{"id":108529,"date":"2024-12-11T16:17:46","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T14:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/?p=108529"},"modified":"2024-12-12T13:35:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T11:35:53","slug":"wordpress-photo-directory-refresh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themeisle.com\/blog\/wordpress-photo-directory-refresh\/","title":{"rendered":"(Nearly) 20,000 Free-to-Use Images Now Available in the WordPress Photo Directory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Almost 20,000 free, high-quality images are part of the WordPress community-submitted Photo Directory<\/a>. They are free to use on any site (not just WordPress) for both commercial and non-commercial purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

You read that correctly – these photos are CC0-licensed, meaning they are part of the public domain. They can be downloaded and used for any purpose, including marketing and branding, with no cost or attribution required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who gave these photos away, you ask? Since the directory’s launch in 2021, 2,075 individuals<\/strong> have collectively submitted an impressive 19,409<\/strong> images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just yesterday, the Photo Directory received a design update, aligning it with the rest of the WordPress.org website. The update transformed every element into blocks<\/a> and unified the design with consistent layouts, fonts, and color schemes. While the design looks more sleek, the content and functionality remained the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The catalog’s Search<\/em> feature in particular is not very accurate, however. For example, a search for “cat” returns 251 images<\/a>, while the similar term “kitty” returns just 2<\/a>. Among the “cat”-tagged images, you might also notice several unrelated photos of churches and boats. This happens because terms like “cat<\/strong>hedrals” and “cat<\/strong>amarans” are indexed under “cat” as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"John<\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The new design for the photos directory is definitely an improvement and a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One enhancement I’d like to see, however, is displaying photo details in a popup or modal window rather than navigating to a separate page. This would help maintain the user’s browsing flow and momentum, similar to the experience on Unsplash and other photo-related platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

– John Fraskos<\/a>, UI\/UX designer<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

While there is room for improvements, the directory itself is remarkable for being free and open to everyone. The photos are also included in the Openverse<\/a> project, the former Creative Commons search engine which was acquired by Automattic in 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t

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\n\t\t \t\t#WordPress Photo Directory gets a refresh; offers thousands of free images for everyone \ud83d\uddbc\ufe0f<\/a>\n\t\t \t<\/div>\n\t\t \t
\n\t\t \tClick To Tweet \n\t\t \t\t<\/span>\n\t\t \t<\/a>\n\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How to use this thing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WordPress users can add any image from the Photo Directory directly to their websites through Openverse<\/strong>, using the Block Inserter<\/strong> in the Media<\/strong> tab. Like so:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What type of photos can you find?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The photos are divided into thirteen categories, though the taxonomy is unusual when you examine the numbers for each category. The total count adds up to 22,889, indicating that the classification is not strict and some photos are included in multiple categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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