How to Stop Your Images from Being Downloaded from Your WordPress Website
People love to download things. It would be a sad statement to say that people are getting less and less satisfied with what they get for free in the stream – or at least that what they get for free in the stream isn’t good enough for them any longer. The truth is that while we all benefit from the wonderful content that is free in the stream, there is also a darker side to this problem which can destroy your content marketing strategy. This article will tell you exactly how to stop your images from being downloaded and how you can recover your lost images so that you can continue promoting your products.
The Causes of Online Image Piracy
The primary cause of online image piracy is the ease of access to digital cameras and photo editing software. Anyone with a camera and some basic digital photography skills can take a picture of something and have it online in less than five minutes. It’s the same with photo editing software like Photoshop. While there are benefits to using these kinds of tools, there are also serious security risks which you need to be aware of. Anyone with a bit of technological know-how and a digital footprint can commit copyright infringement with relative ease. As a content marketer, this is a problem that you need to be aware of.
The Effects of Online Image Piracy
The effects of online image piracy are many and varied. In the simplest terms, online image piracy can cause financial losses to content creators and distributors. While you might not lose a huge amount of money, it’s still not something to ignore. Furthermore, not all cases of online image piracy are created equal. Some infringements are more damaging to your business than others. For example, suppose that you’re a freelance journalist who has been offered a story by a major news organization. You need to make sure that you attribute the source of the quote when you use it in your article. If you don’t, then you could be accused of committing plagiarism which is a very serious offense. It’s important to be mindful of these kinds of situations whenever you post new content to your blog to ensure that you’re always acting ethically.
How to Stop Your Images from Being Downloaded
Depending on the type of content that you have on your website, there are various ways in which you can stop your images from being downloaded. It’s important to note that while some of these solutions might be effective, they’re also likely to cause other issues which you need to be aware of. For example, if you’re using a service like Akismet which automatically deletes spam comments, then you need to make sure that you have sufficient storage space for all of your blog’s content. A quick way to find out how much storage space you need is to calculate how much blog post you have so far and how much content you will have in the future. The more content that you have, the more storage space that you will need. Luckily, you can also buy additional storage with the same hosting plan which you’re already paying for. This is why it’s important to analyze the pros and cons of each option before you decide which one to go for.
Obtaining Copyright Clearance
In most cases, online image piracy can be stopped simply by acquiring copyright clearances for your images. If you’re using a free image hosting service like Flickr, you will need to get a free copyright tag which is often called a ‘creative commons license’ from rights owners. You don’t have to do this for every image that you use but you should try to get them all before you continue posting new content to your blog. If you’re wondering where to get these licenses, there are resources online that you can use to find the answers to your questions. For example, the Creative Commons website contains a list of organizations which can help you to find the appropriate license for your content. Alternatively, you can call the Creative Commons hotline which will put you in touch with a lawyer who specializes in copyright law. He or she will be able to give you legal advice on acquiring the necessary permissions for your content.
Using Alternative Hosting Services
Another way of stopping your images from being downloaded is by switching to an all-you-need-hosting plan. You don’t always need a dedicated server to run a WordPress website. In fact, it’s quite common for individuals to run a personal blog or a small business website using just a standard web server. If you’re using WordPress and you’re getting tired of the limited storage space that your current web host provides, you could look into upgrading to a premium plan. This will not only give you more storage but it will also give you more bandwidth. If you’re really running out of storage space, you can always look into buying additional drives to store your content on – but only if your current web host allows you to do so.
Removing WordPress Posting and Commenting
As we’ve established, the ease of access to cameras and photo editing software makes it relatively easy for anyone to commit copyright infringement. If you want to stop this type of activity, then you can remove the ability to post content and comment on your blog. You will still be able to read the comments but anything that you post will be deleted. There are apps like Grammarly which can help you to proofread your content before you post it. You can also use software like Cleaner which will let you easily remove grammar errors and spelling mistakes. While this might not seem like a problem at first, keep in mind that if someone sees that you have this option enabled, they might think that you’re giving them a free pass to steal your content. You don’t want to do this. If you remove the ability to post content and engage with your audience, then you’re limiting the damage that could potentially be done by people who are looking to steal your content.
Monitoring Your Website’s Activity
If you really want to stop online image piracy, then you can use specialized software to monitor your website’s activity. This will give you a clear view of what’s going on without any filtering. For example, if you check the HTTP logs associated with your website, you will be able to see exactly what images are being downloaded along with the date and time. You can use tools like Sucuri to do this. Monitoring your website’s activity is one of the best ways of keeping track of online image piracy. It can help you to identify patterns of infringement and take remedial action where necessary.
Recovering Lost Images
If you’ve ever had content which you deemed to be important, you’ll know how awful it feels to lose it. Once you’ve been made aware of the issue, you’ll feel compelled to do everything in your power to get those images back. The best plan of action when it comes to this issue is to implement a data recovery process. This will involve taking your storage space back from the free image hosts that you no longer use and putting it all back into your own account. Once this is done, you can load the images back into your blog with no problems. It’s important to note here that while this might seem like a straightforward process, there are a number of pitfalls which you need to be wary of. For example, if you use a free image host and register your domain with GoDaddy, then you will need to contact them directly if you have any problems.
In most cases, online image piracy can be easily prevented simply by getting the appropriate copyright clearances for your images. If you’re worried about this issue, then there are resources available to help you. For example, the Creative Commons website contains a list of organizations which can help you to find the appropriate license for your content. Alternatively, you can call the Creative Commons hotline which will put you in touch with a lawyer who specializes in copyright law. He or she will be able to give you legal advice on acquiring the necessary permissions for your content.