How do I mark a website with a Creative Commons licence?
Mark every component on the page, not just the site footer. A single footer covers your original work. It fails the moment a page pulls in a photograph, a chart, an embedded video or anything you did not create. The 4.0 legal code requires the license notice to identify the work and its creator, name and link the exact license and version, link the source where useful, and clearly exclude material not covered. Third-party work you do not own cannot carry your license. Build a per-page attribution table. List each component, its creator, its source URL and its exact license. Do it now, before the page ships.
The Footer Notice That Covers The Whole Site
Place a notice in your site footer that states the site-level license. The Creative Commons chooser at creativecommons.org generates this text. For a site using CC BY 4.0, the notice reads: "This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by [your name or entity]." Replace the text with the correct license condition and version. Link the license name to the official deed at creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Include a link to your source repository or the site homepage.
This footer covers your original text, photography, illustrations and code (non-software code only; software code needs a recognised open-source license). It does not cover anything you embed that you did not create. A footer alone is the minimum. For a site with mixed work, it is also the most common place where a marking workflow breaks.
Page-Specific Exclusions And The Attribution Table
One footer for the whole site cannot carry exclusions for individual pages. A single page that embeds a YouTube video, a Flickr photo and a chart from a third party needs a per-page attribution table. Place this table near the items it describes, above the footer or in a sidebar. The table lists each component as a separate row: creator, source URL, exact license and version, and any modification notice. If a component is used under fair use or another exception rather than a Creative Commons license, the table states that instead.
What Goes Into The Table
For each item the site does not own, record the creator name as supplied, the URL of the original source page, the exact license deed URL (for example, creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), the date you downloaded or embedded the item, and any changes you made. Under 4.0, you must also indicate modifications and retain any earlier modification notices from upstream reusers.
When The Table Is Not Enough
If the page contains work with a NoDerivatives condition, you may not share an adapted version of that work. Whether cropping, excerpting or combining creates an adaptation is a question of applicable copyright law. The license does not define a universal boundary. When in doubt, do not modify the item. Link directly to the original source.
| Component | Creator | Source URL | Licence | Modification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead photograph | Maria Schmidt | flickr.com/photos/mschmidt/1234 | CC BY 2.0 | cropped for layout |
| Chart from World Bank data | World Bank | data.worldbank.org/indicator/xyz | CC BY 4.0 | none |
| Embedded YouTube video | James Lee | youtube.com/watch?v=abc | CC BY 3.0 | none |
| Original text of this article | Your name | your site URL | CC BY-SA 4.0 | none |
Third-Party Work: What You Cannot License
You cannot apply a Creative Commons license to work you do not own. If a page includes a photograph from a stock agency, a quote from a book still under copyright, or a user comment, your site-level footer does not grant permission for that item. The license notice must clearly exclude such components. The safest method is a separate statement on each page: "The text of this page is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Embedded images and videos retain their own licenses as listed in the attribution table below."
Embedded Items From Platforms
YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo and other platforms let creators choose a Creative Commons license for their uploads. The platform interface changes. Do not assume a video marked CC on YouTube is still CC when you embed it. Before embedding, open the source page, record the exact license and version, and take a screenshot or note the date. If the platform does not display the license on the watch page, do not embed the item under a CC claim. The same applies to music embedded from SoundCloud or art from DeviantArt.
User-Generated Contributions And Comments
Comments left by visitors on your site are not your copyright. You cannot license them. If your site uses a CC license for the underlying text, add a note: "User comments remain the property of their authors and are not covered by this site's license." This prevents confusion and limits your exposure if a comment contains third-party work.
Common Questions
Can I use a single footer notice for all pages if my site has no third-party content?
Yes. If every element on every page is your original work and you hold all copyright, a single footer notice naming the license and linking to the deed is sufficient. Still include the source URL and creator name as the 4.0 legal code requires.
What if I use a different license for different pages?
Each page needs its own notice. Place the license statement in the page header or footer, or as a machine-readable tag in the HTML head. Do not rely on a site-wide footer to communicate page-specific license choices.
Do I need to register my work with Creative Commons to use a license?
No. Creative Commons does not register works or verify ownership. You apply the license by marking the work with the notice and linking to the deed. Registration is not part of the process.
How do I mark a page that uses CC0 or the Public Domain Mark?
CC0 is a public-domain dedication, not a license. Mark the work with a statement like "This work is dedicated to the public domain using CC0 1.0" and link to creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/. The Public Domain Mark is for work believed to be free of known copyright restrictions worldwide. Neither tool guarantees that all rights are waived, and credit is not a legal condition under CC0.
What happens if I change the license after publishing?
You cannot withdraw the license from people who already received the work while complying with its terms. If you change the license for future visitors, state the change date and the previous license. The legal code does not require you to maintain a change log, but doing so is good practice.
Does the license cover embedded widgets or iframes?
No. The license covers the work you create and control. An embedded widget from a third party retains its own terms. Your license notice should explicitly exclude embedded third-party items unless you have verified that they are also CC-licensed and you have permission to include them.
What if I want to use a NoDerivatives license on a page that includes a chart I modified?
If the chart is your original work, you can license it under ND. If the chart is based on someone else's CC-licensed work and you modified it, the ND condition blocks you from sharing the adapted chart under an ND license because sharing adaptations is not permitted. Use CC BY or CC BY-SA instead, or do not modify the original.