If you are a content editor or you maintain your own blog, you can make use of some fine resources for two prime elements of your content: Photographs for your posts, and a good font combination to dress your content.
Finding stock photos that actually look good
Almost surely your theme will support featured images, and they are good to convey a message and a more distinctive and personalized experience for the user. There are many available resources out there, and many posts have been written on where to find free images. I am just going to mention the ones I really find quite good and with a plethora of thematic packs, and neither me nor Codestag are affiliated in any way.
www.rawpixel.com
These fine guys have one of the most impressive collection of stock photos. The have a limited free pack at their site, but they have their whole collection at shutterstock. Truly a versatile style with tons of concepts.
www.unsplash.com
You should have already heard about unsplash, it is one of the pioneers in this free stock wave with images used by some fine sites as medium.com and many others. Some of the images there are truly classic. Too many trees and mountains though in my opinion.
www.deathtothestockphoto.com
If you want to go pro, and happy to support the guys and photographers behind this project, you can do so with $15 /month. You will receive all their existing collection and access to their upcoming photo packs.
www.unstock.envato.com
Envato recently launched their new stock photo site with a global pricing of 5$ per photo. Some great collections and great photographers in there, if you feel like it I would also recommend this.
Using Custom Fonts in your blog
When you are getting started with adding content to your WordPress theme, choosing a good pair of fonts should be among the first steps in my opinion. The fonts are definitive to the overall style. Instead of going through typography classes, I would suggest that you visit sites that demonstrate font combinations, and make a safe decision there.
Google Fonts
You will be probably using Google fonts library, either as a built in feature in the theme you use or as an external plugin. Whatever the case, take a look at fontpair.co and especially the brilliantly looking site from femmebot which really puts the combinations in the right context.
Typekit
If you are up for it, you can go ahead and use Typekit fonts. There is a plugin that lets you import a typekit set, but you will first need an account at https://typekit.com/ and luckily they have a free plan to get you started. You can get more sophisticated options with typekit, and if you go premium, your will have even more. The Typekit guys put a lot of work in their blog, with seriously useful tips and advise on how to pick fonts. Check an example for choosing fonts for cookbooks.
Epilogue
That was a short update on these great resources that should help you get started with styling your content. If you have a great stock photo resource or a font pairing website that you want to share, please do so in the comments!
As a beginner, you may find it really useful to explore websites that offer advise and resources specifically for entry-level users. Our good friends at firstsiteguide.com do a great job at combining a list of resources and answers, handy for anyone starting out on building his first website. Worth taking a look!
2 Responses
Hi, very informative article.
Please also check out https://www.goodfreephotos.com for thousands of unique public domain photos, all high-resolution and free to use for any purpose.We specialize in photos by location as we document cities, national parks, state parks, national landmarks, and more. We update with 20+ photos each week. Appreciate it if you could add us to your list of sites.
Thanks, looks like a great resource.