A quick note on images: We’ve put together a list of some of our favorite places to find beautiful, high-quality images that are free to use (many with very generous licenses!).
Here are a few popular sites to find images for your agency site:
Unsplash (unsplash.com) – Free for personal and commercial use
Pexels (pexels.com) – Huge library of free photos and videos
Pixabay (pixabay.com) – Millions of free images, illustrations, and vectors
Freepik (freepik.com) – Great free vectors and photos but some require attribution – just check the license!
UnDraw (undraw.co) – Open-source illustrations you can customize
Openverse (openverse.org) – A search engine for Creative Commons and public domain content
These sites are widely trusted, but licenses can change, and not every image is automatically cleared for every possible use, including government projects.
So, here’s the friendly reminder:
You’re responsible for double-checking the current license of any image you choose, making sure it’s appropriate for government use, and confirming there’s no copyrighted material, logos, trademarks, or identifiable people that might need extra permission. When in doubt, go for something nice and generic, or just give the Web Team at BITS a shout – we’re happy to help you pick the perfect image!
Safe-Use checklist for images:
Before downloading an image:
☐ Check the site’s license page for any updates or restrictions
☐ Avoid images with identifiable people (faces, unique clothing, clear personal features)
☐ Avoid branded products, logos, or trademarks (e.g., Apple laptops, Nike shoes)
☐ Avoid images with copyrighted artwork, posters, book covers, or signage
☐ Choose images with a neutral or generic subject suitable for a government context
☐ Check that the image resolution is large enough to crop or resize to the required 600 × 400 px at 72 dpi.
☐ Confirm the image does not imply endorsement of a company, product, or service
Before uploading a photo to your Sitecore page:
☐ Resize to 600 × 400 px at 72 dpi
☐ Save as JPG (preferred for photos) or PNG (preferred for graphics/illustrations)
☐ Keep file size small (under ~200 KB when possible).
In our testing, Pixlr worked particularly well and may be a helpful option if you're looking for a simple, reliable tool. If you choose to use Pixlr, follow our Pixlr Image Optimization Instructions.
You can also optimize large images with free tools such as:
Squoosh (https://squoosh.app)
TinyJPG (https://tinypng.com)
Compress JPEG / PNG by Optimizilla (https://www.optimizilla.com)
☐ Add descriptive alt text that reflects the content of the image, if the image is not decorative. If the image does not add any meaning to the page and is just decorative, no alt text is needed. Learn more about adding alt text to images.
☐ Make sure the image supports the content and is relevant to the page's purpose
