The Day My Web Site Died

There are those days that go to hell in a hand basket, and you stare at your computer screen is utter dismay. Usually, it’s a hard drive crash, and while you may just want to lie down and die, you usually calm down and do what you have to do. A comparable event is when you lose your Web site. One minute it’s there; the next, it’s gone. That’s what happened yesterday.

I know it was my fault, though I'm not sure exactly what I did. Failing to undo my own folly, I called Verio, my Web site host, who has never let me down—that is, until yesterday. Every time I have ever called in the past, the genius-tech has solved my problem in the flick of an eyelash. Not yesterday. Instead, he explained that if he went back and retrieved an earlier index page from the server, it would cost me $50/hour. But, even then, he was “not allowed” to check to see if worked.

What happened? Had there been a change of policy since my last call? I asked to speak to a supervisor, who patiently explained that the policy had not changed, only its enforcement.

Before I paid the $50/hour, I called my friend Doreen Hulsey who knows everything about Web sites and DreamWeaver, the program in which my site was designed. Somehow, we managed to find an older page on one of my many backups and reinstate it. Then, of course it had to be brought up to date without losing it again. Doreen looked at my site and tactfully observed that it was overcomplicated and a few other things I am embarrassed to relate, since I designed it to begin with.

The result of this conversation was—or will be—a completely redesigned Web site, done correctly and professionally. I am almost too excited to write this. While Doreen can’t promise it by the New Year, she assures me it will be “live” by my birthday. It’s a long overdue gift I am giving myself!

The other good news? I saved $50.