a website is an asset
if you or your organization have a website then you or your organization have a good asset. for the purpose of this entry, my simplified definition of a website is: a collection of web pages located in a publicly available web server identifiable by a domain name. so there are three basic components to your website:
- the domain name
- the web server
- the web pages
with all three combined you now have a presence on the internet. people can see you or organization in their computers anytime.
to their minds and eyes, you exist.
but what happens if you suddenly disappear from the internet?
first, i would think its a glitch somewhere between my computer and your web server. after a couple of days, i would think that there’s a problem with your web server. let a couple of weeks pass and i’d think there’s something seriously bad happening in your web server and your organization. let a a month swing by and i would think that your organization may have dissolved already and i wouldn’t be visiting again.
the web developer suddenly gets a new job or completely disappears or you had a major disagreement and they’re not taking your calls.
its unprofessional but believe me, this thing happens.
so how do you avoid this?
be directly involved in the acquisition of the domain name. domain registration requires contact details for the administrative, technical and billing contacts. if you own the domain, you or your organization should be listed as the domain owner and you should be the administrative contact with your own e-mail address listed there. the developer can be the technical contact.
you can always change web hosts but in case you’re satisfied with the hosting service make sure you get their contact details.
insist on getting your own copy of the complete website on disc. i usually issue a backup of the client’s website on disc every month if there are any updates within that month.
so now you have an “escape” plan in case the developer goes south.
