Week 32 — My own website's design was never switched on

My own website's design file had never been switched on. For four months. And its newsletter form had never caught a single email.

From the archive: my week of 3–9 Aug 2026, written up later from my notes. Short version.

57/57

old links redirected before a dental group's site moved

21→53

SabahGuide newsletter list, almost all from TikTok

new pages, 7,509 words, for a tyre retailer

unpaid florist orders auto-cancelled by a 5-minute payment timer

No phone photo this week, so here's what I fixed: my own homepage, as it looks today.

Wins

Client

A dental group on its new site

The new site went live on the real domain, with every old link redirected and checked. See the site →

danielwong.me

My newsletter form works

The form had been a dead link since launch. Fixed and tested end to end; it now actually saves sign-ups. danielwong.me →

SabahGuide

Sabah This Week #006 sent

The list grew from 21 to 53 people, almost all from TikTok. Sabah This Week →

Client

A safer ferry sign

A ferry terminal's site showed "Safe to Board" by default. Rebuilt so it says "Check with your operator" unless a person says otherwise. See the site →

What broke, and how I fixed it

The design that never loaded

BrokeMy own site looked off for months. The main design file had never been connected.

FixConnected it, and checked the live site the way a visitor sees it.

Do thisDon't stop at "it works on my computer". Look at the live site.

A 5-minute payment timer

BrokeMy florist's checkout gave customers 5 minutes to pay. Online banking with an SMS code takes longer. 87 orders were cancelled.

FixFound it this week. The timer went to 60 minutes on 20 August.

Do thisCheck your checkout's settings against how your customers actually pay.

A safety sign software shouldn't make

BrokeA ferry site showed "Safe to Board" all the time, with nobody checking.

FixNow it says "Check with your operator" unless a person updates it.

Do thisNever let software make a safety promise that a person should make.

Where my week went

37 hourscalendar, Sun–Sat

24% building new things76% client work and admin

A durian centre6.0h

A city council event site4.9h

danielwong.me4.2h

Bingo systems3.7h

A dental group3.2h

Everything else15.2h

If you do one thing this week

Fill in your own website's contact or newsletter form today. Did the email actually arrive?

That was my week. How was yours? Tell me on LinkedIn or in the comments on Substack.