Triune Designs Blog: Web Design, Development, & Marketing

Please, Do Not Hotlink

May 25th, 2009 by Leo Wurschmidt

Hotlinking (or inline linking) is defined as

the use of a linked object, often an image, from one site into a web page belonging to a second site. The second site is said to have an inline link to the site where the object is located.

Cite: What is hotlinking?

Reasons Why You Should Not Hotlink

  • The website owner hosting the original image can change the image to anything they want and (aside from deleting it) you have no control over the image. What could happen is the person actually hosting the image changes that “awesome Twitter icon” you hotlinked to and it has now become offensive material.
  • You run the risk of exposing your users to possible phishing attacks or cross-site scripting. Again, hotlinking leaves you and your users vulnerable to the image owner’s mercy.
  • You are stealing the other person’s bandwidth. Each time the page with the inline-linked image is viewed, the image is pulled from the other person’s server and not yours. Therefore, you are using their resources for that image instead of of your own. It is the same as running an extension cord from my house to yours so you can use some of my electricity to power your house.

Here is my suggestion for using someone’s image the right way.

  1. Make sure the picture can be used on your website.
  2. If you may use their image, copy the photo and add/upload it to your own web host/server
  3. Give credit where it is due and provide attribution.

This way, it is a win-win situation. You get to use an awesome photograph or image and use your own resources to show it. They get proper credit and link-juice to their own website.

Happy blogging!!

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4 Responses to “Please, Do Not Hotlink”

  1. David Says:
    May 27th, 2009 at 11:47

    Thanks for this informative post Leo. In principle I knew all this information, but have violated these best-practices several times (mostly out of laziness). Your points are good reminders and protocol that I will be more judicious in following going forward.

    Question: Would you say that the same procedure should be followed for someone with images on a photo-sharing site like Flickr – even when their image is attributed under Creative Commons? (I think I know the answer but felt compelled to ask).

  2. Leo Wurschmidt Says:
    May 27th, 2009 at 12:33

    As far as Flickr is concerned, I think you are allowed to hotlink. I believe it is probably a little safer than inline linking from someone's standalone website. I also think that it is pretty common practice.

    When you hotlink to Flickr, they just want a link back to their website.

    Here is one of their community guidelines:
    "The Flickr service makes it possible to post content hosted on Flickr to outside web sites. However, pages on other web sites that display content hosted on flickr.com must provide a link from each photo or video back to its page on Flickr."
    (http://www.flickr.com/guidelines.gne)

    I hope that helps.

  3. David Says:
    May 27th, 2009 at 17:27

    Perfect! I do Flickr linking more now than any other. I'll never do "hotlinking" again!

  4. Leo Wurschmidt Says:
    May 27th, 2009 at 18:00

    Haha, awesome!

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