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If you are on Blogger, just go to the Layouts tab and edit the section that shows your copyright information.

If you’re on WordPress and the copyright is in the footer of your theme, it requires going to the Appearances link in the sidebar of your Dashboard and then clicking Editor. But, be aware that this will display the code that runs your site. So, be careful with your editing.

If you have a static site or static site pages connected to your blog, hopefully you used a Server Side Include (SSI) file for your copyright information. That way you only have to update one file. If not, you’ll need to update every page of your site, and that’s not much fun. If that’s the case, you might want to investigate using an include file. Think of it this way, you’re already going to have to update every page any way. Why not modify the code slightly with the include file. It will save you a lot of time next year.

If you have questions about how to update your copyright notice, leave a comment here on the blog.

One of the most important areas of the module is on the right side. You can see how many Comments have been left on your blog and how many are awaiting approval. Simply click the word “Comment” and you will be redirected to the Edit Comments page.

Don’t be surprised if you don’t see any comments in your list. The page defaults to show the list of comments pending. If you have the Askimet plugin installed, it will automatically place the comment in the Spam list; however it often displays it as a legitimate comment in the Right Now module.

So, if you see it in the module, but don’t see it in the list, look across the top of the list for links Pending, Approved, and Spam. Click those links to see those lists.

Hovering your mouse over the title bar of the Right Now module causes a down arrow to appear in the right corner. Clicking the arrow minimizes the module, but you’ll probably want to leave this handy overview fully displayed at all times.

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Most website designers are honest people; however, they have to compete with thousands of other designers for business. When a potential client surfs online for a designer they are looking for two things, which are price and ease.

The ease comes from hiring someone who will take care of all the technical details by offering all-in-one packages that include purchase and setup of the domain and hosting along with the site design. Designers turn a profit on this setup by purchasing a large space on a host server and then reselling it to clients. They make enough profit on design and hosting to offer the domain name for free, which they usually obtain at a volume discount in the first place.

Why is all of this bad for the client? In short, the client pays for something they don’t actually own. Because of the way the package is set up, the designer cannot disclose the security information for the hosting or the domain name.

To protect themselves, designers usually retain the copyright to a site they design as well. That also includes all of the custom graphics and may include the content.

If the client ever has a falling out with the designer, or wants to change designers or hosts, they may suddenly find that they have no site at all. Because the designer is listed as the owner of the site, the hosting, and the domain, they can remove the site from public view at will and the client has no way to retrieve it.

The bottom line is that you can take some steps to protect yourself.

If you plan to hire a designer, consult with them to specify the host and server type that will work best with your site.

- Look for a host that includes a free domain.
- Obtain your own domain name and hosting even if doing so costs more.
- List yourself as the owner and your designer as the technical contact.
- Back up your site. If you’re on WordPress, use the Backup Plugin to download your site to your computer. If you have a static site, get a free FTP program and make a backup of your site on your own computer or ask your designer to provide you with a hard copy on CD.

More info on protecting your site.

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Update Your Profile

Following are the four settings you will want to change immediately.

Log in to your site. From the left sidebar links, click Users then Your Profile.

In the Name section, enter a Nickname. Choose carefully. This name will populate the Display Name field just below it as well. You will use this nickname as the name you want to display as the author of the posts.

From the Display name publicly as drop-down menu, choose the nickname you just entered.

In the Contact Info section, input the e-mail address you would like to use to receive notices from your site. These will include notifications such as someone leaving a comment on one of your posts or pages.

If your designer uploaded WordPress for you, check with them before doing this next step. If you uploaded WordPress yourself, scroll to the bottom of the page and find the New Password section. Input a new password.

Activate Your Theme

If your theme was custom designed and the creator has already uploaded it, you may skip this step. If you installed WordPress yourself, upload your theme and activate it.

Activate Plugins

There are two plugins that you will want to activate right away. Brief details are given here.

You will already find the plugin Akismet installed on your site. You will want to activate it because this plugin protects you from spam being entered in your post comments.

You will need to install the second plugin. It is WP-DB-Backup, which stands for WordPress DataBase Backup. Simply click the Add New sublink under Plugins and search for it by name. Follow the instructions in the chapter to install and activate it. All of your posts, comments, pages, and sidebar content are kept in the database. It’s a good idea to back it up routinely.

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Whether you are new to WordPress or have been running a site for a while, you will find the information in these books invaluable to getting the most from WordPress.

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