How to Automatically Update the Copyright Year on Your Showit Website

Ensuring your website’s copyright year is up-to-date is a simple yet impactful way to maintain a professional and current online presence. In the past, we would remind our clients each January to manually update their copyright year to the current year. This year, we decided there had to be an easier way! We did some research and found a solution to implement Javascript code into your Showit website so that your copyright year automatically updates at the beginning of each new year. Let 2025 be your year of automation so that you can work smarter, not harder 😉

Today we’re explaining why keeping your website’s copyright year up-to-date is important, how to update it manually in Showit, and how to implement code for it to happen automatically. If you’re a business owner reading this who has zero coding knowledge, don’t worry! It’s super simple and we walk you through it step-by-step. 

Why Keeping Your Website’s Copyright Year Current Matters

An up-to-date copyright year signals to visitors that your website is actively maintained, fostering trust and credibility. Outdated copyright information on a website can create legal and professional risks, including weakened protections for your intellectual property, potential misrepresentation of ownership, and confusion over licensing agreements. It may also mislead users into thinking your site is inactive or your content is unprotected, potentially deterring prospective clients. While a copyright notice is not legally required in many jurisdictions, keeping it accurate strengthens your claim to ownership and helps prevent disputes. By ensuring your copyright date is current, you demonstrate professionalism, maintain user trust, and safeguard your intellectual property rights.

Understanding Showit’s Capabilities

Showit is a powerful and intuitive website builder designed for creative entrepreneurs and service-based businesses, offering unparalleled flexibility in design without the need for coding expertise. We love designing on Showit because of its design flexibility and our clients love having their site on Showit because of the simplicity of maintaining it. Although code is not necessary to have a beautiful and well-functioning website, Showit’s ability to integrate custom code allows users to enhance functionality beyond the platform’s standard tools. 

Your standard copyright year in the footer of a Showit website is a simple text box. It often reads something like,  “©[Year you started your business]-[Current year] [Business Name]. All rights reserved.” Like ours, for example, “2020-2025 North Design Company, LLC. All rights reserved.” 

How to Manually Edit your Copyright Year

To manually edit, you can click into the text box within the Showit design app and simply highlight the outdated year and update to the current year. While this is an extremely easy update to make, both for web designers and business owners, having it happen automatically is an even better solution. It’s one less item to check off your New Year to-do list.

Implementing Code to Automate Copyright Year Updates in Showit

Showit is a versatile website builder that allows for custom code integration, enabling dynamic content updates. Here’s how you can automate your copyright year:

1. Access the Showit Editor: Log in to your Showit design app (app.showit.com — remember you have to do this from a Google Chrome browser) and select the website you wish to edit.
2. Navigate to the Footer Section: Scroll to the bottom of your page to locate the footer, where your copyright notice typically resides.
3. Add/Edit a Text Element: Insert a new text box or select the existing one containing your current copyright information.
4. Insert the JavaScript Code: With the text element selected, hold down the option button on your keyboard and double-click on the text box. This will open the HTML text editor, where you can add the following script:

<script>
  document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() {
    const currentYear = new Date().getFullYear();
    const startYear = 2025; // Replace this with your start year
    const yearText = startYear === currentYear ? currentYear : `${startYear}-${currentYear}`;
    document.getElementById("copyright-year").textContent = yearText;
  });
</script>
<span>&copy; <span id="copyright-year"></span> My Business Name. All rights reserved.</span>

5. Customize the Text:

• Add the year you started your business, where it says, “2025; // Replace this with your start year.” If you leave it as 2025, it will automatically only show a single year for this year, and then change to 2025-2026 next year.
• Replace “My Business Name” with the name of your business or any desired text.
• Click the Save button in the lower right corner.

6. Preview and Publish: after you’ve added the code, you’ll want to Preview your site to ensure it loads correctly. If it does, go ahead and hit Publish on your new site! A few things to note:

You won’t see the year(s) displayed within the design app.

The code will automatically display the copyright year when you Preview/Publish your site.

Additional Website Updates to Make Each Year

While the JavaScript code is effective for automatically updating your copyright year, it’s crucial to regularly review your website for other updates to maintain its relevance and performance. Some additional items you should consider updating each year include…

1. Update your portfolio: Your portfolio should reflect your best work and highlight the type of projects you want to attract more of. You likely worked hard to sharpen your skills over the last year, don’t forget to show it off!
2. Update your copy: Oftentimes, the About page on your website includes relative information — like the number of years you’ve been in business or the number of projects you’ve completed. Look over this information and make sure it’s up-to-date.
3. Review your Services: does your services page still reflect the services that you are currently offering? Perhaps you’ve added a new service that you need to start marketing or retired an old service. Update this page with your most current offerings.
4. Check for broken links: Broken links on your website send viewers to a 404 page, which can generate a poor user experience. Double-check that your click-actions are all set up correctly and taking viewers to the right place. It’s good to manually scroll through your live site and test your buttons, but you can also use our favorite free online broken link checker.
5. New brand photos: Has it been a while since you updated your brand photos on your site? The new year is a great time to consider planning a new brand shoot.

We hope these tips were helpful in creating an automated copyright year and keeping your website up-to-date. If you have additional Showit website needs, we would love to help! We are now offering Showit Power Hour sessions, where you can book a virtual 1-hr call with us to walk through anything on your Showit website.

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