Photos are important. They are our memories. Thanks to digital cameras, phones and tablets that take pictures, and all of the social media sites that thrive on photos, it is no wonder that cloud image hosting sites are so popular and important today. A number of these types of companies are available, with some having only cropped up in the past couple of years. Whenever someone is looking for a place to store photos, it is important to do a little research to weed out the companies that are too new and too untested. Let’s look at the best cloud image hosting services available, so you can be sure you are choosing a good option.
Shutterfly
Shutterfly is one of the largest and most popular cloud image hosting services available, and they allow users to upload as many images as they want free of charge. It also allows users to organize their photos, edit them, and share albums with others. They also have affordable printing services for those who want printed copies of their photos. While Shutterfly is entirely free, it is important to remember that they only accept JPEG files, at least currently.
Photobucket
Photobucket is home to nearly 10 billion hosted images. They have unlimited photo and video storage, although they do have limits to the file size, offing a 5MB limit for photos. They also have photo-editing tools available, and make it easy to share the photos with social media sites. Photobucket has a pro version for $24.95 a year. This increases the file upload size from 5MB for the free version to 20MB.
Snapfish
Snapfish is very easy to use, and they happen to offer unlimited photo storage. The simplicity of the site’s interface and tools help to make this a very good choice for those who are not necessarily technologically proficient. Photo editing tools and social features are naturally a big part of the service, just as they are with these other top choices.
Flickr
Perhaps the best choice for those who are looking for a simple to use site that offers plenty of features for cloud image hosting, They have a free standard service with unlimited uploads, and a pro version that’s $24.95 a year, which increase the file size to 50MB from 30MB. The pro version also offers unlimited bandwidth and full resolution images.
For Business and Personal Use
It is possible to use all of the above sites for both business and personal use, and that’s just what many people do. With unlimited storage through these cloud image hosting companies, it allows people to place all of their photos in a single place and to keep them safe and secure. The above companies were chosen as being the best for their ease of use, low cost, and number of options, as well as the reputation of the company. While these are certainly not the only options people have for hosting their photos and other images online, they are among the best.
Do You Need Offline Storage?
Even though you may have a great site for cloud image hosting, it is important to consider keeping backups of some of your most important and treasured photos. This ensures that if there were ever a gaffe at the hosting company, you would still have those precious memories.