Can I copy text from a competitor’s website?

No. Website copy is protected by copyright the moment it is written, so copying it is infringement regardless of how ordinary it seems. It is also self-defeating in search — duplicated text gives an engine no reason to prefer your page over the original.

Who owns the copyright in my website?

Without a written assignment, generally the person who created it — the developer or designer — with you holding an implied licence to use it. Ownership transfers only if the contract says so, which is why the assignment clause matters more than anything else in the agreement.

Do I need a privacy policy for a small website?

Yes, if the site collects any personal data at all — and a contact form counts, as do server logs and most analytics. Under UK and EU data protection law a privacy notice is mandatory whenever personal data is processed, regardless of how small the business is.

Legal

Can I use images I found on Google on my website?

No. Google Images is a search index, not a licence source — almost everything in it is copyrighted by someone. Using an image without permission exposes you to a demand for damages, and specialist firms scan the web specifically to find unlicensed use.

Answered by Anas Bin Masud 206 words 3 sections

Where images can lawfully come from

Photographs you took yourself, which are also the most persuasive
Stock libraries where you hold a licence covering commercial web use
Free stock sites, subject to their licence terms — read them, they differ
Public domain or Creative Commons work, with attribution where required
Images supplied by a client or manufacturer, with permission in writing

What "found on Google" typically costs

A demand letter for a single photograph commonly asks for several hundred pounds or dollars, sometimes considerably more, and removing the image afterwards does not extinguish the claim for the period it was published. It is one of the cheapest risks to avoid and one of the most frequently taken.

The practical position for a small site

Use your own photographs wherever the subject is your own work — they perform better commercially than stock imagery anyway. Where you need generic imagery, keep the licence receipt with the project files so you can evidence it later.

The longer version

This answer is deliberately short. If you want the full treatment, Image SEO: findable images that do not wreck your page speed covers it in about 3 minutes — free, ungated, written from client work.

Who answered this

Anas Bin Masud builds e-commerce sites and does technical SEO for businesses in the UK, Canada and Pakistan — fifteen live client sites, six of them stores taking real payments. These answers come from those projects rather than from a content brief. More about how I work, or ask me something directly.