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Stub Post

What is a stub post?

My first one was, originally, Drop Back And Kick.

This is a better example. Just a simple post. No images, fancy formatting, or anything interesting.

What is a stub website? One that contains just one stub post - or no posts, and just a Welcome message.

You'll see stubs in the test forums.
Test.

That's all a stub is.

A test post, or a test website. You can create a blog, and select a URL - but until you publish a blog, it won't exist. You'll get
The requested URL is not found on this server.
when you try to browse to the URL.

You can do better than that! Create, and publish, a stub post. Instead of your readers seeing
The requested URL is not found on this server.
using a Blogger generic error page, give them
Hey bro, that post isn't part of the blog any more.
in a blog post, with the blog template and all accessories. That's much more user friendly.

For a stub website (or Blogger blog), just setup a new blog, and add an HTML / Text gadget with a brief message
Hey bro, this web site doesn't exist any more (yet).
  1. Edit each post, and replace contents of each with the caption "Post Deleted".
  2. Republish the blog.
  3. A month after completing Step #2, delete all posts. Publish one post, "Blog Deleted" - or add a welcome post, "Nothing here!".
  4. Six months after completing Step #3, republish the blog under a 24 random characters name, making this name available for some lucky blogger - if, and only if, you do not fear your blog name might be resurrected, by a spammer.

For a stub website (blog) that's used in a properly planned blog renaming, just have a single post
Hey bro, this blog has moved to http://xxxxxxx.com.
Then setup a similar custom 404 display, to inform people following links to specific posts.

And forward the blog feed from the old URL to the new URL.

Besides the "Welcome" post, you can customise the "404" error display, to give the would be reader more relevant advice. You can put any number of links into a "404" page - for instance, an index of the posts, under the new URL.

Comments

Ron Southern said…
This explains well up to a point, but it does not seem to say what a stub post is FOR! Have I overlooked it? Somewhere I think I absorbed it from you, but how would I know just from looking at this? Am I just being dense? I've been known to be.
. said…
you are the man. the stub thing works.

and screw blogger and google, the bastards, for not having an real help available. It's taken hours to solve a simple problem that wouldn't exist if they deserved to be in business.
Chris Barnhardt said…
stubby stubby stub stub!

Thanks Man...
Martin Kizlink said…
Thanks for great HELP resource.
I am a user also. If they want more profit they (google) should provide more help. Newbies are customers also.
poosemommy said…
"and t(he)y said it couldn't be done"
thanks. for reals
Unknown said…
What if the blog still exsists? I just want to let my followers know to follow the new url. Should I still set this up?


Thanks!

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