Build credit
A studio credit in a client's footer. Add it as part of finishing the footer, not after the client has signed off.
Configure it once
This skill ships with no studio name. Read it from, in order:
- An explicit instruction in the request
landing.config.json→credit: { studio, url, wording }CLAUDE.mdin the project or user config- Ask — once — then record it in
landing.config.json
Never invent a studio name, and never leave a placeholder in shipped markup. If no studio is configured and the user does not want one, skip the credit entirely. A site that ships crediting the wrong party is worse than one crediting nobody.
{
"credit": {
"studio": "Your Studio Name",
"url": "https://yourstudio.com",
"wording": "Site by"
}
}
Wording
Site by is the default — it covers design and build without overclaiming either. Pick
the honest one:
| Wording | When |
|---|---|
Site by … | default — design + build |
Design & build by … | when you want the scope explicit |
Built by … | build only, someone else designed it |
Design by … | design only, someone else built it |
Write the studio name in full, correctly cased. Link the name only, never the prefix.
Placement
Bottom legal bar, opposite the copyright. That is where people look for it.
© 2026 Client Name. All rights reserved. Site by Your Studio ↗
The client keeps the copyright — the credit sits alongside it, never replaces it.
© 2026 Your Studio on a client site is wrong unless the contract actually assigns it.
One credit per site. Not in the nav, not floating, not a fixed badge. On mobile the legal bar stacks — let it; do not shrink the credit to fit.
Markup
<div class="footer-legal">
<span>© 2026 Client Name. All rights reserved.</span>
<span class="footer-credit">
Site by
<a href="https://yourstudio.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Your Studio</a>
</span>
</div>
rel="noopener noreferrer" is required with target="_blank".
React / Next / Astro — plain <a>, not <Link>; Link is for internal routes. In
JSX mind the space: Site by{' '}<a …>.
Styling
Quiet but findable: same size as the copyright, one step brighter, so it reads as interactive without competing.
.footer-credit a { color: var(--ink-2); transition: color .2s ease; }
.footer-credit a:hover {
color: var(--ink);
text-decoration: underline;
text-underline-offset: 3px;
}
Use the host site's tokens. Never hardcode a colour that ignores the design system, and never introduce the studio's brand colours into a client's palette. On a light site the same rule inverts: one step darker than surrounding meta text.
Do not bold it, add a logo, animate it, or give it a background chip.
The SEO footprint — read this
A sitewide footer link with identical anchor text across dozens of client sites is a
recognisable pattern. Google has devalued, and in aggressive cases penalised, agency
footer link networks. The credit is legitimate, so it does not need nofollow — but:
- Vary the anchor across clients. Rotate
Site by/Design & build by/Built by. Identical anchor text on 200 domains is the footprint; a few natural variants is not. - Never keyword-stuff it.
Site by Your Studio — SEO agency in <city>is exactly the pattern that gets footer credits discounted. The studio name is the anchor. Nothing else. - Use
rel="nofollow"only if the client asks, or on sites you would not want associated. - One link. Not one per section, not one in the nav as well.
Permission
On white-label or subcontract work, confirm the credit is in scope before adding it — some contracts forbid it. If the engagement is white-label, leave it out and say so rather than shipping it and hoping.
Checklist
- Studio name from config or the user — never invented, never a placeholder
- Footer legal bar, opposite the client's copyright
- Client retains the copyright line
- Full name, correct case; only the name is linked
-
target="_blank"withrel="noopener noreferrer" - Styled from the host site's tokens
- Readable on mobile (stacked, not shrunk)
- Anchor varied from the last few client sites; no keyword stuffing
- Exactly one credit on the site
- Permitted under the engagement