What All Website Owners Need to Know About Image Licenses

Engage your site visitors and social media followers with illustrations. Illustrations are useful if you want to convey a feeling or something intangible. They are also trendy, so they can make your website look more modern. It's possible to find illustrations you can use for free if you pay attention to the license. Typical licenses you will see online include:

Public Domain

Illustrations in the public domain are free to use for any purpose without attribution. There is no license associated with the illustration.

Copyright Free Image License

It's a license allowing you to use the illustration for any purpose without attribution.

Creative Commons License

Most illustrations with creative commons licenses are free to use, however, they require you link back to the source to give them credit. Some creative common licenses do not allow for commercial use. Creative commons licenses have symbols with tell you what you can and cannot do with the illustration.

Royalty Free License

Royalty free does not mean the illustration is free. It means you buy it once and use the illustration as many times as you like.

Rights Managed License

Rights managed licenses are the most restrictive. When you buy the illustration, the seller restricts where and how often you can use it. It's good for web designers if they don't want to see competitors using the same illustrations on their websites.

When designing or redesigning your website pay careful attention to the licenses for the illustrations you use. If you accidentally use an illustration without attribution or paying for it, the most you may get is a letter from the creator requesting you take it down and it will leave you scrambling to replace it. You may also get a cease and desist letter from an attorney if you don't comply. You may be sued if you still do not comply. For more information click here https://i.redd.it/1hojfdv3mmh41.jpg.