Forum Moderators: phranque
I tried posting this in another section and didnt get a bite.
Some might be strong some might not be
The biggest issue is the risk of the image being renamed, moved or deleted which will break the link.
We started to code our new shopping carts and the clients wants to use images on another server so every image for the shopping cart will be on another domain.
Might be a good time to educate the client and remind them why they hired you - the professional.
If the manufacturer has quality images (And it is pathetic how many do not - and provide pitiful support to customers - basic, minimal, promotional stuff.), then fine to use them, but hotlinking is just stupid. I want control over what I am serving.
The manufacturer might not like/allow that anyway. I wouldn't. Mostly I am retail, but those sites where I supply, we provide access to zipped directories or password protected access to promotional material links - images in multiples sizes and formats, and so forth. If a large number of high-res images are needed for print work, we send a CD with more than anyone would ever need. CMYK.tifs - whatever.
piatkow asks two good questions. I would start with looking somebody in the eye and asking them why this is a good idea; either hotlinking or calling from another domain. I'm not saying that that is necessarily 'bad', but without a good reason - why?
Strong/weak wouldn't be a consideration for me unless some of these are being served up httpS: - That doesn't sound like the case, but then you could have all kinds of problems with browsers questioning the security of 'unsecured content on page' type warnings.
Hotlinking I would simply refuse to do and tick off the reasons - control being #1 as piatkow mentioned.
Lucid reasoning or duh-uh answer to why they need to be on another domain would get my full attention. It's not necessarily 'bad' - its why? No good reason is a bad reason IMO.
Started an SEO site
