Ever noticed the fact that I display a post called Emergency Preparedness List in the Featured Posts section of the sidebar? That’s because I went through Hurricane Katrina and I know how important it is to be prepared for disasters. I want to make sure each of you is aware of it as well. But this post isn’t about real life disaster planning. This one is about planning for your web site or blog disasters. A disaster for your site is a disaster for your business, and you need to be prepared for it.

The very worst thing that can happen to a site is to lose it – I’m talking about having all of its files and data deleted. This might be because of your web host’s server problems. Servers have hard drives crash all the time. If you have a great host, they’ve got a recent backup of your site and all its data, and they will restore it pronto. But for some reason, no one I know, ever seems to have that great host.

You need to assume that no matter how much you love your web host, something will go wrong, and they will NOT be able to restore your site. What’s the plan for that? Back it up yourself. Every day. Without fail. Automate the process if you can, but if not, do it manually. There is a HUGE chance you will be glad you did one day.

For one of my sites, I have a host that runs a backup of both files and databases and stores them all in one convenient folder (outside of public view). I use an automated service called BQBackup to grab those files and databases every night and store them for me. I have another site on a different host that doesn’t do this, so I have to log into CPanel every night and download its backup file manually. I wish I could automate that as well, but the manual process will have to suffice for now. But it’s worth it! I urge you to implement some sort of site backup plan for both your files and database. You might also want to have a second host picked out in case you ever need to quickly switch to a new host. I’ve needed to do that before as well.

Ok, that covers site backup disasters. What happens if you personally cannot get online? Do you have a backup plan for when your Internet connection will be down for an extended period of time? Or what about your own computer? What if YOUR hard drive fails or something else causes your computer to crash and burn? Is your data backed up? (I use Mozy for this). Do you have a second machine you can use temporarily? Do you have a backup Internet connection you can use?

I urge you to consider all of these scenarios. Each of these disasters has happened to me on more than one occasion. It has taken years for each subsequent disaster to sink into my stubborn brain, but I’m finally prepared for almost any disaster I can think of – whether it’s in real life (like a hurricane) or a business or site disaster. I’m ready. Are you?