Last week, web development agency Ecce Media got a call for help from a lovely chap who runs a shop in the Bromley area. His established business was about to lose one of its biggest assets – the website. The site copy, product images, and even the domain name were about to disappear forever because the web hosting company he’d previously chosen, were filing for bankruptcy.
Whilst sympathetic and helpful, they couldn’t help but think how avoidable the situation was. A businesses’ website is its lifeline – it brings new customers, increases brand awareness and drives revenue to your business. Such an important part of the business should never have been in jeopardy.
Ideally, no website should ever go offline. Of course, you may encounter a few technical hitches, but a solid contingency plan will protect the business from any long term downtime damage. Crucial to any contingency plan is the ability to access data gained from regular backups of the sites code, databases and files. Backups should be run on a regular basis, and saved in two separate locations, in case the first backup is compromised. The data within the backup (e.g. personal information and credit card details) should be further encrypted and firewall protected for additional security, compliant with the ISO9001:2008 standard.
Unfortunately, cheap hosting solutions often overlook these essential contingency measures, leading to business critical scenarios whereby the whole website and its assets are at risk of disappearing forever. As is often the case, you get what you pay for, and selecting a quality web hosting provider is worth every penny.
Next time your website hosting is up for renewal, review your contingency plans, discuss where the responsibility lies for running backups, clarify who owns the websites assets and select a qualified, knowledgeable, ISO 9001 certified and experienced web hosting provider – like Ecce Media!
We sincerely hope you’ll never be in the same situation as our friend, but if you are, please call Ecce Media straightaway who will do their very best to help.