Stock photos are not interchangeable with Google Images. For production blogs and marketing sites I stick to licensed libraries and optimize URLs per CDN.
Sources I use
- Unsplash — high-quality heroes; License allows commercial use; attribution appreciated not always required
- Pexels — similar license; great for tech/office/video thumbnails
- Pixabay — broader library; verify license per asset for brands
This portfolio’s blog cards pull from `images.unsplash.com` and `images.pexels.com`. The `optimizeBlogImageUrl` helper strips full-resolution downloads and sets width + compression for mobile cards.
URL patterns
- Unsplash: `?w=1200&q=80&auto=format&fit=crop` on any photo URL
- Pexels: `?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&w=1200` — avoid serving raw multi-MB JPEGs
- Do not hotlink without caching strategy — use your CDN or `NuxtImg` provider in prod
A fast 40 KB card image beats a beautiful 2 MB hero that never finishes on 3G.