Do you know that you need to renew your hosting every year otherwise your website will disappear? What’s more, unless you have a recent back up of all your web files and database it cannot be restored and will simply cease to exist.
Let’s start at the beginning. When launching a website you will need to register a domain name (www.redlinecompany .com) to give your site an address. The next step is to open a hosting account to provide access to a server where you can store your web files, so whenever anyone types your domain name on a browser they will be directed to your website. Similar to a parking space or a hotel room, you are renting space for your website.
Once you have your website up and running, you need to ensure that your Content Management System (CMS) is updated otherwise your site will be vulnerable to hackers. Failing to keep your CMS up to date can turn out to be a costly oversight, not only resulting in your site going offline but also with the theft of sensitive information
and valuable client databases.
This is where we get slightly technical…when a domain name is typed into your browser (Firefox, Chrome, IE etc.) it is translated into your server’s Internet Protocol address (IP) and directs your enquiry to where the files that make up your website are stored. Unless you are an IT wizard with unlimited funds, setting up and running your own server isn’t a realistic option, so most people prefer to pay a small annual fee to a web hosting company to literally rent them space on their server – like renting a garage space to park your car - and deal with maintenance and backend issues.
However, that is only half of the story. Contrary to popular belief, a hosting company won’t automatically back up your files and database. If your hosting renewal is delayed, even by a couple of days, you are in danger of losing your website and database, and of course you will be offline. This is not only costly in terms of downtime and lost sales, you would also have the expense of creating a new website from scratch.
How to keep your site online
1. Use a reputable hosting company that will give you plenty of warning that the hosting is due to expire, provide adequate storage space and will attend to maintenance quickly.
2. Invest in a web maintenance service, so that you don’t have to worry about backing up data or technical issues.
3. Protect your site against hackers by investing in web health insurance to ensure that your CMS system is update, making it more difficult for unauthorised backend access.
*There is no guarantee that a new website won’t be hacked.
Glossary of terms
Domain name: A domain name is simply the name given to your site for people to find your site and view it. For example,
www.redlinecompany.com
Hosting server: An online storage facility which provides rental space for your website files. Without it you would simply have a domain name with no way of connecting to it.
Website files: Your website comprises a number of different types of files; jpegs, photos, music files, PHP scripts and html pages which are read by the server and presented as a web page to the viewer.
Redline hosting and web health insurance
Redline Company’s professional IT team will back up your files and update your Content Management System in order to protect you against hacking, leaving you to get on with running your business.