Confessions From a Reluctant Website Host

This is a confession. I failed keep good backups on client sites. I thought the hosting company was doing it. They were not. Something went wrong and files disappeared, meaning sites disappeared. I know.

To be fair, the host tried to help me troubleshoot, but it was taking too long (anything over 30 minutes is too long in this case!).

In the end, I ended up enlisting the help of WPBoys, who had everything up and running in about an hour. It cost about $150. I would have paid more. They kept me on live chat the entire time and did not quit until we were all sure that everything was fixed. Also, they get bonus points for not mocking my lack of disaster planning.

I started reselling hosting approximately 150 years ago, when I was doing website development. I never charged enough to make it worth the hassle of billing, let alone handling emergencies. But, I felt like I was stuck. Stuck, I say! Many of my clients haven’t needed me in years and are unlikely to respond to any kind of message telling them I’m moving their hosting. And to get them to set up an account so they can be billed directly? Forget it.

Enter Flywheel Hosting

My pal Ralph Rivera was with me through this crisis. There was a limited amount of chastising, for which I’m grateful. He was at the time, investigating hosting options himself and suggested Flywheel – managed hosting for WordPress sites.  This is the developer’s dream. Auto updates to WordPress, daily backups, site cloning and FREE migrations. So, you can move a site over, transfer billing and account ownership and walk away! Yes!

You can also set up a demo account for a couple of weeks for free. Once you’re ready to hand it over to the client, you simply have Flywheel send them an email so they can set up billing. Easy peasy.

All of this is not to say that I’m not here to support my clients. I don’t want their sites down, either. But, if it can be someone else who bills, supports, and fixes? That’s a great thing. It lets me concentrate on marketing, which is best for everyone.

While we’re on the subject, do you know where your site is hosted, how often it is backed up, and who will fix it if something breaks? Do yourself a huge favor and find out now.

Then call me and let me help you with content marketing and social media. You know, if you want.

Ralph’s post of the day: 

• Gratitude And The Entrepreneurial Journey

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Alisa Meredith

I've been creating marketing strategies for years - for both B2C and B2B businesses, formerly as co-owner and chief strategist of a HubSpot partner agency, and since 2015 right here. I have a passion for businesses that make the world a better place in ways large and small, and the people who run those businesses are the ones I enjoy working with. I am slightly obsessed with Pinterest. Not just because it is fun, but because it works amazingly well for traffic and lead generation.

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