As a leading web design firm and IT provider, we always
advise our clients to back up any sensitive data they need to run their
companies. This applies especially strongly to websites, copies of which should
be made regularly and stored on a secure and remote server.
Unfortunately, many business owners and executives don’t
have someone reminding them to back up their websites. And even when they do,
they don’t always follow this good piece of advice.
With that in mind, today we want to take a look at what can
happen when you don’t back up your website regularly. Here are just a few of
the possible consequences…
Your Content May
Permanently Disappear
If your website isn’t being backed up, then it’s entirely
possible that the only layout, content, and collected information might live on
a hosting server somewhere. Although it doesn’t happen often, these servers can
crash or suffer hardware failures. And, they can be targets for hackers.
Should any of these events come to occur, you could lose
access to everything that has been written and designed for your company. That
could set your marketing plan back years.
Sales and Leads Might
Grind to a Halt
Once your website goes down without a backup copy ready to
use, you won’t just be facing the pain and expense of rebuilding your web
presence from the ground up. That’s because you’ll probably miss out on lots of
sales and leads in the meantime.
Imagine what would happen to your bottom line if your most
powerful source of new revenue suddenly dried up. Why risk that when it’s so
easy to put backup copies of your website in place?
Your Credibility
Takes a Big Hit
Obviously, a website that’s offline can’t generate online
sales, leads, or walk-in visits for your business. However, it’s worth pointing
out that a missing website sends a bad message to potential customers or
colleagues. How likely would you be to contact the company if you visited them
online and found nothing but an error message or a “coming soon” page?
Even worse, with no existing website in place it could take
weeks to get back online. That means a lot of lost sales and some business
opportunities you might not ever get back.
You Could Lose Access
to Email
In some cases, a hosting plan might be tied in together with
an email server. In other words, if one disappears, or has to be reinstalled,
you could lose access to the other.
What this really means in the real world is that an issue
with your website could lead to an unexpected email outage. For that reason, a
good IT provider will ensure your email messages are being backed up along with
any content on your business website.
You Start Your Next
Web Design from Scratch
As we’ve already mentioned, losing your website without any
backups can mean wiping out all the pages, blog posts, and updates you’ve
worked to create over the years. That creates headaches because it means your
next web designer has to start from nothing, while Google may ignore you because
your website appears to be broken.
There’s never a good time to begin from nothing online,
particularly when you've already devoted time and money to building up your
online footprint. Don’t throw away the progress you’ve made simply because you
don’t have backup copies of your website in place.
Want to learn more
about protecting your website and data? Contact the Kinetik IT team in Phoenix
today so we can help you find the first steps you’re looking for.