Linking to an image automatically puts it on my website
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Hello. I’m tryint to make a hyperlink to an image that is trored in another location. But when I publish the page – the link gets automatically change to refer to an image in my media folder, and the original is downloaded and stored there.
I don’t want that.
I want my link to actually open another website which contains the image.
How do I do that? -
Hi there, If you try to hotlink an image (Add Via URL) from another website, WPcom will automatically upload that image to your site’s media library.
If you are trying to link to another website, use the page address where the image appears and not the image URL itself.
So, https://en.support.wordpress.com/links/#adding-links-to-images
and not
https://en-support.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/adding-links-to-images.png (or .jpg or .jpeg, etc.)
Let us know if you meant something else or need more help.
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I meant exactly that.
Can I make it to NOT automatically upload stuff? Because frankly, this makes zero sense. -
The thing is that the page that contains the image has a crap-ton of text with that image. Which I do not necessarily want to display.
I should be able to hotlink images from other parts of the internet without storing them, no?
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Can I make it to NOT automatically upload stuff?
It depends on how you insert that image. Image Embeds don’t upload any image in the embed to your site. However, if you use the actual image URL (via Add Via URL), it will. The reasoning behind this is twofold:
1. your site speed will depend on how quickly that hotlinked image loads from the other website’s server. If that site is down, their image won’t load. That can hurt you in search returns. Having the image served from your site removes that issue.
2. when you hotlink an image from someone else’s site, you are giving them control over what appears on your site. Imagine for a minute that I find in my site stats that you are hotlinking an image from me and it costs me money and/or bandwidth at my current hosting provider. If I change that image out to something offensive, that is what your site visitors will see. (Back in the 90’s this was most website owners’ favorite retaliation for stealing bandwidth.) Obviously serving the original image from your own site eliminates this problem.In the end all and be all, if that other website owns the copyright/IP to the image you want to use on your site, the best thing you can do is write them and ask their permission to use the image on your site.
Barring that, there are hundreds of free images available for use on your website; WPcom has a free image library via Pexel in your site’s Media Library (which will also add the chosen image to your Media Library), Unsplash is another resource (also an upload), as well as Getty Image Embeds (doesn’t upload). Have a look at our guide https://en.support.wordpress.com/add-media/finding-free-images-and-other-media/ to find more resources.
Probably not the answer you wanted, but I hope that helped.
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Also mentioning that if your WPcom site deals with mature content, as outlined in our support document at https://en.support.wordpress.com/mature-content/ please mark your site as mature if you haven’t already done so. Thanks.
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I did report it as such even before posting the first post.
I still don’t want to keep the images though. I’m well aware about security and such. The thing is, I actually WANT to link to the artist’s website and credit them, when referring to those images.
The work was done a part of collab between me and him. -
Thanks for doing that first. :)
If this is a collaboration, could you upload a smaller image to your site, if size is an issue, and then insert and link it to the other site?
All free WPcom sites have 3GB of free storage which should take a very long time to reach if you are resizing and optimizing your images before uploading them to your site.
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Or is that fine to have them as long as they are presented in form of links and the content i clearly communicated?
They are drawings, but are explicit -
Hello again, if you’ve read our guideline https://en.support.wordpress.com/mature-content/ as to what mature content is allowed and what isn’t allowed and your website complies with that, then you shouldn’t have an issue.
Just to recap what isn’t allowed because posting that will get your site suspended:
However, there are limitations to the mature content permitted on our service. Please don’t:
- Post visual depictions of sexually explicit acts (such as, but not limited to, images, videos, and drawings) that can be considered pornographic;
- Post links or ads to adult-oriented affiliate networks, such as pornography site signups;
- Post links, text, or images promoting or advertising escort or erotic services;
- Post images of extreme violence or gore. Exceptions may include posts which relate to world events, and which have associated context or commentary;
- Post images of child pornography;
- Post content that promotes pedophilia, such as sites with galleries of images of children where the images, content surrounding the images, or the intent of the blog is sexually suggestive.
If you still have questions about this, please add the MODLOOK tag to the Tags section in the forum thread sidebar for Staff input. Thanks.
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