Bloggers learn pretty quick that a photo added to a blog post can draw in readers. But can you do when you don’t have a photo to illustrate your post? The recommendation that I give clients is to borrow photos from other websites. Never take a photo without the owner’s permission, but of the millions of users of Flickr there are photographers who lend their photos for sharing.
Find a Photo
Go to flickr.com. You won’t need to create an account or login. Use the search bar at the top of the website to type a word or words that would describe the photo you are looking for.
Getting the Code
Each photo on Flickr is assigned to its own URL (web address).
You’ll need that URL to put the photo on WordPress.
Click the Share button.
From the dropdown window, choose the blue link to the HTML/BBC code.
In the new box view, be sure the HTML bubble is clicked and colored blue.
Set the image size to the desired size.
Then as directed at in the box… copy the code that begins. “
Adding the Code to WordPress
Go to ADD NEW or EDIT post.
Click the HTML tab at the top of the editing box. Place your mouse where you want the photo to go. Then paste the code. Don’t forget to press the blue “update” button in WordPress to save your update.
Caveat
Photos on Flickr may not be forever. If someone closes their account or takes down a photo, it will no longer appear on your blog. My opinion: the benefit of having a photo for readers at the time of posting and reposting on sites like Facebook outweighs the risk that the photo may disappear in the future.
