>>>From an SEO point of view... 1. Web design links are understood to be deprecated because of relevance issues. This was disclosed around 2004/2005 by Marrisa Mayer at SES San Jose, reported by me, here on WebmasterWorld. In fact, I asked her about a hypothetical example of a website linking to the web designer and she scoffed, asking how is a site about X relevant about D. I responded that it's relevant because D designed it and she shook her head and answered, no, that is not relevance.
2. Footer links are deprecated.
So those kinds of links are probably going to encounter a double whack of deprecation. How many iterations of deprecations can a link undergo before it is whittled to zero is unknown but it's probably not unreasonable to assume it gets pretty close.
So the answer may be that you will be better served by focusing on creating a link/banner/button that will entice a high CTR by people interested in your services.
