Anywhere you go online, you’ll see a photo or image. Websites, social media platforms, e-commerce marketplaces, and practically any virtual channel will have some form of a photo on it. Most people like to have visual experiences to break up text-heavy content and images are one of the fastest and most effective ways to do that.
For perspective, 350 million photos are uploaded every day on Facebook. That’s over 4,000 photo uploads per second. But as content creators, businesses, or any regular user tries to manage photos online and use them for their channels, some might struggle with issues like copyright safety or how to effectively download and store massive amounts of data.
There are ways to save time and energy when taking photos online and using it for one’s website, social media content, and so on. Here are some tips to remember to safely and effectively download images online.
Use cloud storage
One of the best apps for teachers, marketers, business owners or any professional that works with images for presentations and promotions is a cloud storage system. Unlike local storage systems that are accessible through a device like a hard drive or computer, cloud-based storage is data stored on a digital service.
A cloud is essentially an internet-based facility that one can access on any device and in any location that has an internet connection. Cloud storage is currently one of the best ways to store digital photos long-term. 94% of small businesses store data on some form of cloud-based storage, so any business or employee will probably want to use this when storing photos for future use.
Keep a Backup
Cloud storage is the best way to store photos online for sure. But while storing images on a cloud-based service is great, you will also need a backup for the worst-case scenario. Many businesses lose files for varied reasons. Some lose them because of malware attacks, while others might lose them because a cloud service discontinues or a calamity hits.
Storing files on an offline backup helps and should be the best way to keep an offline emergency copy of any photos. In most cases, people will actually pay for images, so it’s important to have a backup in these cases. If you use unpaid photos, having a backup still helps because it helps save time and effort from having to redownload them again in the future. The best way to backup photos on computer systems is to keep them on an external hard drive or a computer that is meant solely for backup files and not day-to-day use.
Check the copyright
Aside from choosing the best photo storage and organizer, one thing that anyone who’s downloading photos needs to remember is copyright. Not all photos are available for use for privacy and commercial reasons. Before you download images from a website, you need to be aware of certain copyright issues with the photo.
To avoid copyright issues when downloading images for commercial use, get them from a stock photo provider. There are some available for free online. When downloading images from another website or social media platform, reach out to the original owner to get permission first before using it. Sometimes, a simple attribution or link back should be more than enough to solve this issue.
Bulk Download when Possible
Downloading files from websites can be a time-consuming task. But in cases where you’re downloading massive amounts of photos from one source, you can also use a bulk downloader to automate that process for yourself. When trying to keep a sense of productivity and efficiency at work, it always helps to use tools that can automate systems for you so you can use your time on other more pressing tasks.
Some tools actually allow users to bulk download images from Google with nothing more than a click of a button. These tools can come for free or at a very affordable rate at the very least. In cases where you pay for the software, it will most likely be worth every cent because, as we all know, time is money. And time saved is money made.
Use a Link-based Downloader
When you download photos from Instagram or any other website with blocked permissions, it’s awfully taxing to get these images. Some take the screenshot route, but this still involves cropping the photo. And there’s the added issue of not being able to get the image in high resolution on certain devices.
But there are also services online like ImgDownloader.com that allow users to download images by simply adding the link. This gives access to certain sites that don’t allow the old fashion right click and save image as a route. Remember though to always get permission before downloading a file from these kinds of sites.
Use Images to Spruce Up Your Brand
People love looking at photos simply because they provide visual value to a brand. So when creating a website or coming up with social media content, make sure to use pictures. In many cases, you won’t even have to take the photos or make the graphics yourself. You can just take them from an online source and save countless hours in the process.