Web + Wins #21: Baby news + a domain mystery I solved
This Week's Update
I'm someone's mom now. 💙
Sean arrived on August 3rd at 8 lbs, 12 oz and is the most beautiful, sweetest baby I've ever seen. It's been a seven-year road to get here — something I'm willing to talk about one-on-one with anyone going through it — but it's wild how once your baby arrives, all of that feels like a distant past. I've lived a whole lifetime in these four weeks.
If you've been following along, you know I went all-in on Snaply Sites in June, at 30 weeks pregnant. Lots of fear and anxiety going into it, but the excitement and optimism always outweighed that. I didn't take a traditional maternity leave — I had a hard time figuring out how to set that up — but I'm so grateful for the time flexibility I have, a new and very heightened sense of efficiency (a baby who rules your schedule will do that), and a much clearer picture of the kinds of clients and projects I want to take on.
One month felt like a good time to pause, reflect, and force myself to get these thoughts down before time flies by any faster.
What's been challenging:
The sleep deprivation and physical recovery have been hard. You hear about it, but living it is something else entirely. At least he's the sweetest baby when he wakes me up at 3am.
I cry every day. I'm okay, I promise. Amazing partner, amazing people in my corner — but the hormones, the life change, and just looking at this baby I wanted so badly for so long... it gets me. Also there's a Ross Dress for Less commercial with kids enjoying their summer break that wrecks me every time.
Feelings of guilt for wanting to work. I love taking care of my baby. I also love my business. Sometimes I wish he'd sleep a little longer so I can take care of my other baby too. Just being honest.
What's been easier than expected:
Prioritizing has gotten so much cleaner. When your window to get things done is small, you stop wasting it.
My clients have been incredibly understanding — and it's shown me exactly the kinds of people I want to keep working with. There's a story there I'll share another time, but the right clients show up for you the same way you show up for them.
Being an older first-time mom has been a gift I didn't expect. I'm 37, technically "advanced maternal age" — even though I don't feel it! For me it’s a calm that comes from having faced hard things and made it through, I like to think I'm passing that on to Sean. And years of working toward this life means I have the flexibility to actually be present in it. We built this intentionally, and I'm enjoying every part of the journey — even the hard parts and the crying.
I'm easing back into things. Excited to share some big projects that are out in the world soon, and what's coming this fall. So glad you're here. 🤍
Get a Web Win: Check Your Domain's History Before You Launch
Here's one I had to troubleshoot freshly postpartum — between pediatrician appointments and figuring out life with a newborn — and it's not something I'd ever encountered in years of building websites.
A lot of business owners hold onto domains they bought "just in case." And a lot of great domains that are available to purchase today have actually existed for years under previous owners. Before you launch a site on one of those domains, there's one thing worth checking that most people skip entirely: its history.
Here's what happened with one of my clients. Their new site was fully built and live — visible everywhere except their own office. When they disconnected from the office WiFi, it loaded fine. Other people in other states confirmed they could see it. But soon it stopped loading at home too, and someone else in their area couldn't access it either. After some troubleshooting we found they the issues traced back Spectrum users.
After some digging, we ran the domain through VirusTotal.com — a free tool that checks your URL against about 92 security vendors. Four of them had flagged the domain as malicious or phishing. Not because of anything wrong with the current site — but because the domain was over 15 years old and had been through multiple previous owners, at least one of whom apparently used it for something sketchy or just didn’t maintain it properly. Spectrum's security system was blocking it based on those old flags.
Here's how we fixed it: each vendor has a false-positive dispute process. I submitted to all four with a short note explaining the domain had been re-registered under new ownership, the business is legitimate, the SSL is valid, and the old flags belong to a previous registrant. Every single one cleared it the same evening. The block was lifted, and the client could access their site the next day.
Convo Corner
Skipping this week — I think the update section covered enough oversharing for one newsletter. 😄 But I'm ready to get back out there and start hopping on virtual coffee chats again. If you want to connect, you know where to find me.
Let's Talk
Q4 is right around the corner — let's make sure your website is ready for it. Or if you just want to talk parenthood and business, I'm very much here for that conversation too. Get in touch and we'll set up a call.
P.S. — A huge shoutout to Jade Pruett of HelloSEO and MetaMonster for the August newsletter takeover. If you missed any of her issues, check them out here.
