Administering Your CMS-Based Web Site - Final but Crucial Requirements
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Back Up or Beware!
The control panel on your web hosting account or your CMS may have an automatic back up function. Think about how often you make changes to your site when setting the back up function. If your CMS does not have an automatic back up, look on your web hosting control panel to find one that you can use to easily download a copy of your files and database manually. These are easy to operate, but hard to remember to use.
There are any number of reasons as to why you can lose the information contained in your database or your site files. None of them matter when you have a system for backing up your database and your file system regularly. For static sites, the back up can be once a month. For the dynamic or social site, your back up should run every 24 hours and be mailed to you as an extra precaution. You should be backing up your file system as well as the database contents.
Too many webmasters take this function lightly. If you are one of them, don't worry. After you've lost all your content and hard work one time, no one will have to tell you again. Back it up!
An added benefit is that if you find the need to change hosts, you have all your files and data base structure at hand for an easy migration.
Update
Updates on CMS packages are completed when vulnerabilities are found. Certainly check the official CMS site for updates regularly, then upgrade when a new version is released. One of the items on your to-do list should be checking for updates once every four weeks. This will help to keep your Internet website protected from malicious intruders in much the same way as your anti-virus program protects your local PC.
Malware and attack code on websites can affect the users who visit your site, and jeopardize the confidential information of your visitors and customers. The corner store owner has a responsibility to protect visitors from slips, falls and boxes tumbling on their heads. Likewise, one of the responsibilities of a webmaster is to protect those who visit from malicious threats and to keep information submitted to your site in a safe and confidential manner.
The establishment of a CMS system takes a bit of work, but if you are a small or one man operation, this investment of time and knowledge can save you hours and hours of maintenance work later and make your little organization look like one of the big boys... or girls. Besides that, you'll save yourself thousands in programming and marketing expenses.
If you don't feel up to the challenge of the set up and configuration, it's not that big of a problem. Armed with this much information, you can make an intelligent decision in hiring someone qualified to get your CMS up and running.
Make sure your contract includes service and support for a month or more. Test everything. Send mail and PMs to yourself, sign up as a user, take out a subscription, download a product… You'll know that everything is operating properly, and that you are familiar enough with the control panel and back office functions to take over before going it alone.
When you are happy with your installer's set up, ask them to show you how and where to change your passwords so you can secure your web site. Change passwords at your web hosting account, your database and your CMS configuration. Also adjust your FTP settings if you've used one. It's a good idea to change passwords periodically anyway, especially if you use easy passwords.
Once your core CMS is operational, take the time to learn all it can do and the many ways it can save you time and make your web site shine. Dig into it, experiment with what works for you and what doesn't. As your confidence grows, add modules or take a shot at customizing the design of your site.
The time and energy required to choose, install and learn a system is worth one hundred times the investment and will make you a much better business person and web master.
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