One thing I have noticed is how credits are evolving differently for web developers than designers. Freelance designers working on a small project by themselves, Still tend to credit themselves in the footer.
Footer credits tend to look cheap and unprofessional. The correct way of doing things is to include yourself in the humans.txt file. Be sure to include this in your header.
The use of the humans.txt file is far more valuable; You can include everyone who will work to put the site together. From graphic designers, content writers, developers and the infrastructure team, highlight who and how everyone will contribute.
The humans.txt file should often include a thanks section. The thanks section may be thanking someone who has helped you build the project. But it could also be communities and people who helped make the technologies you are using on your site.
The humans.txt file is pretty easy to write because there are no strictly defined ways of writing one. Big companies who have one tend to use a lot of humour or ASCII art. Check out the official webpage to see a hopeful standard: https://humanstxt.org/
Although I’m not a fan, You can still include the humans.txt icon in your footer as long as the site owner agrees. This still looks more professional than “Designed by Marc Hughes”. On the Humanstxt.org site, they offer images you can include. Here is an example of one:
Real World Examples
A few examples of it in use
In the more prominent companies, it’s hard to fit everyone in, and humour is more the aspect.
That’s all there is to it—nothing too fancy or difficult to implement. The humans.txt file is an excellent way to give kudos to those that help you develop cool projects. The concept of humans.txt is ageing. It’s not as popular as it once was. However, keeping your credits out of the footer is still the best approach.