iPad and downloading photos

Hi I’m looking to purchase an iPad but I wanted to know...

if a photographer sends a link to download pictures can these be downloaded to an iPad and saved?

I saw on amazon that there is a thumb drive for iPhones/iPads. Do these work? Because I would also like to save them to a thumb drive. This is my main reason for an iPad purchase. I can’t afford a computer right now. My old Mac is too outdated to download anything.

Thanks!