Website Solutions

Your Worst Website Nightmare

Imagine you have paid thousands of dollars to have someone build your 500+ page website. You still owe your website developer a few thousand more because she didn’t keep in contact with you about your balance. Imagine that you aren’t even pleased with the work that has been done, let alone the lack of communication, but you don’t know what to do about it.

Now imagine that your website developer has gotten angry with you for some reason and has gone into your hosting account and DELETED your entire website!!! You don’t have a backup of your website and your hosting company is going to charge you $150 to restore the site. Now you owe your former website developer money for a website that doesn’t even exist or you’re out money to have it restored. What do you do? Obviously, you pay the $150 and get your website back, fire your website developer and change all your passwords (and PINs) so it doesn’t happen again.

Guess what? This story did not happen in my imagination. It is all true. And it just happened over the weekend to one of my new clients.

Could this happen to you???

This true story brings up many questions, comments and concerns, some of which I’m still trying to find the answers to. (Please feel free to share your experience and knowledge.)

 
Who Owns Your Website?

I’ve posted this scenario on a legal website asking who owns website files? No answer yet.

If you have hired someone to develop your website and had them purchase the domain name and hosting account, they probably own it. Not you! Make sure you are the master of your domain.

I also read somewhere that if you hire an independent contractor to create something for you, unless it is declared that you own the purchased creation and they have given you the files, the contractor actually owns the rights to the creation, even though you paid for it to be created. Go figure! (As a website developer, my rule is clear: You pay for it, you own it! And yes, I’ll put that in writing and give you the files!)

 
Do You Really Trust Your Website Developer?

Make sure you own your website accounts and files. Have your own website backups just in case. Keep in touch and don’t make assumptions. (You don’t want to end up with a huge invoice for a website you don’t like.)

You never know what can go wrong with a business relationship. Make sure you are covered in case something does.

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