adobe suite, Photoshop Express does not include all of those gorgeous templates that we’ve grown to love throughout all the other Canva alternatives.

If you’re a pro designer or just a natural at creating images, this is no problem. Snap a photo, touch it up, and share. If you need the templates in order to break through that white screen of designer’s block, then you might consider using one of the other eighteen Canva alternatives included on this list. Most includes cute templates, stock photos and illustrations, filters, and fonts, that are available at your disposal to help you create the graphics of your dreams.

Back to the point here… while you may only have access to their intro level account types, something is better than nothing! Here are thirteen absolutely FREE Canva alternatives that you should try today.

1. Stencil
2. Snappa
3. Pablo (free with a Buffer account)
4. Aviary
5. Befunky
6. Crello
7. Visme
8. Google Charts
9. Venngage
10. Animaker
11. Visme
12. Fotor
13. Photoshop Express

Scroll down to see how each platform compares to Canva and why we’ve included them on the list of free Canva alternatives. There are so many options out there, this list will save you a ton of time!

Side note – if you know of other FREE platforms that should be added to this list, please share in the comments and I’ll get them added right away.

The reasons vary, but many bloggers out there are on the hunt for Canva Alternatives. Why? Because the ability to create beautiful graphics for your blog, website, or social media accounts is an absolutely vital factor in digital marketing.

“Love Canva as it is easy to use and has lots of designs that work with any social media platform and has beautiful/professional templates.”  – Sara Baqeri, www.lapislifecoaching.com

These carefully designed graphics help communicate your brand message to potential clients and improve the overall user experience. They help you create an incredible user experience for anyone who visits your site and extend that same impression throughout all of your marketing materials. Graphics are used for websites, brochures, social media, email marketing, and more.

Let’s be honest, everyone wants gorgeous graphics for to help represent their brand but that’s a lot easier said than done. Creating graphic packages is tough work! While some platforms like Canva provide you with an easy to use software with built in templates and inspirational designs, others are incredibly powerful with photo editors and as many customizing options as you can imagine.

So what do you do if you need an excellent platform to design on but for whatever reason don’t like Canva?

You look for Canva alternatives!

To help make things a little easier, I’ve compiled a list of 19 incredible Canva alternatives. They are all platforms that allow you to create amazing digital designs and most for free! Some focus on infographics where others allow you to design animated videos.

“I love Canva. I use it at least 3-4 times a week for my blog and many more for personal wants. I must’ve been using it for over two years now, and I create a weekly ‘quote of the week’, and it’s never failed me on running out of new design ideas. I guess the only downside is that you are limited to so much to choose from, due to their pro etc packages, although I completely understand why they do that, as we all need to make a living. For this reason, I’ve never experimented with other websites or apps like Canva, as it’s provided me with all I’m looking for and more!”  – Charlotte Rawlings, www.artyallsorts.com

Before you get started, take a quick inventory of what you’re looking for in a graphic design platform. Do you need a variety of stock images or are you interested in basic fonts and shapes? Think about the type of graphics you are trying to create. Would you like templates to help get the design process started? If so, should they be sized for social media or business documents?

Whatever your wants and needs might be, there’s a platform out there that I know you’ll love… you just have to find it.

Ready to start browsing? Here’s the list.

19 Canva Alternatives for 2018

#1 – STENCIL

The fastest way to double your social engagement.

How it’s similar to Canva: Stencil gives you an all-in-one platform to create beautiful images without having to be a designer with a technical background. The software is super easy to use and offers a wide variety of templates in 41 different sizes, a library of over 1,500,000 royalty free stock images, 2,300+ Google fonts, etc.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: Something unique to Stencil is that they include a library of quotes within their platform for you to utilize throughout your work. If you are creating something inspirational, this is a one stop shop! Another bonus is that they make it super easy for you to upload your own fonts. With custom handwritten fonts being super popular these days, this is an incredible opportunity to put a personal touch on the graphics you are creating.

Price: Free / $9 per month PRO / $12 per month Unlimited

#2 – SNAPPA

Create online graphics in a snap.

How it’s similar to Canva: Snappa is another all-in-one platform that allows you to create amazing graphics without photoshop or a graphic designer. They’ve put a lot of work into creating templates that will help save you time both in the initial creation of the image (as it’s already sized perfectly) and if you need it re-sized (they have a magic re-sizing feature). All of the royalty free stock images, Google fonts, graphics, and effects are included as usual.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: Sync your Snappa account with Buffer and share graphics instantly with your audience. You also have the option to pre-schedule your graphics to automatically post according to the schedule in your content calendar in order to save you tons of time! Plans are all inclusive based on the number of downloads you need each month and how many people are on your team.

Price: Free / $10 per month PRO / $20 per month Team

#3 – PICMONKEY

Everything you need to make your ideas come to life – photo editing, collage making, graphic design – PicMonkey’s got it. It’s never been easier to feed your creative beast.

How it’s similar to Canva: Picmonkey is an all-in-one tool that will assist you with any design project. Simply drag and drop your way to gorgeous images using their royalty free stock photos, pre-sized templates, design elements, and more. While the platform is pretty easy to use and doesn’t require much of a learning curve, PicMonkey offers tutorials to help you step up your game and take your graphics to the next level.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: Something unique to PicMonkey is that they give you built-in tools to edit your photos. Whether you want to apply a super simple filter or go in and touch up details within an image – they’ve got you covered. The opportunities to edit are much more robust here than many of the other Canva alternatives I’ve seen. I would even classify PicMonkey as a Photoshop alternative for those whose projects require more than a basic social media graphic.

Price: Free trial / $7.99 per month Premium / $8.99 per month Supremium

“Recently I switched from Canva to Picmonkey (Picmonkey is paid now). Why did I switch? First, Picmonkey is cheaper than paid Canva. Second, I like having a complete photo editor and graphic designer in one website. Third, my graphic templates look more professional. Since Picmonkey is now a pay only service, I don’t have to worry if a template I want to use is free or paid.”  – Gina Butler, www.ginaslibrary.com

#4 – PABLO

Design engaging images for your social media posts in under 30 seconds.

How it’s similar to Canva: Pablo helps you create amazing graphics in a very small amount of time. They offer basic formatting (template sizes, text, and filters) and provide over 600,000 royalty free stock photos to use for your designs. The platform is a little limited (not as robust as Canva) but covers any basic graphic design needs without having to download Photoshop.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: Pablo was created by Buffer and syncs seamlessly, allowing you to download and publish graphics at the same time. This keeps you working smarter and not harder while filling your social media feeds with gorgeous graphics.

Price: Free with a Buffer account!

#5 – GIMP

GNU Image Manipulation Program – Reimagine reality.

How it’s similar to Canva: Gimp provides you with tools to create beautiful high-quality images.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: The GIMP software is very sophisticated. We’re not talking about a simple drag and drop editor here. For those in the design industry who need something with serious power and are already familiar with tech speak, GIMP is the way to go. They allow you to maniuplate images that most platforms on the list do not – including the ability to adjust their framework using a number of different code languages. Their color management tools allow you to ensure that your work will look the way it is supposed to, no matter what media it is used on (digital, print, etc.) Another major difference is that you must download GIMP to your computer in order to use it. It is not cloud based and does not transfer files across platforms.

Price: GIMP is a free and open source photo editor.

“It’s a little fancier/more complicated, but I love GIMP. Downside: It doesn’t have stock photos like Canva. But it’s similar to photoshop and it’s free to download! I made my logo and watermark in the free version of Canva, but I was stuck with the white background. After watching a YouTube video, I was able to make both of them have transparent backgrounds in GIMP. It took less than five minutes each! I was even able to save both of them as “brushes” so I can add either easily to any future works.” – Ashley Harkleroad, createdtoglorify.com

#6 – ADOBE PHOTOSHOP

Create and enhance your photos, images, and designs with Adobe Photoshop CC, the world’s best imaging and photo editing software.

How it’s similar to Canva: Adobe’s Photoshop helps you create gorgeous images.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: This is not your teenager’s drag and drop photo editing tool! Adobe Photoshop ranks supreme when it comes to graphic design. It’s the gold standard for any professional designer, photographer, image manipulations of any kind. The tools seem unending and the power behind each is nearly unmatched. The difference here is that while you can do absolutely anything with an image in Photoshop, there’s a major learning curve. If you’re comfortable with the basics, you can always watch YouTube tutorials on how to do the rest. Adobe Photoshop is a software that you must download to your computer in order to use. It does not transfer files across platforms.

Price: $239.88 per year for the single app /$119.88 per year for Photoshop CC plus Lightroom CC Photography Plan / $10 per month for a subscription

“You have SOOOO many more options than with Canva or Pic Monkey. Pic Monkey is almost a light version of PS, so it’s a huge upgrade. There is a learning curve, but there are youtune videos that will teach you anything you want to know. Also, I like that I’m actively learning a new software when and if I go back to working for someone else that’s one more thing I can put on my resume.”  – Rebecca Higinbotham, BabesinBlogland.com

#7 – LIGHTROOM CC

Access, edit, and share your photos from any browser.

How it’s similar to Canva: Lightroom allows you to create beautiful images.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: The software that Lightroom provides is designed for photo sharing and editing. It’s often the go-to for natural light photographers who work mostly with straight out of camera images and don’t do much re-touching or what’s often referred to as ‘photoshopping’. Their platform is intuitive and automatically applies searchable keywords to your images so that they’re easy to find without having to manually tag each one. Lightroom is not ideal for creating graphics for social media.

Price: $239.88 per year for the single app /$ 119.88 per year for Photoshop CC plus Lightroom CC Photography Plan / $10 per month for a subscription

“This month I started to use Lightroom mobile to edit all of my images. You have a lot of control over the editing and you can save presets to create a more uniform look. You can then export edited images to Adobe Spark to add graphics on top of the image. You can even add animations in Adobe Spark. These are great mobile options when you don’t have time to spend in front of your computer.”  – Austin Krause, wunderkrause.com.

#8 – AVIARY
Photo editor mobile app by Adobe.

How it’s similar to Canva: Adobe’s version of an easy to use photo editor, Aviary allows you to fine-tune and embellish photos right from their mobile app. It’s simple, drag-and-drop formatted, and fun to use.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: Adobe has sophisticated tools that they were able to apply in a lighthearted way for their mobile app. Unlike Canva, you have the option to really dive in and edit your images. Brighten teeth, remove fine lines, erase blemishes and customize your images with their collection of embellishments. They offer tutorials on how to best use the app and of course, the ability to sync to your creative cloud.

Price: Free in the app store.

#9 – BEFUNKY

Free online photo editing and collage maker.

How it’s similar to Canva: You don’t have to be a professional graphic designer in order to create gorgeous images for social media and professional marketing documents like brochures, business cards, or flyers.

Why it’s an excellent Canva Alternative: They include a photo editor, something that Canva does not have outside of being able to crop an image and apply a filter. The editor is super easy to use and is full of features/effects to make your images stand out from the rest. All files are worked on in the cloud and can be accessed on any device by logging into your account. I love that they offer so many different collage templates, something that Canva seems to be lacking on a bit with their limited frames.

Price: Free / $2.91 per month Pro

#10 – CRELLO

Free graphic design software with a simple photo editor.

How it’s similar to Canva: Template central with a huge library of royalty free stock images and illustrations. All work is done in the cloud and saved online, so the images can be accessed from any device connected to the internet.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: The features offered are very similar to Canva with one exception. Crello gives you the ability to create designs for animated posts! Yes, that’s something pretty unique to this entire list. If your business is in need of eye-catching graphics that literally dance their way across the screen – Crello is the answer. Need some help getting started? Check out their inspiration page! Warning, it’s gorgeous and you’re going to want to start designing something right away.

Price: Free

“I recently found a website called Crello that I am getting used to. It has a lot of free stock photos that I like. It’s free to use although I think there is a paid version as well. I haven’t figured out how to get my logo in there so I can put it on my images but there’s probably a way. For now, I am creating some images there and then using Canva to apply my logo.”  – Heather Cates, www.findingourgreenlife.com. 

#11 – VISME

The only tool you need to create and share professional interactive infographics.

How it’s similar to Canva: Create amazing infographics on a platform that is super easy to use.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: One main area of the site is for creating gorgeous infographics, where the process is set up into three simple steps. Choose your template or pick which type of ready-made blocking you want to use, visualize your information using graphics and tables, and then edit/customize. Their other areas of expertise are with creating presentations, charts anreports, and social media graphics.d

Price: Free / $12 per month Standard / $20 per month Complet

#12 – GOOGLE CHARTS

Google chart tools are powerful, simple to use, and free.

How it’s similar to Canva: Charts are graphics, which can be super helpful when creating any type of graphic to support your business.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives:  Charts are powerful, especially when they’re powered by Google. The best thing about this tool is that it allows you to display live data. This means that when set up properly, your website (likely the application where you’d use this) is being constantly updated to reflect real-time data. How awesome is that?! It’s a feature that I’ve not seen anyone else offer and considering that Google is the keeper of most data – it’s supported well and accurate.

Price: Free

#13 – VENNGAGE

Make infographics that people love.

How it’s similar to Canva: Cloud-based software that allows you to create beautiful graphics using their robust collection of templates that are designed for specific applications. They have personal, business, and education based template options to fit your needs.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: Another three step infographic maker. This platform is super simple: Pick a template, add charts/visuals, and customize your design. They teach you how to stand out from the crowd and be a ‘data hero’ with their easy to use software and super informative blog. The best thing is that they’re totally focused on helping you increase conversions and grow your business, not just create graphics. Loving the business focus here! Oh, but wait – they support educators by providing custom templates and customer service is available 24/7. #Bonus

Price: Free for students / $49 per month for businesses / $19 per month for the premium plan

#14 – ANIMAKER

Animated videos, done right.

How it’s similar to Canva: It’s not really. Just being honest!

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: Sometimes your design needs to beyond creating beautiful graphics. If you are in need of animated videos, Animaker should be on the top of your list for platforms to check out. Everything is saved on the cloud (I supposed this is similar to Canva) and can be accessed from any device. Beyond that, their software is easy to use and doesn’t require prior experience or formal training. They have a super informative blog and offer tutorials as well, in case you’re a total newby who needs to cover each of the basics in depth.

Price: Free / $12 per month Personal / $19 per month Startup / $39 per month Business

#15 – VIZUALIZE.ME

Visualize your resume in one click.

How it’s similar to Canva: You get to make things pretty on a cloud-based platform. Canva does provide templates for creating beautiful resumes.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: If there’s a stack of resumes sitting on an HR rep’s desk, what would you want yours to look like? 1 of a million or 1 in a million? Vizualize.me is an excellent way to help your resume stand out among the other applicants. Their slogan is ‘visualize your resume in one click’, so while I’ve not used it personally, I get the impression that it’s pretty simple and can be done by someone who has zero design experience. Looking at the examples on their site, this type of graphical resume is an excellent way to showcase your strengths.

Price: Free

#16 – FOTOR

Free online photo editor.

How it’s similar to Canva: Use Fotor’s cloud-based software to create fun infographics and social media graphics that your audience will love and interact with.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: Fotor includes photo editing options that far surpass those offered by Canva. They actually describe themselves as an online photoshop (interesting!?) What sets them apart is the ability to do portrait retouching with beauty effects like makeovers, radiance, highlights, etc. Their frames and templates seem a little more diverse than Canva’s, which is super refreshing.

Price: Free / $3.33 per month for Pro

#17 – PIKTOCHART

Easy to use everything maker.

How it’s similar to Canva: Create infographics, presentations, and flyers on their cloud-based platform that allows you to access your files from anywhere. PIKTOCHART does not offer graphics for social media, so if that’s what you have in mind – stick with Canva.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: The world of graphic design goes far beyond the need for social media graphics. Sometimes you just want to focus on amazing graphs or formal reports and prefer not to be bothered by the rest. The design software is easy to use and is there for the purpose of helping you tell a story. There are specific templates and plans tailored for the education world, which is a total plus.

Price: $12.50 per month Lite / $24.17 per month Pro / $82.50 per month Pro Team

#18 – WORD SWAG

Cool Fonts on the App Store.

How it’s similar to Canva: Create social media and blog graphics with the app that magically turns your words into beautifully designed graphics.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: This app is super affordable and easy to use. In addition to social media graphics, you can create stylish quotes, announcements and flyers, caption your photos, and give your words the designer look they deserve. The app includes 60+ fonts and 1.3 million background options. How can you go wrong?

Price: $4.99 to download, available in iOS and Android.

“I loooove Canva! It’s so quick and easy and eye catching for groups, instagram, business pages and even emails! They have both a site and an app and it’s so easy to use! I make my graphics on there all the time! I have also found that I love the Word Swag and Over apps as well. Pic monkey is another alternative but not one I’m super in love with. Canva and Word Swag are where it’s at honestly I use both on a weekly if not daily basis! They save me so much time!”  – Cassie Trebar, www.blushbloomboudoir.com

#19 – PHOTOSHOP EXPRESS

Free image editing and collage making app by Adobe.

How it’s similar to Canva: Easily edit photos right on your phone and create collages using their pre-defined and sized templates.

Why it’s on our list of Canva alternatives: Adobe’s Photoshop is the leader in photo editing. Their mobile app directs all of the power of the downloaded software straight to your phone. Do the typical ‘photoshopping’ things like removing red eye, crop, straighten, and rotate your images. You can also add text and do one touch white balancing, among other editing functions. Another feature that money love about Photoshop Express is the fact that you can share images with a simple click. Once set up, it’s super convenient and steps up your photo sharing game.

Price: Free download in the app store.

“Photoshop Express is pretty good, there’s a Windows 10 app and mobile apps. It has images sizes for every social network.”  – Roland Waddilove

Do you know of other Canva alternatives that should be added to this list? Please get in touch! Leave a comment below or shoot me an email and I’ll add get them added right away. Hope this list was helpful. Feel free to share your gorgeous graphcis in the comments. 

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The post free canvas alternatives appeared first on Atterbie.

• How much does it cost and how is it billed? Monthly? Annually?
• Do they offer customer support and if so, do the users seem happy?
• Does the host support WordPress?
• How much disk space do you get with the plan?
• What is the contract term?
• Do they offer a free trial or money back guarantee?
• Is a domain name included?
• Do they guarantee solid uptime
• What are the general user reviews?

Once you’ve gone through the list and determined which factors mean the most to you, it’s time to do some research. You’ll want to compare exactly what the top hosting companies offer in order to pick the one that will best fit your needs.

To get you started in the right direction, here are the top ten hosting companies in 2018:

#1 – BLUEHOST

• Starting rate is $2.95 per month
• Customer Support Available 24/7
• Unlimited traffic and space plans are available
• FREE 1-click WordPress installations
• FREE domain name (1-year registration)
• FREE site builder
• FREE email accounts
• FREE SSL for 12 months
• Considered the BEST overall hosting plan
• Bluehost.com

#2 – HOSTGATOR

• Starting rate is $2.64 per month
• Unlimited traffic and space on all plans
• FREE Weebly site builder
• No contract
• 45-day money back guarantee
• Considered one of the best overall hosting plans
• Hostgator.com

#3 – SITEGROUND

• Starting rate is $3.95 per month
• Space plans range from 10 GB to 30 GB
• FREE site transfer or new setup with 1-click installation
• FREE automated daily backups
• FREE email accounts
• FREE CDN
• FREE SSL
• 99.9% uptime
• 30-day money back guarantee
• Siteground.com

#4 – iPAGE

• Starting rate of $1.99 per month
• Unlimited disk space, bandwidth, and emails
• FREE domain name (1-year registration)
• FREE Google marketing
• FREE site builder and shopping cart
• 30-day money back guarantee
• Considered the best hosting company for business sites
• iPage.com 

#5 – FATCOW

• Starting rate of $3.15 per month
• Unlimited disk space, bandwidth, emails, and databases
• FREE domain name (1-year registration)
• FREE point and click website builders
• Cusotmer Support Available 24/7
• GREEN HOSTING COMPANY!
  100% powered by wind energy
• 30-day money back guarantee
• FatCow.com

#6 – HOSTPAPA

• Starting rate of $2.95 per month
• Space plans range from 100 GB to unlimited
• FREE drag and drop website builder
• FREE domain name FOR LIFE
• Award-winning customer support available 24/7/365
• Personal video training sessions available with HostPapa expert
• HostPapa.com

#7 – WEB.COM

• Starting rate of $1.95 per month
• 300 GB
• Basic hosting plan with incredible intro rate ($1.95 for your first month)
• Site builder included
• FREE domain (1-year registration)
• Web.com

#8 – WEB HOSTING HUB

• Starting rate of $2.99 per month
• Unlimited disk space
• FREE domain name FOR LIFE
• Includes cPanel and 1-click WordPress installation
• Offers website transfers with zero downtime
• Support for eCommerce site
• 90-day money back guarantee
• WebHostingHub.com

#9 – JUST HOST

• Starting rate of $3.95 per month
• Unlimited disk space
• Customer Service Available 24/7 via phone or chat
• FREE site builder
• FREE domain (1-year registration)
• $200 worth of advertising credits
• 30-day money back guarantee
• JustHost.com

#10 – A2 HOSTING

• Starting rate of $3.92 per month
• Unlimited RAID-10 disk space
• FREE site transfer
• FREE HackScan
• Host unlimited websites
• 1-click WordPress installation
• Domain name $14.99
• Money back guarantee at any time
• a2hosting.com 

Okay, that’s a lot of information! Here’s the thing, it’s nice to know that you have options. LOTS of options. If you want to know what I use, I’m here to tell you that it’s BlueHost. The only issue I’ve ever come up against with BlueHost is the SSL renewal. It doesn’t always happen as scheduled, so it may require you to follow up. Other than that, the product has been excellent and customer service is always there to help.

Tell me about your faves in the comments!

The post Top 10 Hosting Companies in 2018 appeared first on Atterbie.

Yes, I’ve heard the stories. Good and bad, both plentiful depending on who you ask.

But I need help. That’s all there is to it. So I started searching and learning about how their platform works. The different levels of sellers, delivery times, good/better/best options for each item you click, and so on.

With Fiverr‘s base rate of only $5 buckaroos you can run a low budget trial and error campaign to see which sellers you will work the best with to complete tasks in the long run.

I started with a simple backlink project. I needed to complete a number of them for clients, so I started ordering. Every seller offers something a little different and they deliver accordingly. From some I received a super simple .txt file that listed the most basic information, a link to actual backlink for verification. It was sufficient but nothing super impressive. From others, I received a nicely formatted Microsoft Excel document that listed not only where I could find the backlink but also included the associated domains, DA ranking, PA ranking, and more.

The actual backlink quality varied as well. Some sellers wrote actual content that was updated in a guest post format to high DA ranking websites, others created profiles on a slew of directories, and one simply used comments (all with confirmed do-follow links). Each type has value in their own ways but they are backlinks, nonetheless.

So here’s the lesson I learned… know exactly what you want for the deliverable and find a seller who is offering that exact product, in the turn-around time that you need.

Don’t forget that there’s nothing clearer than clarity!

Fiverr is one of many freelancer websites and not all of the gigs are offered for $5, but if you’re willing to put in a little effort and a few dollars – you can get a LOT of stuff done, FAST.

I’m saying goodbye to my forever long task list and hello to free time and happy clients.  Thanks, Fiverr!

Need help connecting with sellers who are awesome? I’d love to help!

Here’s how you can reach me:

Amy Sallie
ATTERBIE LLC
Hudson, OH 44236
amy@atterbie.com

Today we covered:
Ready to knock out your to-do list?

You may also be interested in reading:
How to Start a Blog In 9 Minutes

In the spirit of honesty and full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links, which means that I may get a commission if you decide to purchase anything from one of my favorite companies listed above. I only recommend products and systems that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands.

The post Ready to knock out your to-do list? appeared first on Atterbie.

This incredible platform completely removes the question of “What day works for you?” from your workflow!

It allows you to set up your real-time availability, appointment types, and prices. Clients then just visit your scheduling page, choose the day/time that works for them and the type of appointment they’d like to schedule, and pay. Both you and the client will receive a notification via email when the transaction is complete. Easy peasy!

Acuity Scheduling is compatible with a variety of payment types including: Stripe, Square, PayPal, and more.

The scheduling page is available to your clients in whatever format you prefer. It can be embeded into your site, shared in link, or posted on social media. Whatever is the easiest for you and most convenient for your clients, they have you covered.

Wondering what it might look like on your site? While each scheduling page can be customized to fit your specific branding guidelines, feel free to check out my calendar. I threw this together in less than ten minutes! It still needs a little work but the hardest part (getting started) is now complete.

Acuity Scheduling offers a FREE TRIAL (can’t beat that!) and once your trial ends, there are four membership types to choose from. Free (a total no-brainer if you just need the basics), Emerging Entrepreneur ($10/month), Growing Business ($19/month), and Powerhouse Player ($39/month).

Seriously low fees, especially when you consider all of the incredible tools you receive!

For more information and to get your trial started TODAY, visit AcuityScheduling.com.

I’d love to hear all about your experience with Acuity Scheduling in the comments below!

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In the spirit of honesty and full disclosure, this post includes affiliate links, which means that I may get a commission if you decide to purchase anything from the company listed above. I only recommend products and systems that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands.

The post Acuity Scheduling makes dreams come true! appeared first on Atterbie.