A hotlink may refer to any of the following:

  1. Alternatively called inline linking, hotlinking is the action of linking to an object on another server. For example, many people who are learning to create their web page may hotlink to an image on another server, which helps make creating their page easier. Although hotlinking an image is a good method to learn about posting an image on a web page, avoid doing it after it’s been learned.
  • Steals bandwidth from the server hosting the image.
  • May violate the image Copyright.
  • The image is not in your control, which means someone else could change it to an offensive image that would be shown on your page.

Instead of hotlinking objects, if permission is granted, copy the image from their server to your server or another free image hosting service. Once done, you can link to the image from your server or another hosting service.

  1. A hotlink is a connection between programs that allow users to change information in one program or document while the computer changes the same information in the linked file.
  • How to Copyright or otherwise protect images online.
  • How to copy text and images from a web page.
  • Where can I find free public domain images and pictures?
  • How to add pictures to an HTML website.
  • Where to post my pictures, movies, or other files online for free.

Internet terms, Leech, Link, Symbolic link

  • Windows command line users can link files using the mklink command.
  • Linux users can create symbolic links using the ln command.