How to embed a Creative Commons License in a WordPress Post or Page

One of the key things a blogger should have on their page is a license that declares your willingness to credit others for their work and expect the same in return. With Creative Commons (CC) you are able to license your own writing, photos and videos for free. It also tells others that they can use or mix your work but need to credit the source they used it from.

There are multiple different Creative Commons Licensing, however, so doing a little research is necessary before adding it to your blog. You also do not need to make an account before using CC and can get started right away! Below, is a step-by-step tutorial on how to find the Creative Commons Licensing and how to embed it onto Wordpress.

Step 1: Look at the different Creative Commons Licenses offered to further understand what you will be getting out of the license.

Step 2: Head to the Creative Commons Licensing Page to actually begin making the license.

Step 3: Answer the two questions under Licensing Features. One of which asks, “Allow adaptions of your work to be shared?”. The other question asks, “Allow commercial uses of your work?”.

If you need further information about what the question is asking, you can click the “question mark” button on the CC screen page, which lays out what saying “yes” or “no” means for you. Remember, there are no right answers to these questions. This is your personal preference how you want your content spread.

Step 4: As you change your preferences to these questions, the next box will automatically change. Under “Selected License”, you can find the Creative Commons License you have been given based on your preferences. Though you don’t actually need to do anything, it may be beneficial to remember the exact license you have and potentially go back and read the full description.

Step 5: Scroll to the bottom of the page and copy the code under the “Have a Web page?” tab.

Step 6: Go to WordPress and add it in one of your previously made widgets or create a new one. To make a new widget, go to your dashboard, then hover over appearances and there should be a tab called widgets. You can then choose the widget you would like and click “Add Widget”.

Step 7: Create a new title for your License such as simply “Creative Commons License” or the specific license type you chose. In the subtext bar, paste the code you had from Step 5.

Step 8: Click Save and voila! Your new license will be posted at the bottom of all of your past and future blog pages/posts.