Yes a website can be copyrighted because copyright protects original works of authorship, including your website and any graphics you made or photographs you took for your site.
According to the U.S. Copyright Office, “The copyright in a compilation or derivative work extends only to the material contributed by the author of such work, as distinguished from the preexisting material employed in the work, and does not imply any exclusive right in the preexisting material.” 17 U.S.C. Section 101.
In other words, the content of a website can be protected by copyright, but not the design of the site , unless the design is original to the author, and not derived from another source. See, e.g., Whelan Assocs., Inc. v. Jaslow Dental Lab., Inc., 797 F.2d 1222 (3d Cir. 1986).
According to the U.S. Copyright Office, “The copyright in a compilation or derivative work extends only to the material contributed by the author of such work, as distinguished from the preexisting material employed in the work, and does not imply any exclusive right in the preexisting material.”
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