If you think thieves only exist in the real world and not in the virtual world, think again! WebGuru India has, for the umpteenth time, been robbed of their site’s content, this time, their design as well!

You hire a website designer and spend thousands of dollars for that perfect web design, thinking you have created a unique, customized design for your service. However, there are competitor companies that wait to steal your design concepts and copy the functionalities of your site to make their own site popular.

Besides website layout, some companies will also copy your content, including domain name, making small changes in your custom design to start using it as their own. It’s tough to prove that your web content or design has been copied, but in truth, anyone can identify a duplicate website design or content when they see it.

What do you do in such a case?

It suffices to say that as site owners, it’s our responsibility to retain the uniqueness of our website layout and stop web designing thefts. Here’s what WebGuru did, and what you can do if you face the same problem like our’s:

Send a Complaint Letter- If you find someone has copied your custom website design, send a complaint letter to the site owner. Be polite but firmly inform him about the design and content similarities and request him to modify his site’s design.

If similarities are coincidental (only in case you have used a design template to customize for your website), here’s hoping the site owner will modify his layout.

Contact the Hosting and Domain Provider- Find out the domain and hosting service provider of that identical site and notify them about the incident. Reputed hosting service providers don’t support malicious activities and can ban guilty websites on your behalf.

Contact Duplicate Website’s Advertisers- Advertisers don’t want to associate with a company that copies other companies’ brand identity. Contact advertisers of the duplicate website and inform them of the theft. No website can run without advertisements and this strategy will compel duplicate site owners to change their designs.

Contact Google for Banning the Duplicate Website- Every website owner is afraid of Google penalties. You should immediately submit a complaint against the site to Google and provide enough proof to justify your accusation.

Take Legal Action- If your dynamic website design is copyright protected, send a legal notice to the copycats. Hire a lawyer to handle the situation properly. However, if the guilty party has not copied your entire layout, you can’t charge them for copyright infringement. Hence, consult your lawyer for professional guidance.

Following the aforementioned steps, you can stop online thieves from stealing your website design. We are trying to…

If you want to establish your identity in the website design industry, creating a news-based website can be a great idea. Of course, you have to invest great effort and time for creating such a site.

Furthermore, you have to publish news regularly. Since this will be a news-based site, people would expect you to post fresh news everyday. Additionally, you need to pay attention to several issues. These can include-

Useful Content

Over the past few years, various news websites were created. However, only few managed to retain interest of people in the long run. Extensive research will reveal the fact that websites that published high quality content survived. Reddit can be a good example of such a site.

Over the years, Reddit has cut down unnecessary elements, while focusing mainly on high quality content. This has allowed readers to concentrate their attention on stories, without feeling distracted by advertisements.

If you do not feel confident to create a news website, you can opt for services of an independent website designer. Alternatively, you can hire website designer by contacting a design company.

Pagination

The main purpose of a news website is to gather news from various sources and highlight them in the home page. Now, it may not be always possible to incorporate all sources in the home page. In such a situation, you can opt for pagination.

In simple terms, pagination refers to the procedure of dividing content into separate pages. With pagination, you can incorporate links to other pages in the home page. This way, your readers can access fresh as well as old news.

Additionally, blending the pagination button with the website design is critical. This way, these buttons would appear as part of the site and offer users a smooth experience.

Voting System

Any social news website should possess a voting system. Unfortunately, on several occasions, this voting system interferes with usability of the site. For example, if the site reloads every time an user casts a vote, chances are high that he/she will not have a positive impression of the site.

For best results, choose a voting system that allows users to vote in a hassle-free manner.

Similar to pagination buttons, voting buttons should not interfere with readability of the site.

Discussions and Comments

Visitors love discussing various issues on news website. Therefore, providing users with the opportunity to discuss critical issues and leave comments is important.

Profiles

Offering users the opportunity to create profiles on your site can be a great idea. This will allow them to highlight the content that they are reading currently. This in turn, indirectly allows the site to widen its exposure.

Groups

Groups in a social news website allow users to connect with each other and indulge in meaningful discussions. These activities, in turn, increase awareness about a site.

If you are interested in creating a social news website, paying attention to these issues is critical. Overall, ensure that visitors enjoy reading news on your site in a hassle-free manner.