I’ve watermarked many images on my blog. I don’t like to watermark them because the watermarks really destroy the images. That, and also the images are under Creative Commons License (well, I’ll create a link to that exact license soon). I believe images and such should be available to all for modification and whatnot. So why would I watermark my blog images?
A hotlink is not a term used for a link that’s hot. Hotlinking means ‘image leeching’. For example, if I were to provide my images for all to use some people will not download the image and then upload it to their website. They will simply use the image link on my site, e.g. ‘sabrinasabino.com/images/image.jpg’ and embed it on their website using the code:
<img src="http://www.sabrinasabino.com/images/image.jpg">
Most will do it because it’s easier. Others will do it to avoid using storage space on their website.
But here’s how leaching my images it affects me:
Most webhosts offer limited bandwidth allowance. When a visitor enters a site and all the images and the website is displayed, this uses up some of the bandwidth. The more visitor a site has, the more bandwidth is used. When someone embeds images from your website onto theirs they are literally stealing your bandwidth, every time the image is loaded on their site. So if I am paying for 1GB bandwidth every month and many of my images are being used on other people’s websites then they will be taking up a large percentage of this bandwidth. This will require me to pay for a larger hosting plan to support the bandwidth usage.
There are ways to prevent hotlinking, and there are also many reasons for someone to do so. However, in my case I allow anyone to use the images but I’m not okay with hotlinking. For this reason, I keep the watermark on. That way, if they want to embed it on their site, the least they could do is show their visitors that the image actually comes from my site (call it a bit of advertising because that’s what it is).
As much as possible, try to avoid hotlinking. If it’s an image hosting site, then ensure that the image you want to use allows its use. If it’s got a strict copyright, just look for another image or use one that is yours.
For now, I’m too busy to work on economizing bandwidth so I’m trying to avoid using too much of it. But in the future I’ll select a plan that benefits me and my visitors. I want to offer free images for all to use as they please, including MRR. But I’ll probably start working on that in 2012.
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WYSIWYG! I'm a simple person trying to live the simplest life possible - it seems to be the most difficult thing to achieve! I'm an internet enthusiast and I've been a webmaster since early 2007. I like: blogging, developing sites using open source software, social media, computer games, '80s music, comedy & horror, animals, crunching on M&Ms peanut and Smarties!
