Member Avatar for eddie-jdp

Hi all,

I'm trying to start an IT services business (starting off by offering website design and development services).

How does using web templates and stock photo images work?

Ideally, I'd like to be able to simply put the following in the footer of the sites I develop.

Copyright © 2007 <My Client's Company>. All Rights Reserved.

Does this mean that I can't use any web templates or stock images to build the site?

Are there any template sites and/or stock photo sites that you know of that won't have a problem with a simple copyright notice like the one above... or do they generally require you to disclaim copyright ownership of any templates and photos used?

What are your thoughts on this matter?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Best wishes

Eddie

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by plgriffith

Dani AI

Generated

Short answer: you can use templates and stock photos, but only within the terms of their licenses — and a footer like

Copyright © 2007 <Client>. All rights reserved.

is fine for the site as a whole, provided you do not falsely claim ownership of third‑party assets you only licensed.

A few practical points that expand on what and hinted at and what suggested about free images:

  • License types matter. “Royalty‑free” generally means you pay once for permitted uses, not that there are no limits. Other common cases: rights‑managed (restricted uses/periods), public‑domain/CC0 (very permissive), Creative Commons variants (some forbid commercial use or require attribution), and “editorial only” images (cannot be used for ads). Fonts, icons and template source files often carry separate licenses.
  • Check two things for every asset: (1) is commercial use allowed, and (2) can the license be transferred or assigned to your client or does it require a separate purchase per end product. Also look for attribution requirements, model/property releases for people/property, and any “no resale” or redistribution clauses.
  • Workflow to reduce risk: decide assets before starting; download and save each asset’s license text and receipt; buy the correct (single‑use, developer/multi‑use, or extended) license if needed; include a credits/third‑party‑licenses file in the deliverables; and add a short contract clause saying custom work is transferred but third‑party assets remain licensed from their owners.

Cautions: don’t remove required credit lines, don’t embed licensed fonts without the proper webfont license, and don’t promise exclusive ownership of a template or stock image unless you bought an exclusive or created a replacement. If a client needs full ownership/ability to resell or relicense everything, budget for custom assets or extended/exclusive licenses and consider legal review for high‑risk commercial projects.

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Member Avatar for esprimo88

Hi eddie ..
if you need totally free photos .. try to use this site:
At this site are more than 700 free pictures .. all are free for commercial and noncommercial use ..

Have a nice day :)

Member Avatar for JRSofty

Most of the sites where you find these types of items have their licensing explained. I'm not sure but I think it varies from site to site so you have to check them out carefully.

Member Avatar for plgriffith

You need to get "royalty free" templates and images. These are sometimes not free, but they allow you to use them without disclaimers.

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