Giving credit on the web where it’s due

October 21, 2008

I’m currently working on a site that I’m very excited about for a number of reasons. I have been teamed up with some great and talented people. The client respects our work. And this site utilizes my SEO writing ability to the max. It’s a chance for me to show my stuff.

So, in a brief moment of selfishness, I asked the web developer if we could add a writing credit to the bottom. I was told that the only credit added is “Website designed by…”

Is this fair? Not to take away from designers and developers, but web writers put a lot of sweat equity into their projects too. Isn’t it possible that someone reading a particularly good site would want to know who wrote it, and how they can get in touch with that person?

I just did a quick search for “website credits” and found that there are actually sites that give credit to the whole team with a website credits link at the bottom of the page.  I also checked my own site, and discovered that my web developer, Christine Rondeau at Bluelime Media didn’t even add her credit!

I think Christine should take credit for her work, as well as Barbara Bruener of Blue Citrus, who designed the site. And while we’re at it….I think I will add my name to the list.

Copywriting, SEO, Writing

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5 comments:

  1. Louise, you are absolutely right! If the web developer is allowed to get the credit, why not the writer? By the way, it’s not selfish of you to request a credit, but it IS selfish if the web developer limits the people credited to his/her own company.

  2. I often think about this. A website credits link is a great idea as then you can acknowledge everyone involved in the process – even the Internet marketers.

  4. I don’t add credits to my site as a rule, but if you’re going to have credit for one contributor I don’t see why the others should be left out.

    One cautionary note on having your credit there is that web sites (hopefully!) change over time. You might be proud of the launch copy but not what it evolves to over time, if it’s done without your expert guidance 🙂

  5. Excellent point Tzaddi. It’s true that as active sites evolve, certain members of the team may not be part of the evolution.

    I often check up on sites that I’ve worked on in the distant past to see if they’re still around. More often than not, they are, and not one thing has changed!

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