The man is an inherently lazy being and technology is a testament to that fact. It aids people to do everything in the best yet easiest possible way. In the same vein, the internet is awash with tools that aid content creators to do their thing in the smoothest ways possible.
However, not all are available to everyone for use because not everyone can afford to pay for them. That, however, does not necessarily mean doom for that lot that does not have the economic muscle to give them access to the best tools’ full functionality. There are others that available for use without any charges, and if you don’t know any then today is your lucky day.
Here is a list of some of the best tools for content creation that are available at no charge.
01. Unsplash
There is something about a story that is told with images to back it up. They add a bit of extra punch and ensure that the story remains in the reader’s mind. Getting the right images can be a hard task, though. Of course, you can just Google the image you need and go ahead to put it up on your site, but how sure are you that that simple act will not earn you a date in the courthouse? Yes, there are copyright laws out there and Unsplash.com helps you around that huddle. It is an archive of high-resolution images that you can use at your own discretion with zero risks of infringing on any laws.
02. Marvel
This prototyping app converts your ideas into reality, be it a concept on an app or a website. Among all the free tools available for this function, and they are quite a number, Marvel stands out in its ease of use as well as functionality. With its free plan, you get access to an unlimited cache of projects that you can use for as long as you like. It can also handle variable levels of complexities in projects.
03. PicMonkey
Photoshop is easily the most widely used photo editing tool, but its full functionality is only available at a price. This is one alternative to the same that comes without the inconvenience of having to install it on your computer, or the encumbrance of a hefty fee. It offers a very intuitive functionality so that you can have a spruced up image for your posts without spending too much time on it. Being regarded by many as one of the best photo editing apps for Mac, PicMonkey is definitely worth trying.
04. Skitch
This is a product of Evernote that enables users to employ shapes, text, arrows, and doodles for the annotation of images and then save them on the account for subsequent use. Oh, and the mention of an Evernote account above should not scare you because it is also free to acquire, and you get yourself cloud storage space for your Skitch photos. However, you are not obliged to create one since all the sharing, markup, capturing, and saving functions are accessible even without an account.
05. Infogr.am
Infographics are a big hit with web users because of their ability to pack so much information in one small diagram that is much easier to go through and understand in a short time. They are therefore a big necessity, especially among creators of informative content. Infor.am allows users to create such interactive infographics, adding on text, graphs, videos, among others without any need to delve into programming, or into their pockets.
06. Google Drawings
Most people using Windows are used to using Microsoft Paint to draw, and it is notorious for its clumsy and limited functionality. Thankfully, there is a free alternative available in Google Drawings. It offers professional level visual content creation ability. Google Drawings come complete with an invisible background that lets you create custom shapes that you can easily paste on your other marketing material. This offers you a chance to express your creativity with the diagrams you post. All you need to be able to access this tool is a personal Gmail account or corporate Google Apps access.
07. Type Genius
Sometimes you do not need that many visual effects, sometimes all you need is just the right combination of fonts to make the perfect presentation of your content. It allows you the best possible combination of fonts and even goes so far as to provide you with examples of how the fonts look when used in the suggested combination. That way you know which combination is best for you, turning the most mundane of elements into standout features.
08. Compfight
Yet another image resource, comp fight is designed to lead you to the best-looking highest quality images right at the top of the search results. The results it displays are not much different to those from your native search engine and so it may seem a superfluous tool to many. But content creators appreciate that people are vain and images are often most useful for their aesthetic value. So it is important that you are able to view gorgeous images first so that you spend less time searching for them. This tool does that and also generates codes for you to embed along with the image so that the owner of the image is duly credited. This is a great tool, especially useful when you are not in a position to create stunning images yourself.
Bonus Tools
If you are not content with the free tools and perhaps you are looking for features that are not available among the suggested options, here is an additional list of three tools that come at a small cost.
09. Visme.Co
This is an interactive multipurpose tool. It allows you to create infographics, animations, presentations, ad banners, customer layouts, among other products. This flexibility is also extended to the application whereby it allows you to edit text and publish without the need to implement extremely extensive changes. It allows for the direct insertion of data values for the alteration of charts and graphs.
I’ve been using Cloudways since January 2016 for this blog. I happily recommend Cloudways to my readers because I am a proud customer.
10. Canva
This website functions as an academy for non-designers and designers alike, teaching them all how to design features that are creative and cool. This is a unique tool because it invests in you instead of serving you for a specific task. This means that the skills you acquire are widely applicable. It is also priced reasonably, offering different pricing schemes to cater for a diverse customer base.
11. Adobe Photoshop
Photoshop is one of those tools that have managed to outshine latter day tools despite being quite an old school itself. It offers great utility in editing photographs to make sure that they have exactly the desired detail once they go up your site. It is reasonably priced and you can even get the trial version to test it out for the first month and then pay up once satisfied with its utility.
