Design Credit ON Website? 4141 Responses

Last post: 6 months, 1 week ago | Thread started: Nov 8, 12, 11:48 p.m.

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• newuser

  Is there a rule on this? Do designers actually ask clients if they can link themselves on their clients' site?

  It's nice if a friend thanks you on their portfolio website, but I've seen some bigger websites that say "site created by _______" at the bottom or something like that.

  Nov 8, 12, 11:48 p.m. – Permalink

• fadein11

  show it to the client in the design

  • < this– Amicus

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 12:02 a.m. – Permalink

• mantrakid

  It seems tacky. If they're paying u then that's that.

  • <<– instrmntl

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 12:18 a.m. – Permalink

• Amicus

  Writer's and photographers get credit all the time. Why not designers. Make it subtle and put it small in the footer.

  Also put it twice in every page of source code. Once at the top and again hidden with the code and comment it out.

  • < source code signatures are big time tacky– aaux1/2

    Helps you weed out the less intelligent rippers.– Amicus2/2

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 12:44 a.m. – Permalink

• cannonball1978

  contract

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 1:01 a.m. – Permalink

• Continuity

  Sometimes agencies also badge ATL work, especially posters and OOH (McCann does it in some places, this I know for sure).

  Doesn't hurt to ask.

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 1:06 a.m. – Permalink

• orrinward2

  I would never ask to do that unless it was a free project.

  Kind of like business cards - The free ones always have their URL on it somewhere.

  I've never done this, but I suppose in an FAQ or somewhere small on an about page could be ok?

  My expectation is to have rights to show the work on my portfolio and show it around, but never on their site.

  • nothing like business cards– fadein11

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 1:14 a.m. – Permalink

• Akiraprise

  I always put my credits on the footers of websites, it's good for SEO for our website and sometimes even brings work in for us.

  • exactly– fadein111/2

    Yes.
    – mikotondria32/2

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 1:24 a.m. – Permalink

• 23kon

  Show in the design concepts and development visuals. If they pick up on it and ask for it to be removed then do so.

  Keep it small and in a light grey or low contrast colour to the site so that it's not too offended and most clients will allow it.

  Bear in mind that a lot of work might come to you from this work. Someone's seen the site you created and thought "i'd like something like that .." then found your link at the bottom in the footer.

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 1:24 a.m. – Permalink

• animatedgif

  humans.txt
  http://humanstxt.org

  • kinda of cool– utopian

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 1:55 a.m. – Permalink

• fadein11

  I thought everyone put a credit on a site for SEO purposes.
  Huge advantages to putting web development by [your URL] on a lot of sites for SEO.
  Large brands wouldn't want an obvious credit on the homepage but small to medium jobs have never objected in my experience.

  • to = of– fadein111/2

    definitely has SEO advantages too– 23kon2/2

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 1:57 a.m. – Permalink

• mekk

  If you sponsor something to a non-profit or so then okay but everything else is very unprofessional in my opinion

  • also when it's in a colophon page?– stewart1/2

    you won't build a whole website for that or?– mekk2/2

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 2:03 a.m. – Permalink

• detritus

  Source code or no.

  • yup, maybe no source code– utopian1/2

    i too prefer my sites
    sans sourcecode– detritus2/2

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 3:22 a.m. – Permalink

• jacklalane

  I noticed someone put design credit on an old site I designed that I randomly checked back on years later. I guess they are maintaining it now but they haven't changed it at all. Scammers.

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 1:47 p.m. – Permalink

• mikotondria3

  Ever buy a car without a logo badge front and center ? Look down right now - look, who made your monitor ? We tolerate the 'intrusion' of design and manufacture credit on a million things. Not putting your design credit on a site, to my mind, is somewhat analgous to blurring or pixellating out a brand mark on a documentary - it almost implies a negative connection between the main client and whomever they've chosen to work with to get a web presence together. If they really don't think that it will enhance their brand at all, then of course, it'll never be a deal breaker, slip it in the code - but then, really, only other designers will see it. We need to take every opportunity to promote our industry and ourselves as visible value-adders and essential, high profile partners; a good firm brings so much more than a pretty design to a client relationship; strategy and brand creation and handling - you know how much extra thought and creativity and imagination you expend on some projects - you make visible and tangible what were previously just a loose set of concepts. You literally weave some clients' dreams out of golden thread in front of them and they love you for it.
  Sometimes :)

  • The difference being I see my services as a white-label product rather than a brand.– orrinward2

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 2:13 p.m. – Permalink

• gramme

  Our clients are contractually required to put a Metagramme credit in printed and interactive work, whether it's on the last page, in the footer, etc. Exceptions would be things like stationery where a design credit would actually hinder the design.

  • umm, no. maybe if this is a website constructed in 1999. also this would never be agreed upon by any corp. business.– lvl_131/7

    My clients have no problem with it.– gramme2/7

    But hey, if you're not into it then don't do it. I'll keep doing my thing.– gramme3/7

    Neither here nor there, but what large companies/firms have you done work for that allowed this?– lvl_134/7

    Sounds reasonable.– Glitterati_Duane5/7

    @lvl_13 - large sites nearly always have a credits page– fadein116/7

    Working on a very big website right now, as a matter of fact. Can't divulge until it's live, unfortunately.– gramme7/7

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 2:14 p.m. – Permalink

• ETM

  I do. I keep it minimally invasive. Small font, low contrast to background. It's visible, but clearly least important to the site's content (even within the footer) and still does it's job for SEO.

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 2:20 p.m. – Permalink

• albums

  Fuck you, pay me, AND give me credit seems excessive.

  I don't do it, but I do work for an outfit where their name always ends up in the footer, even though I design and code the site.

  Whatever.

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 2:24 p.m. – Permalink

• cannonball1978

  "Ever buy a car without a logo badge front and center ? Look down right now - look, who made your monitor ? We tolerate the 'intrusion' of design and manufacture credit on a million things. Not putting your design credit on a site, to my mind, is somewhat analgous to blurring or pixellating out a brand mark on a documentary - "

  @mikotondria3-

  Your analogy is incorrect. You are providing a service, not a product. Your service is helping to bring about the website... unless you are giving them a word press or something, which in that case you are the car dealer, not the car. Then you'd be putting the shitty dealership plates cover on the back, not the logo emblem.

  • A web site is both a product AND a service. Material goods analogies are flawed.– ETM1/5

    To call the creation of a site's code a service, yet calling another batch of code like WP a product makes little sense.– ETM2/5

    WP might be a tool, the site is still the final product, the development, the service.– ETM3/5

    Material goods are derivative of the service process that they client is paying for.
    – cannonball19784/5

    Don't most cars have a dealer sticker on them anyway?– Amicus5/5

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 2:36 p.m. – Permalink

• gramme

  Pay me, give me credit, yes. Fuck you? No. Never. If we serve our clients by leading them toward the most effective design solution possible (yes, real leadership is a form of service), then clients pay us promptly and gladly. I never have trouble getting paid with our current group of clients, because there's a mutual give and take of respect.

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 2:41 p.m. – Permalink

• albums

  I agree with cannonball.
  credit on a website is the dealer sticker on your car
  

  

  
  it was easy to find this image by googling "how to remove carmax sticker" first result even

  • I hate that. Considering asking for a deal on my next car for that reason.– Glitterati_Duane1/5

    Why should I advertise your shitty dealership for free– Glitterati_Duane2/5

    The sticker should be on the class, not the paintwork.– Amicus3/5

    *glass– Amicus4/5

    I refuse to sign the final papers until I see the car with the dealers sticker removed.– bmacneill5/5

  

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  Dog-earNov 9, 12, 2:43 p.m. – Permalink