Do You Know Everything You Need to Know About Your Website?

With the growing number of technologies available for small business websites, it is likely that you will be served by multiple providers as your website grows. It is important that YOU, the website and business owner, are informed regarding the number of providers responsible for making sure that your website works.

Do you know everything you need to know about your website and the vendors responsible for making it work?

- Who do you call if your website goes offline?
- Who is the legal owner of your domain name?
- When is your domain name due for renewal?
- If you need to make backup copies or update your website, do you know how to access your website files? - Does your web hosting company offer automatic daily backup services? Is this service included in your plan?
- When does your web hosting agreement expire?
- How much disk space is included in your web hosting package?
- How much disk space do you have remaining?

If you're stumped by any of these questions, your homework is to complete a Website Information Worksheet and become informed about what and who makes your website work. A Website Information Worksheet is simply a document that details all providers, people and resources necessary to keep your website up and running. If you have this information ... somewhere ... in multiple locations or hidden in your email archives, please take time to document this information.

This exercise is important for anyone that has hired or plan to hire someone to create and maintain a website. If you're outsourcing your website tasks, chances are that you may not be aware of all of the components that make your website work. There are certainly all-in-one web solutions available (i.e. one vendor provides domain name registration, website hosting and website design services). However, a general rule of thumb is to use separate providers for your domain name registration, website hosting, and design needs. This is a more cautious approach to an all-in-one approach (i.e. you're toast if the one company disappears). Complete a Website Information Worksheet and ensure that you understand all of the components (people, providers, resources) that are required to keep your website up and running. You will want to maintain your passwords in a separate location or designate another method for retrieving your passwords.

Having the important details pertaining to your website in an easy to find location will serve as a valuable resource during a website emergency, if you're considering switching providers or if you're beginning a website enhancement project.