It’s that time of the year again…the holiday parties are over, the top ten lists are forgotten, and the New Year’s goals are fading fast. You guessed it: time to update the copyright date on the footer of your website!
99% of people look at their personal or business website infrequently. And when they do look at it, usually the footer is the last place they might visit. While it’s not a huge deal, I think an outdated copyright speaks volume to the care and craft of a website – and as marketing becomes ever more “multi-channel”, maintaining a high level of quality control is incredibly important to your brand and to your long-term marketing success.
So, to make life a bit easier, here are two tricks to help make certain that this is the last year you “remember” to update your copyright information a few months too late:
Dynamic
If at all possible, going “dynamic” is the right way to go. What does that mean? It means that your website is powered by a database, often with the help of a Content Management System like WordPress, Drupal, Expression Engine, etc. There are other less sophisticated situations (involving PHP includes, for example) but more and more if your website isn’t on a Content Management System, it should be.
I wish it were more complicated, but really it’s as simple as replacing the current year in your footer.php (or similar file) with the following code:
Here’s an example:
© Dinkum Interactive -
Knuckle-Dragger Solution
If you’re stuck with a website that is just a bunch of html pages and need to update EACH ONE to change global elements, then 1) we’re sorry and 2) do yourself a favor: delete the year. Really, it doesn’t matter and it’s not worth the hassle. Just replace it with something like:
Copyright © Dinkum Interactive, All Rights Reserved.
As we’re focused on Linux-based solutions, I’ve shared that code with you. However if you’re using ASP/.NET or other technologies, a simple Google search for “dynamic copyright ASP” will solve your problem.
Happy New Year!
Read more on proper attribution, fair use, and copyrighted material on the web.
4 Replies to “How to Make this the Last Time You Update the Copyright on your Website”
Smart and effective. But I heard from a pro that copyright year is not necessary to be in the same year as present. Copyright year is the year the website/material was authored.
Is that true Jake?
You’re right Felix, it’s probably not necessary. However the point here is that people expect it to be up to date, and that is the only reason (in my opinion) to do it: so your company looks like they have their “act together.” Of course, copyright protection is nice as well, but I leave that to the lawyers.
Happy New Year 2011 everybody! I wish the New Year will bring everyone a lot of love and good health. I hope it will be better than previous one.