Your website’s photos and graphics are part of what makes your website and marketing materials pop, and you’ve likely spent real time and money creating or sourcing them. However, once they’re live, anyone can right-click and save them for their own use.

The good news is that protecting your images doesn’t require any technical skill. This guide covers a few simple steps you can take to make image theft less appealing and easier to trace back to you.

A quick note before we dive in: I’m not a lawyer, so if you have specific questions about how you’re allowed to use an image, it’s worth checking with one.

What’s a Watermark?

Think of a watermark like the little signature an artist puts in the corner of a painting, or the embossed seal on an official letter. It’s a faint logo, name, or piece of text layered onto your photo so that wherever the image ends up, people can tell it’s yours.

Watermarks don’t make an image impossible to copy. What they do is make it obvious who the image belongs to, which discourages casual theft and helps you get credit when people do share your work, intentionally or not.

Identifying Watermark Images

In this video, I review what a watermark is and how to check your site for stock images with watermarks. You’ll definitely want to remove any watermarked images you find! Or, if you love the image, purchase it and replace the watermarked image.

If you’re sourcing “free” images anywhere online, use caution! A lot of “free” photos are only free for personal use, or are previews meant to be purchased. Always check the license before publishing something on a business site.

 

Watermarks on Stock Photos

If you’ve ever browsed a site like iStock, Shutterstock, or other paid photo sites, you’ve seen images with watermarks. Every preview image is covered in a repeating logo or text pattern. It lets you see what you’re buying without letting you just save the free version. Once you pay, you get a clean, watermark-free file to actually use.

Below is an example of a watermarked image that iStock.com shows publicly on its site. Once you buy the image, they’ll let you download it in higher quality without the watermark. (I purchased this particular image and used it to promote a live event in San Diego I did.)

Here’s an example of an image with watermarks, and below, the paid version without the watermarks:

Stock Photo with Watermark (Circles to enhance watermark)

Stock Photo with Watermark (Circles to enhance watermark)

Purchased Stock Photography without Watermark

Purchased Stock Photography without Watermark

 

Adding Watermarks to Your Own Images

You can add watermarks to your original images and graphics, or stock photography that you have altered. 

Here’s an example of an image I created in Canva and added my own watermark to so no one could copy it. Creating your own images is easy and much more affordable than hiring a graphic designer! I teach people how to create their own graphics and images in my Graphics Creation Workshop. 

Why Should You Use a Watermark?

There are a few benefits to using watermarks on your images.

1) Protects your intellectual property by preventing others from using your images without permission. Content thieves are much less likely to steal an image with another person’s branding on it to use on their own website. They know their credibility would tank if they did that. 

2) Helps promote your brand or business by increasing visibility and awareness. When people see your watermark on an image, they’ll be able to associate it with your brand or business. This can help build trust and credibility with your audience, and ultimately lead to more sales or clients.

3) Makes your images look more polished and professional. Overall, watermarks are a simple and effective way to protect your images and build your brand.

How to Watermark Your Images

This is the easiest win, and it’s something you can do yourself with no design background.

Tools that make this simple:

Canva: free, browser-based, and probably the easiest place to start if you’ve never designed anything before. You can build a logo or text watermark once and reuse it.

Photoshop: more powerful, but has a steeper learning curve and a subscription cost. Better suited if you’re already comfortable with design software.

Watermarkly: a tool built specifically for batch-watermarking. Instead of editing one photo at a time, you upload a whole folder, and it applies your watermark to all of them at once. Useful if you have dozens or hundreds of product or portfolio photos. It works in your browser, has a free version (which stamps “Protected with Watermarkly” on your images) and a paid version that removes that. There’s also a downloadable desktop version for very large batches.

Tips on Watermarking Your Images

1) Keep it subtle. A watermark should not dominate the photo.
2) Make it legible: Your business name or URL works better than something purely decorative.
3) Save your watermark as a template or preset so you’re not rebuilding it every single time.

Unfortunately, removing watermarks has gotten easier over the last couple of years. AI-powered tools now exist specifically to erase watermarks from photos. So, watermarking isn’t airtight protection, but it does make it more difficult and is a great, easy deterrent.

Disable Right Click: Another Way to Protect Your Images

Disabling right-click is another popular way to try to protect your images. However, it’s not a guarantee. Anyone who knows how to use their browser’s “Inspect” tool, take a screenshot, or view the page source can still grab your image in seconds.

Plus, it comes with a downside. Legitimate visitors sometimes get annoyed when they can’t right-click to open a link in a new tab or copy a phone number, which is a real cost to weigh against a fairly small security benefit.

If you still want to add this layer, here’s the current state of the two plugin options that are commonly recommended:

WordPress Plugins that Disable Right-Click

1) WP Content Copy Protection and No Right Click
By wp-buy

 

This popular plugin disables right-clicking, blocks common copy shortcuts like Ctrl+C and Ctrl+S, and can show an alert when someone tries to copy your content or images. You can choose to apply it sitewide, just on certain pages, or exclude logged-in admins so it doesn’t get in your way while you work. A free version covers the basics, while the Pro version adds real-time image watermarking and more advanced controls. Learn more here: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-content-copy-protector/

2) Disabled Source, Disabled Right-Click, and Content Protection 
By Jahid Hasan

This is a free plugin that blocks viewing page source, right-clicking, the F12 key, and saving pages with Ctrl+S on both desktop and mobile. You can also block specific IP addresses and choose whether comments are allowed on your posts. Like any right-click blocker, it’s a deterrent, not a guarantee. Learn more here: https://wordpress.org/plugins/disabled-source-disabled-right-click-and-content-protection/

Final Thoughts…

High-quality images are an important part of your website and marketing materials. Eye-catching graphics engage your audience. Images provide a visual story of you, your business, and how you can help them.

A watermark is a simple and effective way to keep others from stealing your images. Consider adding a simple watermark to your original images and graphics. This will help protect your intellectual property and promote your brand or business.

Tools like Canva and iPiccy make it easy to edit photos to add your unique watermark. If you’re interested in learning more about how to create your own images with watermarks, join my Graphics Creation Workshop. You’ll get instant access to the training and live coaching webinars!

[Originally published Dec. 2015, Updated June 2026]

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