Is Your Website Prepared For a Natural Disaster?
Do you know if your website is ready for an emergency? We'll cover the basic steps to help keep your website running through the toughest of storms.
by John Bowman 
It seems almost apocalyptic at times with all the various natural disasters happening at once. From tornadoes, flooding, wildfires, and most recently hurricanes, everyone stays prepared by stocking up on necessary items and fortifying their home.
But as a business owner, do you know if your website is ready for an emergency? In this post we’ll cover basic steps to help keep your website running through the toughest of storms.
How to Prepare Your Website for A Natural Disaster
Back Up Everything
If your computer should crash, get lost, or damaged from the storm, your files will most likely be gone too. Backing up your files remotely is a recommended option in the event that something happens to your machine.
Have Important Information Handy
Keep important and necessary information regarding your website with you. Have a physical copy, digital copy stored on a flash drive, and another stored on a cloud-based server.
Also prepare a document with all the information about your website:
Have a Mobile Responsive Website
During an emergency, your main connection to the outside world is your phone. Your website needs to perform well on any mobile device.
Contact Information Should Be Easily Visible
It is important during an emergency that your customers can easily contact you. Display your phone number so that a single click on the phone dials for the user.
If you need to do any website updates on the go. It is easier for you to navigate your website’s backend by using a laptop rather than a phone or tablet.
Have a 503 Page Ready
If your site goes down during a disaster, the 503 error page may be the only point of contact your customers would have. Create a 503 page that gives customers the information they would need in the event of an emergency.
Your creative 503 error page should include:
Have an Emergency Auto-Responder Email
Write up a professional sounding e-mail to tell your customers:
It would be wise to create a similar message just in case that they reach your voice mail.
Be Prepared
Well known author Stephen King once said, “there’s no harm in hoping for the best as long as you’re prepared for the worst.”
Now you have all the basic knowledge to keep your company’s website prepared for a natural disaster and other emergencies.
