Before You Launch Your Website…

January 31, 2010 | Posted by Kat

I love creating a new site. I like setting up the themes, adding new content, starting something fresh and new. All my old blogs suffer when I get the idea for something new. But then, I am in such a hurry to get the new site launched, that I skip some really basic checks.

I just read Smashing Magazine’s “15 Essential Checks Before Launching Your Website”, and it was a good reminder to me of all the really basic items you should check before doing a full launch of your website.

Sure some of the checks are pretty basic, like making sure that all your links work. Checking all your links can be a tedious, but necessary chore. You don’t want to frustrate your readers with links that go to nowhere, or worse, to an offensive site.

Another basic, and often overlooked check is proofreading for spelling and grammar. This one gets me all the time! Even though I have my spell checker on at all times… (there’s that squiggly red line again!) many mistakes still get by. Try reading your text backwards, or having someone else proofread for you.

Be sure to read the comments section on the article. There are more good suggestions there.

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Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: | 9 Comments »

The Cease and Desist Letter Saga

December 13, 2009 | Posted by Kat

Well, it is over. My best performing domain has been taken from me due to trademark issues.
Just a recap if you don’t feel like reading my first post on receiving a cease and desist letter.

Last summer, my finance website started to take off. I was showing up on the first 3 pages of Google search, and the income was going up along with the page views.

Then the letter came. Apparently, two of the words in my domain were trademarked, and the attorney wanted me to hand over the domain.

I argued, I fought, I asked for concessions, but in the end I handed the domain over. In return, I got nothing.

I might have been able to fight it, but I felt my chances for success were low, and I didn’t want to spend the time or the money. In the end, I moved my blog to a better domain, Money, Debt and Taxes, and now I will just do what I did before to bring it up in the search rankings and build the traffic.

As a result of this I am now much more careful in choosing my domains. I am looking to see if there is any chance that they might be trademarked. I don’t want to lose that much hard work ever again!

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Categories: Blogging, Domains | Tags: Cease and desist, Google, Trademark, website | 5 Comments »

Twitter Follow Me Badge

September 3, 2009 | Posted by Kat

I know I am a little late to the party, but I have finally joined Twitter. I do think it will be a good way to promote my blogs. So of course the very first thing I wanted to get was a “follow me” badge for my blogs.
If you look over there on the right hand side of the blog I found a great one.
It is from GOTOWEB20 and it is a simple script that is very easy to customize. It took me all of two minutes to set up the badge and install it on my blog.

Now do me a favor and click that button so you can follow me on twitter, and then go to gotoweb20 and get your own!

Update: In the comments Brian pointed out you can code the button yourself without going to an outside source. You can get the code here at the BlogEngage Forum.

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