Top 7 free Shutterstock alternatives available in 2019

Shutterstock is one of the best platforms to find stock images. Earlier, it is used to be very hard to find ideal photos for different projects, but things have been a lot easier through Shutterstock. There are around 161 million images, videos, and music tracks that you can get from Shutterstock. Though they are not free and you will have to pay a dedicated amount to download them. If you are not comfortable with spending money, you can consider the best free Shutterstock alternatives given here for you.

1. Foter

Foter is undoubtedly one of the best Shutterstock alternatives. It comprises of around 335 million free stock photos as well as almost 220 million for commercial purposes. Though, the quality of photos is not as good ad Shutterstock. You will have to put extra effort, which is giving due credits to the photographer while using the free to use pictures also. Go to the website for getting the best in class photos for your projects.

2. Pexels

Pexels offers around 30,000 stock images only, which is very less that Shutterstock provides, but all of them clicked by professionals and are of the best quality. Most of the pictures are of outdoor category and include beaches, buildings, crowd, landscapes, and more. An outstanding bokeh effect is showcased in various photos on this website. You can freely use the pictures for both personal and professional projects as they are being offered with Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licensing. In simple words, neither attribution nor money is required for using the website's photos.

3. SplitShire

SplitShire is also for those who prefer quality over quantity. It is an excellent website offering free-stock images for use. One great thing is that all of the featured photos are captured and submitted by the website owner only. The owner has showcased his ten years of hard work in the form of photos through this website. You will find various types of photos that you can use for free.

4. Life of Pix

Life of Pix features photos of different photographers through their dedicated profiles. It is an ideal photo sharing website that allows photographers to share their photographs without any charges and make them accessible to users. You can even search your favorite photographer and get the best clicks from them. The photos are, however, limited on the website, but most of them are of high quality. If you need pictures of animals, cities, natures and more, you can check out this website or Shutterstock alternative.

5. Unsplash

Every single photo featured on Unsplash is beautiful and high-resolution. Professionals clicked them, and that's why the quality is unbeatable. There are around 200,000 stock photos available on this website, which you explore for your needs. The site has even thousands of active members who upload exclusive pictures now and then. Its quick load time makes the overall user experience better and exciting. For finding desired photos, go the search bar available at the top of this website.

6. Pixabay

Get the best royalty-free images by visiting Pixabay. It is a well-known website famous for of all types of images. Till now, the website features around jaw-dropping 1.1 million photos. You can use the featured photos both personally and commercially as they have a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licensing, same as Pexels. Not only images, but even you also get the option to download royalty-free illustrations, vector graphics, and videos.

7. Freeimages

As its name already suggests,  Freeimages is another excellent website for free stock images. It features around 400,000 royalty-free stock images for both personal and commercial uses. New photos are regularly updated on this website, which makes it more exciting. You don't even have to create a new account on the site for downloading the desired images. But if sign in with the account, you can download multiple images easily. Illustrations and vectors can be found on this website too.

All in all, these are a few of the best Shutterstock alternatives for getting the best free stock images!

Victoria Parker, an employee currently living in USA and working at a top email service provider company in the day, and a technical writer at night. I am passionate about writing troubleshooting tips, beginner’s guides, news, and other articles on varied topics like QuickBooks Payroll Customer Support, Quicken Customer Support etc.

How to Fix Microsoft or Windows Store Crashing Issue

Windows Store is the Microsoft’s official shop for downloading games, apps, etc. When you search for a program on the web, most of the time it will show the results from the Microsoft Store. Many other tasks such as downloading or updating applications require store access. If you’re also encountering any issue while accessing Windows Store in your device, try these solutions.

Before you start using the troubleshooting solutions:

•    Access your PC with the administrator account.

•    Make sure the UAC (User Account Control) has been enabled.

•    Verify the minimum (1027 x 768) screen resolution of your PC.

•    Ensure that the video drivers are updated.

•    Connect your PC with internet.

Once you set up all these, start using below solutions one by one to fix Microsoft or Windows Store crashing issue. After trying one solution check for the problem you’re facing, if it persists then use another solution otherwise not.

Solution 1: Update date and time settings

It looks strange, but it is the most effective and simple troubleshooting trick to fix Windows Store crashing issue. This trick fixes most of the general problems of a Microsoft device. If your computer’s clock isn’t accurate, then possibly this is creating the trouble. Correct your computer’s date and time with the below steps.

1.    Right-click the screen clock in the taskbar.

2.    Select ‘Adjust date/time’ from the options.

3.    Find the ‘Set time automatically’ option and disable it.

4.    Click the ‘Change’ button and correct the time and date.

5.    Make sure correct time zone has been selected.

6.    Check the time and date once again and save your changes.

7.    Close all the windows.

8.    Now, open ‘Microsoft Store’ to check for the issue.

Solution 2: Run Windows Troubleshooter

If your system’s clock is already updated, but still the app crashes, run Windows Troubleshooter. It scans your computer and finds the problems preventing your Windows Store from opening. Sometimes if possible, it fixes the issues itself. If running troubleshooter doesn’t do anything, use the next solution to fix Windows Store crashing issue.

Solution 3: Remove cache from Windows Store

Clearing cache or data of a program turn it as a new, this generally fixes most of the common problems. If you’re encountering the problem after doing any changes in the app settings, then this will also reset corrupt settings. Here is how to clear the Windows Store cache.

1.    Use the start menu search bar to launch ‘Run.’

2.    Enter ‘WSReset.exe’ into it.

3.    And press ‘Enter.’

Doing so clear all the caches stored in the Windows Store and also reset corrupt settings.

Solution 4: Turn off the proxy server

If you’ve enabled any proxy or VPN in your computer, then it could be the reason your Windows Store application crashes. If you’re using any VPN or proxy, then switch it off. Here is how to check and disabled proxy server on a PC.

1.    Press the ‘Windows Logo’ button. Start menu display on your desktop.

2.    Look for the settings icon and click on it. This opens the settings window.

3.    Click the ‘Network and Internet Proxy’ in the left pane. Proxy settings open on the right side.

4.    Check the switch of ‘Use a proxy server’ under Manual proxy setup.

5.    Turn off the switch if it is turned on.

This will disable the proxy you’re using and also may repair your Windows Store.

Solution 5: Reset Microsoft Store

When any of the above solutions are unable to fix your Microsoft or Windows Store crashing problem, try to reset the Store. Here’s how.

1.    Open the ‘Quick Access menu’ by clicking on the Start icon.

2.    Select ‘Apps and Features.’

3.    Go to ‘Advanced options.’

4.    Click ‘Reset’ in the newly opened window.

5.    Click ‘Reset’ again on the warning prompt.

This will reset the Windows Store and clear everything from it as well as solve Microsoft Store crashing issue.

Victoria Parker, an employee currently living in USA and working at a top email service provider company in the day, and a technical writer at night. I am passionate about writing troubleshooting tips, beginner’s guides, news, and other articles on varied topics like QuickBooks Payroll Support, QuickBooks Payroll Support Number etc.