Site Credit Information - What’s your take?

Posted by Steve Rose on October 2nd, 2006.

A web designer/builder, working in Atlanta, GA.

Steve Rose has posted 2 articles.

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I’ve noticed that some web companies include a site-credit notice in the sites they build, usually in the page footers, and I’ve been trying to decide what I think about this practice. As a builder of websites I, of course, want to get recognition for my work and also acquire additional links to my own website. After all, this would be good for my business.

Situations

There are various situations in which I think it makes sense to do this. I have no problem with artists signing their artwork. It seems to be customary and it’s easily conceivable that the name of the original artist could be lost if a piece were not signed. As for an artist who is commissioned to do a specific piece, maybe the artist is famous enough that showing off his or her signature is valuable.

I also think it makes sense for a web builder to get credit for any site that is built pro bono; it would be part of the compensation.

However, when a person is employed (paid) to do some work, I wonder about the practice of leaving their name on the work in public view. I think there are many professions where this would be unseemly; architecture, landscaping, interior design, advertising.

Who does it serve?

In the practice of design, all elements (graphics and content) are supposed to support the goals of the site ownership or the site users. Any element that does not support these goals should be removed, right? If the site credit serves the goals of the site owners, by providing compensation to the builder, then I see no problem.

I imagine that only a very small percentage of site users, if any, would be served by seeing the name of the site builder. Any user who even wondered who had built a website would probably be able to find out by contacting the site owners and asking.

Alternatives

An alternative to displaying the site credit would be to leave information in the meta tags. Interested and savvy users might think to look there for it. Of course, that would not create a link to the web builder’s website.

What do you think? Let me know what your thoughts are.

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( 18 so far )

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I always ask the client if I can add a signature. I add it right at the bottom, in text that is not very tonally different from the background colour. I add it solely for the purpose of search engines … there is a good chance that the site I’ve just finished will be higher traffic than my own site. There’s also a chance that they will, eventually, have a higher PR than mine - which is currently 5.

So, it’s all about the SEO … I tend to link the words ‘web development’ to my website, or ‘website design’ to get extra benefit that way too.

It’s only about the SE recognition for me - hardly any ‘person’ follows that link to my site, but the number of incoming links to my site is increased.

David Horn
October 2nd, 2006
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I totally agree with David - I also do the same for SEO purposes. Of course, I always ask the client first and usually place the link surreptitiously at the bottom of the design. My clients are happy on the whole for me to do this, and it’s a good way to drive traffic to my site.

Dan Biggins
October 2nd, 2006
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on pro bono i leave a link but on paid sites I leave a link at the bottom of the page but I only make it visible when you hover over the link, that way its not immediatly visible. I also leave comments in the XHTML and CSS

Han
October 2nd, 2006
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Its not like an architect signs their work, or a cad designer signs their renderings…

Chris
October 2nd, 2006
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Its not like an architect signs their work, or a cad designer signs their renderings…

Are you saying that technical professions shouldn;t sign their work there Chris or just coming up with examples?

Andrew Faulkner
October 2nd, 2006
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I normally ask the client as well, and I would do it on every single site that I’ve done if possible. I don’t think it’s a bad idea, ever, especially if it’s at the bottom of the site in the footer, and not in the way of the clients content.

If I’m a client and just had good work done for me, I’d like to let people know who did that work. Plus, it’s more advertising for them if I have their site in my portfolio.

J Phill
October 2nd, 2006
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I believe it was well said that you have no problem with an artist signing their work, because that is virtually what it is. A small inconspicuous link in the footer does not distract anyone, just helps those that are interested to find out more information without having to look at the page source.

My problem with listing information in the meta tags is that in most cases I don’t care if other developers know I did the site. I put our company name on it so that casual users in the market for a new site can easily find us. Anyone that knows to check meta tags is not my typical customer.

Lastly, many of my clients are NEW site builds. By linking their site directly to our company, they will be indexed by Google and other search enginges within a couple weeks. That is also something important to consider.

Nick
October 3rd, 2006
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Ok guys and girls. Would you be offended if a client asked you to remove/ommit the link?

Andrew Faulkner
October 3rd, 2006
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I might be offended if a client asked to remove it, but it should be up to them to have that option. It is their site. What if they don’t especially like the work you did. It should be up to them if you get recognition or not.

In most cases, I believe clients don’t mind as long as it is out of the the way and doesn’t scream “LOOK AT ME!”

Brian Z
October 3rd, 2006
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I have recently considered it a little shoddy to put my name on a non-art piece I’ve feel that way as it has the possibility from detracting from the branding of the client’s site. I have come to the conclusion that it’s up to us to let people know what work we’ve done - not put a (tiny) billboard on the client’s property. I do agree with Han however on pro-bono sites - it seems a little more symbiotic in cases such as those.

I personally try to add credits to code when possible. If I am using someone else’s code to get paid, the least I can do is add a commented line of code letting people know where it came from.

P.J. Onori
October 3rd, 2006
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Nick, I’m confused by your comment. I usually include links in my own site to my client’s sites, and I think that helps them. I’m not sure if it helps their search engine indexing for them to link to me.

Steve
October 5th, 2006
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I think it’s selfish of us to grafitti our clients’ sites with links back to ourselves. You’re creating a solution for someone and their company and their clients. Keep it professional and keep your name off the site. If you did quality work, it’ll come back to you in referral work, etc.

Jonathan Snook
October 7th, 2006
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I think it’s selfish of us to grafitti our clients’ sites with links back to ourselves.

There are other options: some websites add a thank you notice in the about page saying who designed/developed the website.

Johan
October 7th, 2006
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Another perspective - the credit information can help a visitor who is looking for the designer’s information and wants to contact, either for possible work or for appreciation.

Abhijit Nadgouda
October 8th, 2006
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I know it’s a bit late in the game to comment on this topic, but the thought process my business partner and I use is this: if we have a high-profile client, we typically don’t include any kind of reference to ourselves. Smaller clients, however, such as individuals, art galleries, home businesses, etc., are the ones with whom we’ll ask permission to post a link. We’ve never encountered a situation where a client has asked us to remove a link, and typically they’re more than happy with us providing a discrete, unobtrusive note. We prefer to use a simple text link at the bottom of the page.

Michael Zavarello
November 5th, 2006
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Thats a good point Michael - I think you’ve got that spot on…

Matt Davies
November 6th, 2006
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Luogo interessante, buon disegno, lo gradisco, signore! =)

firewall
December 20th, 2006
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September 7th, 2008
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