Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Our most frequently asked questions and answers are below. If you have any other questions not shown below, please contact us for a prompt reply.
Question: I ordered but didn’t receive the download link.
Answer: If paying instantly by PayPal or credit/debit card, then immediately after payment you are taken back to our website where you should see an order confirmation page with your download link(s). An order confirmation email with the same details will also be sent to you at the same time, but due to possible email delays this may not arrive immediately.
If you still haven’t received an email from our system, please check your email’s Spam or Junk folders. Many email service providers and email software will filter incoming emails and may incorrectly put the email from us into one of the above folders. Also, some providers may delete emails it thinks are spam or junk messages or even from unknown senders.
Sometimes email addresses are entered incorrectly during checkout, so emails to incorrect addresses won’t be delivered to your email address. We strongly recommend that you double-check the email address you have entered when ordering and if you contact us.
If there’s still no order confirmation email from us due to one of the above reasons, please contact us with your order details and provide a secondary email address if possible. We can also send the download link(s) to a UK mobile number as a text message.
If you order using a bank payment method it may take longer to process your order. Once payment is confirmed we will mark your order as complete and our system will then immediately send the order and download details by email.
If ordering a non-instant image download (i.e your choice of surname), please allow the time for this type of order to be processed manually (we may need to create a new image for your chosen name or spelling variant). The product page will state the processing time, which is normally within a day or two, and often the same day. Once complete, you will receive an email from us with your order details.
If you registered an account with us (My Account) you can login and view your order details and download link(s) there.
Question: Can I instantly download any crest or coat of arms image?
Answer: If an image appears on our website and is available as an instant download, then this can be downloaded as soon as payment has been processed. For any not showing on our website, you can order for your choice of surname for crests and coats of arms. You can order both instant and non-instant images in the same order, or place the orders separately.
Question: Could you clarify what you mean by crests, clan or sept crests, family crests, coats of arms, shields, are they the same thing?
Answer: They are different types of images as follows:
A ‘crest‘ is normally the crest image resting on a torse or wreath and this can either be displayed on its own (just the image and torse) or within a strap or belt with the surname and motto. This also applies to clan and sept crests.
A coat of arms is often incorrectly called a ‘family crest‘, so if you see or hear ‘family crest’ it would normally refer to a coat of arms image.
A ‘coat of arms‘ normally includes the shield, helmet, torse (which sits on the helmet), and the crest upon the torse, all within a mantle or mantling design.
A ‘shield‘ is the shield (or escutcheon) and is often referred to as ‘Arms’ and is part of a full coat of arms.
We also supply surname shields on their own as separate images here and coats of arms here.
Also, crests and coats of arms were not registered to a surname, but to an individual person (unless a company or organisation). However, it is considered acceptable to display (but not claim as yours) a crest or coat of arms bearing the same surname, clan or sept name. This means that technically, there is no right or wrong crest, shield or coat of arms for a particular surname.
Question: Can I also order coats of arms and shield images from this website, or crest images only?
Answer: This website focuses mostly on crests for surnames, clans and septs, but you can also order coats of arms images as non-instant downloads from this website.
However, we recommend you visit our other websites at SurnameCoatsofArms.uk and SurnameShields.uk for instant downloads, as well as for your choice of surname.
Question: Is it possible to order an image as a JPG or PDF, or as a vector image?
Answer: The images we provide are in the PNG format with a transparent background allowing you to display or print against your own background. You are free to save the PNG image in any other graphics format (i.e. JPG, JPEG, PDF, TIFF, etc.) using a wide range of image viewers and other software and apps.
These include the image viewers on most devices and many types of software, including Adobe Photoshop (& Elements), Affinity Photo / Designer / Publisher, GIMP, Apple Pages, Office Suites (Microsoft), Libre Office, etc. If you are unable to save in your choice of file format, please specify when ordering. We are unable to supply vector versions due to image licensing but we can supply larger image sizes as shown below.
Question: I’d like to order an image suitable for printing on a banner or flag (5 feet / almost 2 metres in size) or larger, is that possible?
Answer: Yes, but please contact us before ordering with details so we can confirm this. The default images we create are suitable for printing up to A3 (420 x 297 mm or 16.5 x 11.75 inches) but we can also create larger PNG or JPG versions suitable for flags, banners and similar.