Is your web developer holding your website hostage? (Part-2)
Part 2: Host
You might have heard this before: business owners (and sometimes even non-profit organizations) have lost control of their websites because they trusted too much on their developers and didn’t ask the right questions.
Hiring a web developer (or an agency) is a big decision and you must ensure that they are (1) open, (2) honest, (3) care about your business and its brand image, before allowing someone to manage or develop your website.
This series of articles is intended to show you some steps you can take in order to prevent this type of misfortune from happening to your business.Important Considerations
2. Host
You would be surprised how many website owners do not know where their website is being hosted. Your website files need to be installed on a server so it can be connected to the internet and served when website visitors are trying to access your site. Another way for your website to be held hostage is if your web developer is the only person that knows your login information for your hosting account. If you can’t log into your web host, you typically can’t update your website.
Here are a few tips:
- Do your research and choose your own web hosting company
- Create your own account (rather than letting the developers create it for you)
- Setup your own payment plan with the web hosting company directly
- Provide CPanel access to the web developer so he can publish your website and files
These tips will help you to be on your driver seat.
This is the second article of the “Is your web developer holding your website hostage?” series. We will continue part 3 on June 12, where we will be talking about website ownership concerns that you might have.
Check our website on June 12 for the next article.