Would you be surprised to learn that it is most likely NOT  YOU who owns your website?

While copyright law is complex and I am certainly not a lawyer, I can tell you that depending on who designed and produced your website and under what terms – a contracted or freelance designer is most likely the legal copyright holder for all of your design and layout work!

In the U.S., work-for-hire laws apply only to designers employed (not contracted) by you who created your site while in your employ.    My suggestion is to check the language of your contracts carefully to be sure the ownership of all work created by your designer/developer is assigned to you in this case.    Absent such an assignment of ownership, content creators (designers/developers) are generally protected by law as the rightful owners of your site’s look and layout.

Another tactic sometimes used by web providers is to offer you a “free” site.    But the fine print often reveals one of two “catches”:

• 1) high monthly fees; and/or

• 2) they own your site (and sometimes even the content YOU create!), meaning you can’t take any of it with you if you opt to change providers

Know what you’re getting yourself into before you sign an agreement!    Even perfectly reputable companies opt to retain their rights, and I’m not saying it’s entirely an evil thing – but make the choice knowingly.

Cheers!
~Ann

After much thought and hard work, we are pleased to begin rolling out the new site for RoyalBlue Productions™!

We’ll be introducing new features in phases, beginning with the new design(s) and the emergence of our “$600 Website” for small and beginning businesses.    While you’re here, I hope you’ll click the links under “Choose a View” in the sidebar and check out 4 very different examples of $600 websites using our very own site as the model!    Without belaboring the point, we call this a hybrid of sites.   Melding that which is free and readily available with your own custom branding for a solid start with a REAL web development company you can grow with.    Be sure and check out the details here.

At the same time, we’re launching “Breaktime Business” – your source for bite-sized weekly webinars to help you feel not-so-lost when it comes to harnessing technology for your small business.    Topics range from SEO Boot Camp (basic training) or the fundamentals of Podcasting to topics that will help with your productivity and your bottom line.    Don’t miss the chance to check it out while you’re here!

The future will see the roll-out of a new Clients-Only section where existing clients will be able to view their sites in progress, get lists of their domains and expirations, and find an express lane to our techs for support.

Stay tuned while we bring you many more reasons to be excited about growing your small business with a development company that puts YOU and your needs first.