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Stock Photography
There are many aspects to having an online presence that users need to be aware of. From Social Media posts, to Image advertising and even Video promotions. All may help in there own way.
But just maybe your budget may not allow for this, or your skill level. Well here is a list of Tools that can aid you in your endeavor. These are not recommendations (unless specified) and choosing the tool will be your choice and your risk.
What we will be covering in this post: Stock Photography; Logo Creation; Video Creation; QR Code Generation; Invoice Creation; Barcode Generation; Image Resizing and Image Optimization (a very important one).
You might need the odd image from time to time or just a placeholder for the time being. Or, you simply cannot afford images for now and are looking for an alternative. Well, below you will find a list of websites that can support your requirements. Many offer Free to use Imagery (please check the website is you are not sure, Shopfront will not be held liable for your use of images on the site).
- https://burst.shopify.com - good for product shots
- https://www.pexels.com - our go to for general images
- https://unsplash.com - very similar to the one above
- https://stocksnap.io - truly CC0 free stock photos
- https://pixabay.com - another well known for free images & royalty free stock
- https://www.reshot.com - new to the scene. No cost. No attribution. No worries.
- https://www.foodiesfeed.com/free-feeod-photo - great for you restaurants or foodies..
- https://styledstock.co - Beautiful FREE feminine styled images for your projects
Logo Creation
Made ease
We hope to be working with may new startups, sole traders and small businesses. For the more established out there this may not be for you.
- https://www.canva.com/create/logos/ - elegant and classy options
- https://logomakr.com - easy to use. We liked this one.
- https://www.logogarden.com - useable but not as nice an experience and the ones above
- https://www.ucraft.com/free-logo-maker - nice and easy to use
Video Creation
When you want a little flare
Video is taking over, with the likes of Youtube, Instagram and TikTok video is growing day by day. Why not try your hand at it.
- https://www.canva.com/create/videos/ - requires a little bit of effort opn your part
- https://www.flexclip.com - easy to use, requires a you to register
- https://animoto.com - another good option but Animoto branding on your free videos
QR code Generator
If you need it
Did you now that you can create a QR Code for all of the following:
URLs, Files, Social Media (Facebook, Instagram and even Youtube), Email and lots more.. what will you use it for?
Disclaimer - some phones / devices already have a built in function to simply point your camera at the QR Code and it will do its thing. However, some do not. So if your device can not then you may need to download an App for that.
- https://www.qrcode-tiger.com
- https://forqrcode.com
- https://www.beaconstac.com/qr-code-generator
- https://www.qrstuff.com
- https://www.qrcode-monkey.com
Barcode Generators
Needed from time to time
If you are running a store and are in need to barcodes for your products, you may already have what you need in place. But for those of you who do not or are doing some research - here you go:
- https://barcode.tec-it.com/en
- https://www.barcodesinc.com/generator/index.php
- http://www.barcode-generator.org
- https://www.onlinelabels.com/tools/barcode-generator
- https://www.morovia.com/free-online-barcode-generator/
- https://www.cognex.com/en-in/resources/interactive-tools/free-barcode-generator
Invoice Creation
An affordable option
We can't all afford the top tier applications like Quickbooks to manage our invoices. So for those of you only sending the odd invoice here and there and are looking for a more simplified option:
- https://invoice-generator.com - simple and straight to the point
- https://www.invoicesimple.com/invoice-generator - invoices, estimates and more.
- http://invoiceto.me - free unlimited online invoices
- https://create.onlineinvoices.com - free online invoice generator, without having to register
- https://www.zoho.com/invoice/free-invoice-generator.html - Zoho is a firm that has many tools
Image resizer
You will need this
When dealing with the internet and specifically selling Products, you will need imagery. We have already covered Free Stock, but you don't just want to use any size image. Often you will be provided with a rough guide for sizing and this is where you will need to resize an image or two (or way more).
- https://spark.adobe.com/tools/image-resize/ - we liked this one as it can guide you for specific platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well as Custom sizes.
- https://imageresizer.com -
- https://resizefile.com/resize-image.html -
- https://www.befunky.com/create/resize-image/ -
- https://www.resizepixel.com -
Something to be aware of, image formats. The list below mostly covers web use, there are other image formats out there but no need for them to be covered at this point:
JPEG - is a raster image file format ideal for most use case scenarios. JPEGs are “lossy” meaning they reduce file size, but also the quality of the images when you use the format.
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PNG (Portable Network Graphics) - PNG is a raster graphics format that supports lossless compression, transparencies all while maintaining detail and contrast between colors. It also offers much better text readability than JPEG format. Note however, if used like a JPEG the file size might be way bigger.
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Gif (Graphics Interchange Format) - limited palette of 256 colours, so the quality can not be compared to that of your average JPEG. This file format is often used for small static animations and low quality graphics.
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SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) - was developed by W3C as a markup language to render two-dimensional images right within the browser.
It doesn’t rely on pixels like a raster format, but rather uses XML text to outline shapes and lines in a similar way to how mathematical equations create graphs.
This means you can scale up SVG images infinitely without any loss of quality.
Best used for logos, icons, simple illustrations.
Image Optimization
A necessary step
This cannot be understated, but speed in the online world is a metric. The faster your site the better!
The section above educated you on how to select the right image for the job, but the next thing is to optimise those images even more. If you are familiar with image editing and simple web use, the images above are the ones you would select, if selecting PNG or JPEG you need to optimizes these before placing on your site (or ours). There are multiple ways to achieve this but whichever you use, and after you have resized the images to the correct dimensions - drop the images into tinypng for a quick and easy optimization to save space.. then and only then are you ok to upload your images to Shopfront.
- https://kraken.io/web-interface - good but also comes with a Paid Plan.
- https://tinypng.com - our personal favorite, easy to use and sufficiently effective.