Grab readers‘ attention and increase social shares with the perfect featured image for every blog post.
Featured images are critical for driving engagement, shares, and clicks to your content. Research shows posts with relevant graphics get 94% more views. But creating custom visuals for each article can be time-consuming.
The good news is there are now dozens of easy-to-use graphic design tools to create stunning featured post images in minutes without any design expertise.
In this comprehensive guide, you‘ll discover the top sites for finding awesome free stock photos and the best graphic design tools for turning those images into captivating featured post visuals that get results.
Why You Need Compelling Featured Images
Before we dive into the many options for creating graphics, let‘s review why featured images matter so much:
Draw Readers In
A good featured image gives readers a snapshot preview of your content that piques their interest and makes them eager to click. Compelling graphics increase potential views.
Increase Social Engagement
When shared on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, your featured image is the first thing users see alongside the headline. Appealing graphics get more clicks, likes, and shares.
Establish Visual Branding
Featured post images allow you to reinforce branding with logo, color scheme, and visual style that set your content apart. A consistent look builds familiarity with your site.
The bottom line is featuring graphics get your content noticed, clicked on, and shared. Let‘s look at tips for creating quality featured images that convert.
Featured Image Design Best Practices
First, what goes into an effective featured blog post visual?
High Quality Photography
You need eye-catching, high-resolution photographs or illustrations. We‘ll cover top image sources soon.
Relevance
Featured graphics should represent your blog post topic or key themes from the content.
Appealing Visuals
Images don‘t have to literally illustrate your exact content, but should grab attention while aligning with the theme and tone of your brand. Think about what imagery best encapsulates ideas in your post.
Good Composition
Pay attention to photographic composition basics like rule of thirds, leading lines, symmetrical framing and bold foreground elements that draw the eye.
Text and Branding
Include title text, taglines and/or logo branding. This gives more context and familiarizes readers with your site.
Now let‘s look at where to source awesome free images for your featured graphics.
Top Image Sites for Featured Post Graphics
Quality photographs or illustrations make a huge visual impact. Here are leading free stock image sites to find stellar featured post images:
Pixabay
Over 2 million public domain images you can use with no attribution required. Gorgeous photography and vectors.
Pexels
Another outstanding free photo site with unique images searchable by keyword and color palette.
Unsplash
Massive library of vibrant free high resolution photography covering almost any topic.
StockSnap.io
Specializes in beautiful free lifestyle, nature and cityscape photos taken by talented photographers.
And for illustrations:
UnDraw
Collection of cute, hand-drawn vector illustration graphics with tons of options.
Humaaans
Minimalist mix-and-match illustrations of people with variety of poses and accessories.
These sites offer royalty-free images you can use and modify, but always double check licenses.
Pro tip: Pay attention to aspect ratio suitability for landscape vs portrait orientated graphics.
Prepare Images for Best Quality
Before creating your featured images, do some quick editing:
- Crop and frame main focal elements
- Resize for needed dimensions
- Compress JPGs to reduce file size
- Enhance brightness, contrast and vibrance if necessary for visual impact
Optimized source images set you up for fantastic end visuals.
Now let‘s explore some phenomenal design tools…
Top 18 Featured Image Makers
Here are 18 user-friendly graphic design platforms for easily building eye-catching featured post visuals:
1. Snappa
Intuitive drag and drop editor…
