Putting All Your Eggs In One Basket

Sounds simple, "Find one company that will give your firm Internet access, Email and host your web site." One company, one check, one source for tech support. Sounds ideal, doesn't it? Well, I'm going to tell you why this is NOT a good solution.

In this economy Internet firms are constantly going out of business or being bought out by other firms. Since I started Web-Kare my Internet access was originally Media One Roadrunner, which became AT&T Broadband, which is now Comcast. My Email changed when Media One became AT&T and it's expected to change again now that it's Comcast. But I'm not worried - my Email will go on uninterrupted because my web site is hosted elsewhere and my domain name Email can be recovered via the Internet, my Email client software (i.e. Outlook Express), or forwarded to any Email address I want. For my clients, my Email remains @web-kare.com.

I have had occasion to "rescue" firms who have lost their web sites to IP providers who have walked away and closed their doors. Vitts, for example, was one of the largest IP providers in New Hampshire. When they closed their doors, they left 3,000 customers searching for alternative providers. If I had had my web site, Internet access and Email with them, I would have been out of business temporarily until I could find alternative sources. Now, if I had only my Internet access with them, my web site would have continued on as if nothing had changed and, once I got Internet access again, I could simply retrieve my Emails.

On the other hand, if my web hosting company were to go out of business, but I still had Internet access, I could transfer my site to another hosting company and transfer my domain name to that new hosting company. The whole process should take no more than 48 hours as long as I have my Network Solutions account information (if you do not have this information, I urge you to contact Network Solutions and request it, then put it in a safe place for future reference).

In order to transfer your web site you will need your web site pages. Your designer should be able to help you with this, if not, contact Web-Kare we'll see if there's anything we can do on our end to recover your web site. Naturally, if Web-Kare was your site designer, we have your files and would be happy to upload them to your new server at no charge.

What if your site designer has gone out of business? First, I would contact them now (don't wait until your site is down) to see if they still have your files and ask if they could send them to you on a CD. If you can't reach your designer, here's how you can retrieve your files yourself.

1. Using Internet Explorer: Go to your web site and on each page do a File--Save As. Make sure "save as type: web site complete" is selected, this will ensure that your graphic files are saved, too. Save all of the files in one directory on your hard drive.
   
   
2. Using Netscape: Go to your web site and, on each page, do a File--Save As. (The type is already set to "all files" so you don't need to make any other selection). Again, save all of the files in one directory on your hard drive.

   Once all the pages are downloaded, you should be able to open your site in your browser from your hard drive. Do File--Open then browse for your home page on your hard drive. Click on the links to make sure that all the pages and graphics were downloaded.

   If you run into problems, which can happen if your site is dynamically driven - meaning that the information is coming from a database, you will have to contact your site's designer for the files. If your site does things like order processing or looking up part numbers, you should contact your site designer for the files.

   If you find you are missing a graphic, go to the web page with that graphic and simply "right click" on the graphic, if you have a PC and select "Save Picture As." If you have a MAC, simply hold the mouse button down until the selection menu pops up, then select "Save Image."

   IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU SHOULD HAVE
   Here is a list of important information you should have put away in a safe place. If you are missing any of this information, contact the appropriate party before a crisis happens:
   
   Network Solutions Domain Name Account information. Network Solutions should have provided you with an account number and password for your domain name. They may have supplied it to your site designer or hosting company instead, so check with them first if you don't have this information. If they don't have it, go to http://www.netsol.com and click on "account manager" for contact information to receive this data. You will most likely need to call them.

   Web Server Log In Information. To upload files to your hosting company, your designer needs the login name and account number from your hosting company. You, too, should have a copy of this information on hand. Contact your hosting company and/or designer if you do not have this.

   Domain Name Email Log In. If you have an Email account with your domain name, you should have instructions on alternative methods to retrieve that Email, manage that Email account, etc. This would include a login Email name and password, which will be different than your web server log in information. If your web hosting company goes out of business - your domain name Email will go down, too. Should this happen, go to http://www.netsol.com and you can sign up for them to handle your domain name Email. (It will require that you transfer your domain name server to them, but you can then point your domain name to an IP address or another web address for $12/year or let Verisign host it for you. If you need anything more than basic service, you will want to consider a different hosting company.)

   Alternatively, you can get another hosting company to carry your site and it will usually take no more than 48 hours to get everything up and running again if you have all of the necessary information.

   A little advance preparation, and not having everything in one basket, can minimize your Internet downtime. Just as you would have backups for your day-to-day operations, you should have backup plans for your web presence.